Monstrum House

My library just added the first four of this series in ebook format.  So, I thought I would check out the first in the series, Locked In by Z. Fraillon.  It was Published September 1st 2011 by Hardie Grant Egmon.  Jasper Mc Phee seems to have landed himself in trouble.  When you put a banana down the tail pipe of your principals car, your going to earn yourself a ticket to a school for troubled children.  In this case, Monstrum House.  On his first day,  Jasper finds that he's changing schools already, but changing schools means boarding a plane to a school that looks like Monstrum House but with icicles.  In this new school, there are prefects who look like mini "incredible hulks" and a teacher named Stenka that seems to have it out for Jasper.  The principal informs the class they are going to learn survival skills and most importantly how to hunt monsters.  To prove his point, they are shown a Blibberwail.  And if that isn't enough, Jasper is tested by being dropped off into "The Spooky House" and must catch the monster that resides inside.  Jasper just wants to go home and thinks he might have a plan to get out but a Red Alert on campus may change everything.  Overall, I thought the illustrations were very well done and quite detailed.  Actually, I don't think there were nearly enough of them.  I do love the covers, I think they jump out at you.  There are all the kind of things that you expect in a school for Monster hunters, classes in Species identification and even face to face encounters.  I would recommend this as a read aloud for Halloween for third grade and up. Overall creepy but in a funny way, three out of five.