Professor Gargoyle

August 6, 2012
The Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series launches with a story that pays tribute to the tentacled horrors from the imagination of H.P. Lovecraft. Seventh-grader Robert Arthur (nods to Heinlein and Clarke, perhaps?) is part of the first class to attend state-of-the-art Lovecraft Middle School; unfortunately for Robert, the only kid he knows is a bully from his old school, Glenn Torkells. It’s soon apparent that things at Lovecraft are not what they seem: a plague of rats freaks out the student body on the first day, and Robert discovers a mysterious attic in the school’s expansive library. When students start to disappear, Robert, Glenn, and Robert’s new friend Karina try to figure out what’s going on and what it has to do with surly science teacher Professor Garfield Goyle (the book’s eye-catching lenticular cover shows Goyle morphing from bearded teacher to red demon). Smith’s occasional b&w spot illustrations contribute to the otherworldly atmosphere; fans of Goosebumps and other lightly creepy fare will look forward to spending more time with a series that even manages to find the dark side of recycling. Ages 9–up.

August 1, 2012
Can unnameable forces of ancient evil be recycled? Eleven-year-old Robert Arthur has been redistricted. While his friends in Dunwich, Mass., attend Franklin Middle School, he has to attend Lovecraft Middle School. Lovecraft is brand new (though some fixtures and other building materials came from a demolished, possibly haunted local mansion), and everything in the school is state of the art, but Robert is totally alone...except for Glenn Torkells, who daily extorts a dweeb tax from Robert (just like he did all through elementary school). Strange occurrences start on day one, when every student finds a rat in their locker. A trip to the school library lands Robert in a strange, dusty attic, where he acquires a two-headed stowaway in his backpack. Pip and Squeak (the polycephalic rat) infuriates the science teacher, Professor Garfield Goyle, who turns out to be much more (scary) than he at first appears. Can Robert and his new friend Karina solve enough of the mysteries surrounding their school to survive? Gilman's debut and series kick-off will be great fun for fans of light horror. The changing image on the cover will snag interest, and the spookily realistic black-and-white illustrations throughout complete this slick, scary, funny package. Delectable hints of age-appropriate, Lovecraftian Otherness...with none of the purple prose. (Humorous horror. 9-12)

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November 1, 2012

Gr 6-8-It's the first day of school for Robert Arthur. Lovecraft Middle School is housed in a brand-new building with a vast library, a state-of-the-art technology lab, and quite a few secrets. The first secret it reveals, unfortunately, is that Robert's childhood nemesis, Glenn Torkells, is there, but all of his friends have been sent to another school. After the day begins with an unexpected surprise in the student lockers, Robert arrives in science class and meets Professor Garfield Goyle, the strangest teacher he has ever had. When he finds the last (and greatest) of Lovecraft's secrets in the attic of the library, the truth behind the school emerges and Robert and his new ally, none other than Glenn Torkells, must join forces with an unlikely group of kids to battle the ghosts of the past that lurk in the shadows. This first entry in a series is a fun read and leaves readers guessing about what may come next. Occasional pencil illustrations complement the story quite well. The mysteries of Lovecraft offer plenty of excitement, and reluctant readers will likely stick around to see just how this story ends.Wayne R. Cherry, Jr., First Baptist Academy Library, Houston, TX

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
Grades 4-6 Due to unfortunate redistricting, Robert is starting seventh grade at a brand-new school, and the only kid he knows is his least-favorite bully. Even worse, Professor Goyle is the meanest science teacher alive. Even worse than that, the school is crawling with rats, some of them two-headed. At least that girl Karina seems niceuntil she vanishes. Then two other girls go missing. But why is Goyle so unconcerned? And why does he say it's all part of the plan of the Great Old Ones ? This first book in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series is slavish in its devotion to its namesake, introducing the tentacled monsters of which Lovecraft was so fond and entering into Goyle's dialogue such fun gibberish as Shub-niggurath! K'hala dorsath fa! Smith's sketches are mostly earnest, though the drawing of Goyle's mouth opening very wide to eat a hamster provides good shock value. All in all, this is well pitched for reluctant readers, and though the final confrontation is anticlimactic, there's a heck of a teaser for book two.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Sharp, finely detailed black-and-white illustrations and a flashy lenticular cover spice up what is otherwise an overly familiar and well-trod magical middle school setting, right down to the mystery girl who befriends the new kid and turns out to be a protective ghost. There's a good balance of light horror and humor, making this a slightly scary, brief novel with strong reluctant-reader appeal.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)