ALA Booklist (Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

On the fourth Thursday in November, the monsters gather together to prepare their annual Thanksgiving feast. Everyone has a job, and vampire Vladimir is thrilled to prepare the turkey. Then a honk heralds the arrival of his family rprise! But Vladimir is a good sport ("Vladimir loved seeing his family, even when they dropped in unexpectedly"), and he welcomes them in. Only, as it turns out, they aren't the best houseguests. Mumford the mummy is using garlic in the mashed potatoes? That won't do nt Bessy substitutes eyeballs and earwax. Uncle Gus is happy to help Vladimir cook the turkey. . . by electrocuting it. And Spike the dog? Well, he eats everything in sight. Once his family has rendered everything inedible (or, in Spike's case, gone), Vladimir has had enough. But Thanksgiving is for family, and there just might be a solution. Geisel Award winning Long uses a purple palette that gives everything a nighttime feel, although this cast of Halloween characters is more adorable than scary. This family-oriented tale will have life through several holidays.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

The Fright Club monsters are cooking a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. But what to do when vampire Vladimir's family shows up unexpectedly? Invite them in! Except...Aunt Bessy complains about garlic mashed potatoes, Uncle Gus electrocutes the turkey, etc. Digitally colored graphite-pencil illustrations amp up the humor and cast the nocturnal spooks' preparations in a suitably dim light. The simmering tension eventually boils over, before a "do-over" meal the next day.

Kirkus Reviews

Long and his bevy of monsters tackle yet another holiday in this look at the family angst that is a natural part of Thanksgiving. All is going swimmingly for the friends—cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet-potato casserole, turkey; each made by a different monster—until Vladimir's extended vampire family unexpectedly drops in. Uncle Gus, Aunt Bessy, and Joey and Schmoey are welcomed with arms open wide to the friends' feast, but then the meddling begins. Aunt Bessy shrinks from the garlic in the mashed potatoes, Uncle Gus has his own way of cooking the turkey, and the Siamese twins "help" Fran with the pumpkin pie, adding maggot meatballs. The pic of everyone gathered around the table says it all: Vladimir's family looks pleased; his friends look uncertain and a bit dismayed. As in many households, the inevitable explosion of tempers is triggered, but this one is quickly resolved in a flurry of re-dos and cooperation before a satisfying (and slightly more palatable) Friday feast. Long's graphite pencil and digitally colored illustrations are packed with gross-out details that will have kids in stitches, and the body language and facial expressions are clearly 100 percent human even if the characters aren't. Gus' electrifying turkey-cooking machine, which recalls the electric chair, may be a bit over-the-top even for this series, though. A (mostly) typical Thanksgiving: family, lumpy mashed potatoes, arguments, and all. (Picture book. 3-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In Long-s third book to feature the green-and-purple-hued Fright Club monsters, Vampire Vladimir and his friends are busy preparing a Thanksgiving feast. Then, the vampire-s extended family members make an unexpected appearance. Though -it was a happy reunion,- they bring some chaos to the gathering. Aunt Bessy makes her own mashed potatoes with eyeballs and earwax (not garlic); commandeering the turkey, Uncle Gus -cooked it to death-; and just when they are about to sit down to eat, slobbery dog Spike devours everything. Vladimir hits his breaking point: -You ruined Thanksgiving!- But family is family, and the motley group of monsters work together to improvise a new meal. Holidays don-t always go as planned, Long asserts, and that-s okay. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)