Heebie Jeebies

Gr 5-8–What kid hasn’t thought about their school being haunted? Middle schoolers Blue and Herschel break into their school at night, alongside a frightened new janitor, in the hopes of finding a treasure that might solve their financial issues and help with being bullied at school. What they get instead is a case of the heebie jeebies as they battle to solve the mysteries of the haunted ghosts that live within the school’s walls. Teaming up, the two friends bond with the new janitor, Madison, over their haunted adventures. Taking place over the course of one night, Erman and Criswell’s collaboration offers plenty of action. The ghostly figures, including one that can remove his head and a young girl with exposed brains, seem more kind than scary when the layers are peeled back to reveal how they came to be trapped in the ghostly realm. The result is a gentle story with problem-solving, adventure, teamwork, and friendship at its heart. With the school as a backdrop, the backstories of the ghosts solidly ground the graphic novel and allow Blue, Herschel, and Madison to shine. Readers will root for these characters to triumph over evil, bullies, and bad ghosts.