Review by Booklist Review
Who wants to be the hall monitor at a school called Eerie Elementary? Not Sam Graves, that's for sure. He is a little embarrassed by the shiny orange sash he has to wear as he patrols the halls, but when the playground sand tries to eat him, and the school caretaker, Mr. Nakobi, tells him that it's Sam's job to keep the malevolent brick building in check, Sam can't tell whether Mr. Nakobi is crazy or he is. Dynamic, cartoonish illustrations amp up the action, and fun onomatopoeia provides atmosphere Pow! Pow! as a vending machine fires water bottles at Sam, and CHOMP! CHOMP! when a pile of metal folding chairs menaces the third-grade cast of Peter Pan. Sam's friends Antonio and Lucy are by his side (once he convinces them he hasn't lost his mind), but a sentient, evil school is not a peril to be taken lightly. Readers who relish the action of Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta series and the just-beyond-safe scares of R. L. Stine's Rotten School titles may want to enroll at Eerie Elementary.--Willey, Paula Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
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. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Ghosts, hall monitors and a strange old guy come together in this chapter book for new readers.Third-grader Sam is not happy about being appointed a hall monitor at Eerie Elementary School. It doesn't take him long to figure out that there is more to this job than just shushing people in the hall. What's with the two crows eyeing him from the roof? Or the quicksand that suddenly appears on the playground? Whatever is going on, he is both relieved and creeped out when the old janitor saves him. It takes a while for Sam to figure out that he is more than just a monitor: He is supposed to protect everyone from the sinister school now that the janitor is weak and old and can no longer fight it. The intended audience might lose interest before finally figuring out the secret on Page 45. Lively illustrations might help them get there, especially when trees and fire hoses attack. Given the general slowness of the plot, it's quite a contrast to see the kids pull off a full production of Peter Pan, complete with flying, in just a week. The large font and frequent illustrations should help new readers gain confidence, but the slow pacing and overwhelming amount of text on each page may well stymie them.Good idea but uneven execution. (Horror. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
