 | Eerie tales from the school of screams Author: Annable, Graham | |
| Price: $12.29 | ||
Summary:
No one knows this better than Davis and Emily. But they're not scared of school because of tough tests or merciless vice principals. They're scared because their teacher wants her students to present the class with the spookiest, most chilling stories they can think of. In graphic novel format.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (05/01/23)
School Library Journal (10/01/23)
Booklist (+) (12/01/23)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/07/23)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 10/01/2023 Gr 6 Up—Oscar-nominated Annable brings readers into an uneasy, adventurous world with his latest graphic novel. The book opens in the classroom of Ms. Nomed, who is encouraging her students to tell spooky stories at the front of the room. Students seem reticent as they introduce tales of dismembered bodies, spiteful fish-men, alien possession, and more. Dynamic paneling emphasizes frightened expressions, foreboding tableau, and "it's right behind you!" moments. Annable employs a muted palette primarily of brown and green hues with chalk-style linework reminiscent of ChalkZone and Captain Underpants—but these stories shift quickly from whimsical to sinister. The unassuming cartoon style couches frightening concepts in sweet art, and the final entry gives way to a delightfully upsetting twist with a grim, unresolved conclusion. Most illustrations aren't too explicit or violent (though one story has depictions of physical and verbal child abuse), but some scary-gross faces and dark themes mean younger readers may benefit from adult consultation first. VERDICT No blood, minimal gore, but these effectively unnerving tales will stick with horror fans long after the book's end. Highly recommended for juvenile graphic novel collections.—Ashleigh Williams - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 07/23/2023 *Starred Review* This thrilling collection of short horror comics starts in a classroom, where the students are asked to share eerie stories. Two kids, Davis and Emily, are reluctant, but their teacher, Ms. Nomed, is happy to let the other students go first. The students’ stories are presented within this frame narrative and range from quietly unsettling, like “The Face in the Forest,” about a girl living with an abusive aunt and uncle who finds a friend in a disembodied head in the woods, to startling sf body horror, as in “The Infinite Loop of Lunacy,” which takes place on a spaceship. Annable’s cartoonish, goggle-eyed, spindle-limbed characters perfectly offset the spine-tingling stories, particularly when there are tentacled aliens or monstrous demons involved, and the sepia tones of the artwork give the whole book an old-fashioned feel. But it's Annable’s expert pacing that makes this uncommonly good; apart from the measured, skillful way he unspools each story, he makes fantastic use of page turns for jump scares and meticulously and subtly lays the groundwork for one final, delicious twist, which casts the previous stories in a new light. Middle-grade readers in search of the shivers who are not quite ready for Emily Carroll’s Through the Woods (2014) will adore these just-scary-enough comics. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
