School Scares

School Scares

School is starting back up again, so what better time to bring out the school stories? While we don’t want to give kids nightmares about starting a new grade, pretty soon they’ll be lugging home reading records for their 100 Book Club, 15-minutes-a-day-of- independent-reading-homework, Accelerated Reader, or whatever various programs the school is using to try to motivate kids into reading. I have to tell you that I personally find that it’s a drag to have to check the boxes, record the minutes, count the pages, or whatever. To be fair, I have kids who read, or at least love to be read to (which is still okay in first grade) and I’d have to follow them constantly with a timer to manage it all. Maybe it’s exciting to see those results on paper if you’ve struggled to reach the goal. But either way, whether you have an eager reader or a struggling one, there are some fantastic scary school stories out there, and I thought I’d direct you to a few of the ones we have reviewed here. This is far from a comprehensive list, of course, but it’s a good place to start! They run the gamut from picture book to YA, so check out the reviews before handing them over to your kids!

Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby

Eighth Grade Bites: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer

High School Bites by Liza Conrad

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan (this is one of my favorites from way back)

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Scary School by Derek Taylor Kent

Monster’s Proof by Richard Lewis

Nightmare Academy: Monster Hunters by Dean Lorey

Monster and Me by Robert Marsh

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire(maybe) by Kimberly Pauley

Vampire High by Douglas Rees

The Librarian from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler