Teacher's Pest

The Tales From Lovecraft Middle School series gives us another fun lenticular cover with its third offering, Teacher's Pest. This time a wholesome rosy-cheeked boy holding a perfect apple in his right hand turns into an insect. He's still wearing a nice, wrinkle-free shirt and bowtie, but now I feel like reaching for a giant flyswatter.

None of the insects in this adventure are as huge as those in such black and white SF movie classics as Them and The Deadly Mantis, but they don't have to be. Even ordinary tiny insects can be scary if there are enough of them. There are definitely enough of them, starting with a strangely-colored wasp that lands on Glen Torkell, best friend of our hero, Robert Arthur.

A trip to the office of the school show more nurse, Miss Mandis, brings more bad news: head lice. I picked up a case of those at school over 50 years ago and I remember sitting with my hair soaked in kerosene while my mother was getting rid of nits and eggs. The victims at Lovecraft Middle School would probably have preferred suffering what I suffered compared to what happens to them.

The insect infestation gets worse. Much worse. A teacher enthusiastically giving disgusting facts about houseflies isn't helpful, especially for students who've just eaten. What happens in the cafeteria later is an appetite killer.

Will the janitors get their raises so they'll come off strike? Howard the student council president has idea to save the day. Would you stay inside if you saw a bunch of guys in hazmat suits enter your school? It's very suspicious that their tanks' markings indicate they're carrying poison, but they have no problem spraying with students still in the halls.

Actually, this series gives us so many reasons for paranoia to seem the only sane option that I find myself wondering if the janitors were secretly paid to go on strike. Or did they go on strike because they're not human anymore and they had their orders? The filthy and smelly conditions at the school are making the insect invasion understandable, but we fans of the series know there's something sinister going on.

Glen has been acting very strange since the events of the first couple of chapters. What will Robert do without his reliable ally? Karina is a great friend, too, but being a ghost limits the help she can give. Then Pip and Squeak, Robert's two-headed rat, goes missing in action. Robert has to get a key from the Tillinghast Mansion if he has any hope of rescuing his pet. Can he make it without being captured?

The daring rescue involves more insects in scenes worthy of nightmares. I think I'd have been gagging and barfing too much to be of any use. The ending announces a change that's likely to make things worse.

Have you ever seen the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie? This series channels some of the spirit of that film -- except that the heroes having to deal with their townsfolk being replaced are kids too young to drive. I'm really enjoying Tales From Lovecraft Middle School! Why wasn't it around when I was in seventh grade?? show less

Twelve-year-old middle school student, Robert Arthur, and his friends Glenn Torkells, the school bully, and Karina Ortiz, the school ghost, are back in the third installment of the Lovecraft Middle School series. It's just another normal school day at Lovecraft Middle School. Normal, that is, until Glenn gets stung by a wasp, and not just any wasp, mind you, but one with a purple abdomen. That's just the beginning.

Soon ants, head lice, flies, gnats, wasps, and fleas are taking over the school and, of course, the janitors are on strike. This buggy situation quickly goes from simply annoying with most of the students have to get their heads shaved to downright dangerous as student council president, Howard Mergler, summons even more bugs show more to the school. As a giant bug in the disguise of a kid, Howard has enlisted the insects to help him accomplish his Master's sinister plan of revenge. Robert, Glenn, and Karina must figure out how to save the school from certain disaster before the bugs take over everything. In a race against time, the trio, with the help of the school librarian, Ms. Lavinia, and Robert's two-headed rat, must work as a team to thwart the Master's plan.

The Bottom Line: Author Charles Gilman includes plenty of action and adventure making this the perfect book for kids in grades 4 - 7 including boys and reluctant readers. While I did not read the first two books in the series, I was easily able to pick up this one and read it without missing a beat. That being said, I enjoyed this one so much that I will definitely be checking out the others. This book's focus on friendship and teamwork make it a winner. Additionally, the black and white pencil drawings are realistic and a fantastic complement the text. Highly recommended for young fans of horror, especially those who are fans of Goosebumps or The Bailey School Kids. show less

Review based on ARC.

The best part about reading a good series is when the books get better as they progress. This one does not disappoint.

Teacher's Pest is the best yet in the series of the Tales From Lovecraft Middle School. The book begins with Robert and Glenn beginning a day like any other day in the life of a middle schooler. Unlike the first two books in the series, however, a sudden twist in the beginning of the story leaves you questioning the allegiances of even the most faithful of Robert's friends.

Glenn is bitten by an unusual looking, purple-bellied wasp, and his behavior suddenly and dramatically changes. Not only is Robert left wondering if his friend is ok and what it will take to bring him back around, but he is also show more left largely alone to deal with the new plot of Tillinghast to take over the school and the world.

At the end of Book 2 (Slither Sisters), Howard Mergler has been named Student Council President as a result of Robert's gracious actions. As we learn at the end of Book 2, however, Howard is yet another demon-in-disguise and part of Tillinghast's plan. In addition to the purple wasp that Glenn was subject to, the entire school is overrun with creepy crawlers of all varieties. Howard Mergler promises the school that the creepy crawlers will all be gone by the end of the day, but in Robert's investigations, a more sinister plot is discovered.

Teacher's Pest is not only an entertaining story and a quick read, but it also contains morals and friend-lessons and is, overall, promising to be an excellent series.

I highly recommend for 8+ readers with a penchant for the unusual! show less

The third entry into Charles Gilman’s Lovecraft Middle School world, Teacher’s Pest, gives us pretty much the same as the first, wherein our buddies Robert and Glenn must battle the forces of evil that live in an alternate reality on the middle school grounds.

We learn a little more about Glenn, but it seems that Karina, the ghost girl who doesn’t like to be reminded of who she is, plays a lessor role than she did in book 2.

These are fun, easy reads that introduce young readers to some of the ideas of Lovecraft’s world without being nearly as frightening, and with happy endings. I would have enjoyed these even more as a middle school student, but they have proven entertaining even to me in my adult years.

Gilman has a good thing show more going with these and I look forward to future volumes. show less

Charles Gilman's continues to impress with this creeptastic series. In this volume, Robert, Glenn and Karina must combat an army of insects that swarm Lovecraft Middle School. Pesky student council president Howard Mergler commands a legion of flies, roaches, fleas, and most disturbingly, head lice (which requires nearly the entire student population to sport shaved heads) in an attempt to aid his Master, Crawford Tillinghast. Creeps and bumps and quite a few laugh are to be found in "Teacher's Pest", and from the looks of things, this series is going to continue to bring the fear for a while longer.

We're back and Lovecraft Middle School is under attack once again as Crawford Tillinghast tries to take over the school with his army of creatures, features, devious diversions and the like.Howard Mergler is a tricky one and has positioned himself just so within the school's class system to potentially get everything he and the evil Tillinghast desire.By the time this installment is up, we'll have faced clouds of maggots, more than our fair share of lice, and just might be looking at an eternity with our soul in a slightly larger than average urn and our body being used to cause who knows what kinds of havoc in the real world, but hey...at least we'll be doing it together with our friends Glenn, Karina, and Pip and Squeak. Right? show more Right?!? *-*

I love how the books all build off of each other never leaving you to wonder what happened during the days/months/years in between installments. I love how though all installments are a part of the whole, they can in fact be read individually and still enjoyed. I also love how the author keeps the main crew in the spotlight but allows even the smallest of creatures to have additional page time in often unique ways.

In conclusion, a definite MUST READ for the MG fan in your life, whether they be tall or small, young or old, from this realm or not (*-*); there is "fun" to be had in the pages of any Lovecraft Middle School story from cover to cover.

**review copy was received in exchange for my honest review - full post can be viewed on my site** show less

I really enjoyed this book. I think it would be a great addition to any school library. The plot kept moving and the characters appealed to me. The only complaint I have is at the end when Robert's mom mentioned that school nurses get paid summer vacations. They do not. Nor do teachers or educational assistants. If he's going to write books about a school, he needs to know how schools work.