Scary School by Derek the Ghost

Scary School

by Derek the Ghost

Published by Harper Collins

Publication Date: June 21, 2011

Pages: 237

Source: Author









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 (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

Scary School is definitely not the type of book that I typically read,  but I'm always up for taking chances and this book sounded like it would be a lot of fun. And it really was. Scary School is about a scary school. Well maybe a not so scary school, but a school filled with monsters, goblins, whatever is supposed to be terrifying and a few humans too. Derek the Ghost shares all that he knows about the Scary School with the readers as though he is speaking or writing directly to them. I liked this part of the storytelling because it made for a quick more casual read. He would introduce characters or tell the beginnings of stories but stop himself and say something like "I'll tell you more about that later," or "I'll get to that soon" just like someone would when they are telling a story face to face. Every time that happened I knew I would have something to look forward to.

Derek shares details about the students in the school and like most schools there are a lot. It did get a bit confusing with all of the students, but thankfully Derek would give little reminders so I could remember who was who. Who was friends with who (and who wasn't). There are a lot of teachers at Scary School, but they are more memorable with names like Ms. Fang - the one-fanged Math teacher, Mr. Turtlesnaps - the land tortoise interviewing to teach some scary science. Nurse Hairymoles and Principal Headcrusher also keep the students on their toes.


The school year progresses as the students prepare for the Ghoul Games where students of Scary School will compete against the monsters of other schools. Scary School is the first school to have both human and monster students so it seems that they are at a disadvantage against the all-monster schools. So the students practice their games throughout the year because the winning stakes are high. The winners of the games get to eat the losers. Or they get a lollipop. . . . 

I know anyone reading this probably is like what in the world is going on at this school. So I will let you in on a secret - Scary School is a lot more like Silly School. I'm not giving anything away with saying that.  And even with all of the silliness that goes on in this book, it does share some interesting facts that may encourage readers to explore further. They come in bits and snip-its, but they are there.

I loved all of the illustrations throughout the book. So even when Derek was descriptive of the teachers and students of the school, it was nice to see who he was talking about. There were some portraits and some actions shots too. One of the funniest drawings was for the gargoyles dressing up as the Three Little Pigs. Yes, that did happen. It fits with the story. Almost anything can fit in with this story!

I had a good time reading this book. I had some laughs, quite a few actually, because there are some cultural references that older readers will pick up on. And I'm excited to share this book with the middle-grade readers that I know.


This book was provided by the author in exchange for my honest review.