FICTION

The School Is Alive!

The School Is Alive! illus. by Sam Ricks. 96p. (Eerie Elementary: Bk. 1). Scholastic/Branches. Jul. 2014. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9780545623933; pap. $4.99. ISBN 9780545623926; ebk. $4.99. ISBN 9780545623940. LC 2013034498.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1–3—Sam is Eerie Elementary's newest (and only) hall monitor. He figures it will be a boring job and probably one that earns him enemies. He doesn't count on the school itself being enemy number one. After nearly being swallowed by quicksand and then attacked by a fire hose, Sam is ready to find answers. Could the school be alive? Are all the students in danger, or is it just Sam the school wants? When a play draws all of Eerie Elementary together in one location, the school makes its move. The counterattack is up to Sam. Illustrations are done in a fuzzy outline style that makes them appear not quite solid. While they fit the spooky theme, a few of them are hazy enough to be slightly distracting. That small quibble aside, the text and art are a good match. Give this early chapter book to readers who want something scary but aren't ready for the "Goosebumps" or "Scream Street" series.—Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA
For children ready for chapter books, this slightly spooky first series adventure involves a personified school that gobbles up kids. Sam, hall monitor hero, gradually figures out what's going on and what to do to save the day. Playground quicksand and a peanut butter explosion ("KA-BOOM!!!") are examples of the noisy, rollicking action enlivened in plentiful shadowy black-and-white illustrations.

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