Scary School by Derek The Ghost and Scott M. FischerPages: 237
Grade: 3-6th grade (this is a good pick for reluctant readers)
Publisher: Harper Collins
Source: Author for review
Amazon | Goodreads
Description: (from Goodreads) You think your school's scary?
Get a load of these teachers:
"Ms. Fang," an 850-year-old vampire
"Dr. Dragonbreath," who just might eat you before recess
"Mr. Snakeskin"--science class is so much more fun when it's taught by someone who's half zombie
"Mrs. T"--break the rules and spend your detention with a hungry "Tyrannosaurus rex"
Plus
Gargoyles, goblins, and Frankenstein's monster on the loose
The world's most frighteningly delicious school lunch
And
The narrator's an eleven-year-old ghost
Join Charles "New Kid" Nukid as he makes some very Scary friends--including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf--and figures out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky.
Thoughts: I really liked this one. It's cute, funny and just a little creepy.
There's tons of laugh-out-loud moments and lots of giggling throughout the book.
This is a great pick for reluctant readers. There's just enough weird and wacky to keep almost any youngster interested. And it's smart. There's lot of great word play and it's clever moments. The narrator does refer to the book a lot and hints around at future events and even future books - which took me awhile to get used to - my "usual" reads don't have a narrator that's consciously active in the storytelling - I think this style would be awesome as a read-a-long or for a teacher to read to a class.
The plot is pretty simple, but it works well for this style of writing. I loved all the wacky things that happened to Charles Nukid as he learns the ropes of Scary School - he's such a fun character right from the start.
I was surprised by the illustrations. I'm not a big MG reader and don't remember there being illustrations in the books I read when I was that age - but these are a great addition to Scary School.
I don't know many kids in the intended age range but I have told a few youth librarians and teachers about it and they've all raved about it too.
Great pick for reluctant readers - appeals to a wide audience and good for reading out loud. Fun MG read!
