Professor Gargoyle: Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Professor Gargoyle is a fast-paced, funny horror adventure that serves up action, suspense, and comedy. There are in-jokes for readers familiar with the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, and no objectionable language or bloody violence, but there are attacks by rats, tentacles, giant spiders, and a fight with a demon, and a science teacher who consumes a live hamster whole. The mayhem is cartoonish and intended to be comic.
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What's the Story?
When 12-year-old Robert Arthur starts at state-of-the-art Lovecraft Middle School, he's worried about fitting in and avoiding Glen Torkells, his old nemesis from elementary school. Soon, though, he has other things on his mind, including a missing student, a strange science teacher, and a two-headed rat. If Robert and Glen want to save themselves, the school, and perhaps the entire universe, they have to learn to work together.
Is It Any Good?
PROFESSOR GARGOYLE: TALES FROM LOVECRAFT MIDDLE SCHOOL #1 is an action-packed, easy-to-read kick-off for a humorous horror series. Author Charles Gilman keeps a light touch on the spookier aspects of the story, and illustrator Eugene Smith delivers drawings that are funny, if sometimes a little frightening. The "new kid at school" set-up is a little cliched, but the author delivers some interesting wrinkles on old themes.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why the first day at a new school is sometimes so scary. Do relationships between students change in the transition from elementary to middle school?
Is it possible to become friends with a school bully?
Why do students hide situations that are bothering them? Kids: What's the best way to communicate with parents about bullies and other scary things at school?
Book Details
- Author: Charles Gilman
- Illustrator: Eugene Smith
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Adventures, Bugs, Friendship, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Quirk Books
- Publication date: September 25, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 9 - 12
- Number of pages: 160
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
Our Editors Recommend
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Gustav Gloom and the People Taker
Humorously spooky tale of making new, weird friends.
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The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls
Deeply creepy, thought-provoking tale of weird school.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Harry Potter, Book 2
Potter sequel is a creature-packed page-turner.
For kids who love fantasy and horror
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