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The School is Alive!: A Branches Book (Eerie Elementary #1) Kindle Edition

by Jack Chabert (Author), Sam Ricks (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,569 ratings
Teachers' pick
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Eerie Elementary is one scary school!

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!In this first book in the series, Sam Graves discovers that his elementary school is ALIVE! Sam finds this out on his first day as the school hall monitor. Sam must defend himself and his fellow students against the evil school! Is Sam up to the challenge? He'll find out soon enough: the class play is just around the corner. Sam teams up with friends Lucy and Antonio to stop this scary school before it's too late!
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  1. Reading age
    6 - 8 years, from customers
  2. Book 1 of 10
    Eerie Elementary
  3. Print length
    100 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    1 - 3
  6. Lexile measure
    600L
  7. Publisher
    Scholastic Inc.
  8. Publication date
    June 24, 2014
  9. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
  12. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  13. ISBN-13
    978-0545623926
  14. See all details
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Total Price: $18.95
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 1–3—Sam is Eerie Elementary's newest (and only) hall monitor. He figures it will be a boring job and probably one that earns him enemies. He doesn't count on the school itself being enemy number one. After nearly being swallowed by quicksand and then attacked by a fire hose, Sam is ready to find answers. Could the school be alive? Are all the students in danger, or is it just Sam the school wants? When a play draws all of Eerie Elementary together in one location, the school makes its move. The counterattack is up to Sam. This early chapter book, with copious black-and-white illustrations throughout, is ideal for readers who want something scary but aren't ready for the "Goosebumps" or "Scream Street" series.—Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA

From Booklist

Who wants to be the hall monitor at a school called Eerie Elementary? Not Sam Graves, that’s for sure. He is a little embarrassed by the shiny orange sash he has to wear as he patrols the halls, but when the playground sand tries to eat him, and the school caretaker, Mr. Nakobi, tells him that it’s Sam’s job to keep the malevolent brick building in check, Sam can’t tell whether Mr. Nakobi is crazy—or he is. Dynamic, cartoonish illustrations amp up the action, and fun onomatopoeia provides atmosphere—“Pow! Pow!” as a vending machine fires water bottles at Sam, and “CHOMP! CHOMP!” when a pile of metal folding chairs menaces the third-grade cast of Peter Pan. Sam’s friends Antonio and Lucy are by his side (once he convinces them he hasn’t lost his mind), but a sentient, evil school is not a peril to be taken lightly. Readers who relish the action of Dav Pilkey’s Ricky Ricotta series and the just-beyond-safe scares of R. L. Stine’s Rotten School titles may want to enroll at Eerie Elementary. Grades 1-3. --Paula Willey

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00JEHEVOQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Inc.; Illustrated edition (June 24, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 24, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 92765 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 100 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,569 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Jack Chabert

    Jack Chabert

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    Jack Chabert is the New York Times bestselling creator and author of the Eerie Elementary series with Scholastic Branches.

    Jack Chabert is a pen name for MAX BRALLIER. Max is the author of more than thirty books for children, including the New York Times bestselling The Last Kids on Earth middle-grade series and the Galactic Hot Dogs series. He lives in New York City with his wife, Alyse, and his daughter, Lila. Visit the author at www.MaxBrallier.com

    See more on the author's page
  2. Sam Ricks

    Sam Ricks

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    2016 Geisel Award winner. My interests include checking out more library books than I can read, pretending to enjoy running, and scarfing Reese’s Pieces. SamRicks.com or Instagram/Twitter: @samuelricks

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
1,569 global ratings
Awesome first chapter book!
5 Stars
Awesome first chapter book!
This is such a great book for my 7 year old! He loves it! Very interesting and age appropriate story! Perfect series of books for this age range!
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Top reviews from the United States

Sunday
5.0 out of 5 stars best book this year
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
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I am in 4th grade and 10 years old. I think it was very good and interesting and funny and scary but not that scary. I don’t like reading that much but this book I liked!
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Chad Bruce
5.0 out of 5 stars My class loved this book!
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2023
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Quick and easy read!
One person found this helpful
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Laura P.
5.0 out of 5 stars Life saver!
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
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My students LOVE this book! It's engaging, funny and an easy read. The short chapters are great to hold their attention (special education class- ED/ADHD) and the cliff hangers at the end of each chapter always leave them wanting more!
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Dena
5.0 out of 5 stars Spooky Adventure for Kids!
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
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In the words of my first grade daughter, "This book will freak your mind!" When Sam Graves is assigned as hall monitor, he has no idea just how dangerous a job it is. He is positive the school is trying to eat him, but nobody believes him except for a creepy old janitor. But at the school play, the school becomes more dangerous than ever and it's up to Sam to save everyone.

My daughter loves creepy books that aren't actually scary, so this was a perfect choice for her. She loved it! It was such a fun book to read. It was fast paced, action packed, and really spooky. I liked the way Sam had to be brave and rescue his friends. I also liked the old janitor, Mr. Nekobi. He was kind of creepy in his own way and the reader isn't sure he's a good guy.

If you have a newly independent reader that likes spooky themes, give this book a try. It's a fully developed story with great characters and lots of suspense. There are pictures in every page, too.

Content: mild suspense (the school is trying to eat children)
2 people found this helpful
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Janie
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2020
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This book had my students begging to read! That’s huge for them. They are a fifth grade reading remediation group. Reading has been a struggle for them. The story was very interesting and it captured their imaginations. I would say that this book would be great for second or third grade level readers. Fair warning: It’s a little spooky so if you work at a Christian school or have students whose families would object to a school which is alive, or if you are a parent who doesn’t want their child reading about creepy things, buy some other book. There’s nothing awful in the book, though. The school is alive. It wants to get the children.
14 people found this helpful
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David C
5.0 out of 5 stars Good for struggling readers
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2018
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My son is in 5th grade and has really struggled with reading. I am always on the lookout for books that will be interesting enough that he wants to read them, but yet are easy enough that he won't give up in frustration. The School is Alive seems to hit that spot for my son.

Things about this book that I liked:
-An interesting story that kept my son wanting to read.
-Lots of pictures that gave context to the story to make it easier to figure out what words he was reading.
-It's a "chapter book", so he avoids the stigma of not reading "chapter books." Additionally, it gives him good places to take a break and then start up again.
-All of the above makes reading fun for my son, and not a chore.
43 people found this helpful
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Tasha F.
5.0 out of 5 stars Students love this!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2023
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This book has kept my students so engaged!!!
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Top reviews from other countries

Kit Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful.
Reviewed in Canada on September 26, 2022
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I loved that The School is Alive was just spooky enough for my 5 and 7 year olds. Great visuals, sound effects and images. We listened to eerie music from Brandon Fiechter while reading. Plus, the book has great reading comprehension/recall questions at the end. Both of my kids decided to be hall monitors — despite the dangers!
One person found this helpful
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Prairiehill
5.0 out of 5 stars Eerie Elementary #1 book
Reviewed in Canada on June 10, 2019
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My daughter loves this series!
One person found this helpful
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Juhi
3.0 out of 5 stars Coffee Spill on the cover page
Reviewed in India on October 1, 2019
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The book is good but had a coffee stain on the cover page.. The stain was getting camouflaged with the colourful cover but was putting off once you noticed it
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Susann M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great series
Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2016
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My son 8 enjoys these series very much and so do I 😆
One person found this helpful
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Stephanie M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on September 19, 2014
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My son age 7 loved this book - looking forward to reading the next one.
One person found this helpful
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