The School is Alive!: A Branches Book (Eerie Elementary #1) (1) Paperback – Illustrated, June 24, 2014

Great read! My 8 year old enjoyed this book so much! He read it in 2 days. It was a little funny and kept his attention. We are planning on adding the rest of the series to the collection.

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!

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)

Bought it for my boys in first grade

My 8-year-old son reads this book series out loud to me at bedtime. He enjoys the action and the writing seems appropriate for his 3rd grade independent-reading level. We are now on the 7th book of the series, and while he wants to finish the series (just for the accomplishment), I am beyond ready to move on to something else. The stories are extremely action-packed (yet very far-fetched), but there is so little depth to the characters that the over-the-top events in the stories are not enough to make it interesting at all (at least to an adult). I know I'm not the target audience, but I think my son would benefit from a more nuanced reading experience. Cheers to the author, though, for writing books that can engage young readers.

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.

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.

My son is on the spectrum, but very advanced in his reading skills(He's in 1st, reading at almost a 4th grade level), when we can get him to pay attention to it. I had found a Locker ate Lucy at a store and gave it to him for his birthday, and after he finally picked it up and read it(in 2 or so hours no less), he was absolutely BEGGING me for the rest of the series. I got him this and one other one, as well as the first Dragon Masters, and he's begging for the rest already. It warms my heart to see such a love of reading instilled in my little guy. He's talking about the characters as if they are schoolmates of his, and I can't wait to afford the rest of the series.