The Northern Frights by Derek the Ghost - ADVISABLE

Derek the Ghost The Northern Frights (Scary School #3), 272 p.  Harper, 2013.  $10.  Violence: PG (fighting, but not graphic).

Derek the Ghost can only watch as four of his Scary School classmates are chosen to act as exchange students at the Scream Academy and they know things are going to be rough.  Scream Academy is much more brutal than Scary School and an ancient prophecy is about to be fulfilled – one that their enemies do not want to see happen.  Charles and the other exchange students need to make friends and allies fast! 

I have not read a Scary School book before and I really liked it.  The writing is creepy without being excessively violent and I like the students, even thought he schools are pretty bizarre.  I don’t know how I missed this one when it came out.

EL – ADVISABLE.   Cindy, Library Teacher

The School is Alive (Eerie Elementary #1) by Jack Chabert –ADVISABLE

Chabert, Jack The School is Alive (Eerie Elementary #1) 96 pgs. Scholastic Inc., 2014. $4.99  Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G.

Sam is given the job of school hall monitor. He dreads the job, and things get worse when the playground sand tries to suck him under. He quickly finds out from the school custodian, Mr.Nekobi, that the school is not only alive but evil and hungry. Mr. Nekobi used to be able to keep everyone safe, but since he is getting old, its now up to Sam. As Sam begins to train to defend the students against their school, he also tries to figure out just when the school is going to strike. With a big class play coming up, Sam must be ready.
I have a difficult time finding half decent chapter books for 2-3 graders and this one fit the bill. It was easy to read, with tons of great illustrations, and was scary without being too scary. I think the spooky part will be a big draw to student readers.
EL (K-3) -ADVISABLE  Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

Graveyard Shakes by Laura Terry –ADVISABLE

Terry, Laura Graveyard Shakes 203 pgs. Graphix (Scholastic), 2017.  $13. Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: G Violence: PG13 (Child killer) GRAPHIC NOVEL

Two sisters are starting a new boarding school –one really wants to fit in, and one just wants to be accepted for who she is. Meanwhile, in a nearby crypt, a father is desperately trying to keep his son alive (a semblance of life) by using some kind of ritual, which requires the life of another child. Time is running out for him to find this child to sacrifice, and it looks like one of the sisters is going to work out just fine. Throw in a friendly ghost boy and a whole flock of scary ghosts, and you add in some laughs, some sadness, and some extra scary. Features subdued illustrations with lots of personality.

This book was just downright creepy, which I think is the point. The child killer, kidnapping, and just overall scary factor nixes it for me in the elementary library. Even I was a bit disturbed, its just dark –though the ghost boy and the spunkier sister add a bit of light. I think middle school students would enjoy this read, maybe 6^th grade and up. One thing to note is that the father –who has killed many children to keep his son alive –walks away at the end to make amends, which I don’t care for.

MS -ADVISABLE.  Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author

Bad Kitty: School Daze by Nick Bruel –ADVISABLE

Bruel, Nick  Bad Kitty: School Daze 160pgs. Roaring Brook Press, 2013. $10.07  Content: Language: G (0 swears);  Mature Content: G ;  Violence: G.

Bad Kitty and Puppy are being sent to obedience school. Bad Kitty has a bad attitude about it, and at first it looks like it’s going to be scary. But the instructor is a wonderful woman who is patient and kind and tries to bring out the best in all the students, including a cat hating bulldog and a crazy rabbit! Will Bad Kitty become a good Kitty? Nope. Includes information blurbs from the bus driver about cats and dogs.

I have to admit, despite the popularity of these books in my school, this was my first time reading. It was actually pretty good. I liked the well written informational blurbs and that the story flowed really well. It was a quick read and I can see why students enjoy the series. There was even a Story time at obedience school! Hooray!

EL, Elementary –ADVISABLE Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

A Scary Scene from a Scary Movie by Matt Blackstone - OPTIONAL

Blackstone, Matt  A Scary Scene from a Scary Movie, pgs. 248.  Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, 2011.  $16.99. Language: R - 40 swears, 1 F word;

Mature Content:  PG13 - main character has a dream about touching large breasts; Violence:  PG - a student biting the main character on the shoulder and then dragging him into the school bathroom.

            This is an interesting book, a fast read but somewhat disappointing.  Because of the title, I was set to read a mystery or suspense yarn.  Not so.  This book is about 14 year old Rene, a totally wacked-out, OCD kid.  He has to smell his left hand to make sure that he exists.  His demeaning, emotionally abusive dad left many years ago but is now trying to get back into Rene and his mom’s life.  Because of this, Rene and his newly found and only friend, Giovanni, run away to New York.  Rene is so afraid of everything that he keeps comparing his life to a ‘scary scene in a scary movie,’ hence the title.   Towards the end of the book, Rene does start to gain some self-respect and to control his obsessive-compulsive behaviors. 

This book is supposed to be funny but to me, didn’t read that way.  I felt too sorry for friendless Rene and his life to find the book funny.  It also didn’t ring true.  Rene’s thoughts and actions were so exaggerated because of Matt Blackstone trying to be funny and not accomplishing it, that it was just an okay book for me. 

MS/HS – Optional.   M.J. Burton, teacher.

Notes from a Hairy-Not-Scary Werewolf by Tim Collins – OPTIONAL

Collins, Tim Notes from a Hairy-Not-Scary Werewolf 288 pgs. Aladdin. $12.99 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG Violence: G.

Luke likes math, debate, chess, and mostly he likes doing well at school. When its time to study for end of term exams, Luke is right on creating his studying schedule. That’s when some very odd things start to happen to him. When he finally figures out that he is a werewolf, Luke knows that he needs help. Help comes with much more than he bargained for, like an all-out war with the vampires.

This book looks for all purposes to be quite youthful, based on the cover and the lined pages and the illustrations. But I found the text to be very much for older students like middle school or higher, hopefully with some knowledge of British culture and words. The vocabulary is very advanced. I like the story, but sort of wish it had been shorter. Maybe a good read for reluctant middle school readers?

MS – OPTIONAL Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

It's the First Day of School Forever by R.L. Stein-ESSENTIAL

Stine, R.L. It’s the First Day of School Forever, 185 pgs.  Macmillan, 2011.  $15.99.  Language-G.  Violence-PG.  Sexual Content- G. A boy named Artie is going to a new school.  On the morning of the first day of school, he bumped his head and fell out of bed.  That was just the beginning of his horrible day.  He went to school and was miserable.  When the day got to the absolute worst part, his day restarted.  This time the day was slightly worse and slightly shorter.  Each day this continued.  Artie has to find a way to stop the madness.  I thought the book was a little scary and should be read 4^th grade and higher.  I liked it because you didn’t know when the day would restart and whether it would be worse or better.  It’s really interesting and intriguing and there are a lot of surprising parts.  EL.  ESSENTIAL.  Student Reviewed:  ML- age 12. 

How it All Ends by Emma Hunsinger - ADVISABLE

How it All Ends by Emma Hunsinger, 295 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Greenwillow Books, (HarperCollins), 2024. $26.

Language: PG (12 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG (illustration of a classroom full of shirtless 9th grade boys) Violence: PG (sister fight involving pushing and kicking) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Tara learns at the end of 7th grade that she is skipping 8th grade and going straight to High School. Even though her older sister reassures her, Tara doesn't feel like she fits in, and worried the other students think she's a baby. The others who moved up with her are adapting better. Tara just wants to be in middle school again. High School is weird and scary. 

Tara has a great imagination, I love the games she plays with her baby brother, and Graphic 

Illustrations are a terrific way to present it. As a middle school librarian, I see a big difference between 8th and 9th graders, and I worried about Tara. There's so much more going on socially in High School - although she and her sister rode the bus together, they didn't connect at all during the day. I thought that was strange. All in all, a recommended middle grade read! Characters are white. 

Lisa Librarian 

Monstergarten by Daniel J. Mahoney- OPTIONAL

Mahoney, Daniel J. Monstergarten, PICTURE BOOK. Feiwel and Friends, 2013. $16.99. Kevin is one little monster who is really worried he won’t be scary enough to start Monstergarten in the morning. He works and works and practices with his best friend, but he just can’t seem to be scary enough. When the morning arrives, Kevin’s friend is the most nervous to be starting the school day and all of Kevin’s practice pays off when he scares him to help relax and feel more comfortable. There was too much dialogue for a book on this topic. It should have been a little more simplistic and not quite so long. It was a cute premise, but there was too much focus on practicing before the monsters went to school instead of what happened when they arrived. K-3, EL-OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian

It's Watching by Lindsay Currie - ADVISABLE

It's Watching by Lindsay Currie, 303 pages. Delacorte Press (Random House), 2025. $18

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (scary, intense scenes)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

12yo Seventh graders Josie, Alison and Jackson are investigating the legend of the Lady in White for their school newspaper.  Hopefully the story will be exciting enough to get them on the editorial staff next year as 8th graders.  Of course that means sneaking into Bachelor's Grove Cemetery which has been abandoned for years and is rumored to be haunted.  They sneak in on Halloween night as thick fog rolls in, they see lights, hear noises and almost get caught, but no Lady in White.  Once home, they decide the whole thing was a bust, until they are startled awake during the night to a cold house, muddy footsteps and a text telling them, “I’m watching.”  Scared and nervous, they wonder who or what they brought back with them.

Currie writes a solid middle school ghost story with just the right amount of scary.  I found the characters likeable, realistic and smart.  If your readers are looking for a scary story, this one works.  At the end, the author includes notes about the real Bachelor's Grove Cemetery and efforts being made to restore the cemetery.  She recommends a visit to the cemetery (but not after dark, of course). 

The characters are white.

RB Librarian

 

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins - NO

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins, 287 pages. Dutton Books (Penguin), 2017. $18.  

Content: Language: R (116 swears; 29 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: R.  

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – NO  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Makani has been living with her grandmother for a year and has a crush on the goth boy Oliver at school.  When a popular student at school is murdered, it shocks everyone and because Oliver is a bit unconventional some people look at him suspiciously.  What they don’t know is that Makani has a suspicious past as well, which is why she was sent to live with her grandmother.  As the murders start to stack up Makani notices things have been moved around her house, which is one of the clues that the murderer leaves before he kills and she has to figure out who she can trust before she is the next victim.  

I like a good scary book, especially young adult, because it’s usually the right balance between scary, realistic and not too gruesome.  This book is none of those things.  The body count is so over the top that it’s not even scary because you know that the people are going to die.  The story isn’t believable and becomes even more unrealistic when you find out who the murderer is and why he/she is killing in a disappointing short paragraph explanation.  My least favorite part of this book is the rated-R descriptive, gruesome, over-the-top callous murdering of young adults.  Makani’s secret past is also alluded to throughout the book and ends up being a weird story furthering my disappointment.  

C. Peterson  

Captain Awesome vs. the Spooky Scary House (Book#8) by Stan Kirby -OPTIONAL

Kirby, Stan  Captain Awesome vs. the Spooky Scary House (Book#8) 128 pgs. Little Simon, 2013. $15.99 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G

Secret superheroes Eugene and Charlie (AKA Captain Awesome and Nacho Cheese Man) are gearing up for Halloween. After fighting a variety of October evil’s including an objectionable scarecrow, they boys decide they must discover more about a very scary house that’s in their neighborhood. After hearing more about it at school, they are terrified, but determined. Will they vanquish the headless ghost that lives there?

I really really want to like this series, the illustrations are incredibly inviting and fantastic. The idea is wonderful as well- two boys who are best friends and on the side are secret superheroes. But the writing never comes together for me and I find that I don’t enjoy reading the story. Some of the language is just off, the story doesn't flow well, and I find it hard to invest in the characters and the outcome of the story.   

EL(K-3) – OPTIONAL Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

You're Wearing That to School? by Lynn Plourde-ESSENTIAL

Plourde, Lynn, ill. by Sue Cornelison, You’re Wearing That to School? Disney Hperion, 2013. PICTURE BOOK

Going to school for the first time can be scary. After all what is a hippo to wear? Tiny gives his friend, Penelope (an exuberant hippo) advice on the first day of school. After all, Tiny just wants her to fit in and not stand out. Penelope just wants to be herself. What’s a hippo to do?

The plot and story line are great and enduring. The bright, beautiful pictures are breathtaking and memorable. Readers will love and identify with the characters. Recommended for any library collection. PreK, EL (K-3). ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Kira Moody, Youth Services Librarian, WHI Public Library.

Yeti and the Bird by Nadia Shireen - ESSENTIAL

Shireen, Nadia Yeti and the Bird, PICTURE BOOK. Atheneum Books for Young Readers (Simon), 2013. $17.99. Content: G. 

Yeti is a big, scary, hairy beast. He is so big and scary and hairy, that the other animals in the forest stay far away from him. So, Yeti is also a very lonely big, scary, hairy beast. One day a little bird falls on his head and doesn’t think that Yeti is scary at all. They become fast friends and serenade the forest animals to sleep each night with soothing songs. The weather starts to turn colder and the bird needs to move on to warmer climates. When the bird leaves, Yeti expects to be lonely once again and is pleasantly surprised when the rest of the forest animals want to be friends. 

This is a book about seeing others for who they really are and not just based on how you perceive them. It’s also a good example of helping friends get where they need to be, rather than focusing only on your needs. The story and pictures are slightly quirky and it really works toward the book’s advantage. 

EL (K-3), EL- ESSENTIAL. Reviewed by: Shay, School Librarian