The Terribles #1: Welcome to Stubtoe Elementary

by Travis Nichols

Overview

The Terribles might be monsters, but they're also kids just like you! Well, sort of. This hilarious peek into the world of vampires, mummies, swamp-things, and bigfoots is perfect for fans of the Hotel Transylvania movies.

Vampires, mummies, and gelatinous balls of goo (oh my!). That's right, monsters are real and they've settled down on the quiet island of Creep's Cove. It's a pretty typical place: houses, stores, portals to various nightmarish parallel dimensions. And a school for the kiddos.

Meet the crew: 
Vlad, a fame-thirsty vampire,
Allie, a stuffed animal-dissecting alien,
Lizzie, a short-tempered kaiju,
and SO many others!
 
Told in alternating chapters, comics, poems, charts, and activities each focused on different classic spooky characters this story is the introduction to monsters you humans have been waiting for.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593425718
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/05/2022
Series:	The Terribles , #1
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	620L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Travis Nichols is an author and illustrator of books and comics for kids. Books of his have been published by Penguin Random House, Chronicle, Macmillan, and Viz. He has written and illustrated comics for SpongeBob SquarePants, Uglydoll, Nickelodeon Magazine, and Hello Kitty. When not writing and drawing, Travis is making cool stuff, collecting hobbies, and spending quality time with his favorite people on earth.

Editorial Reviews

2022-04-27
Vignettes about the spooky students of Stubtoe Elementary, located on the island of Creep’s Cove.

The first in Nichols’ new series The Terribles, this illustrated novel features an island full of creepy creatures—vampires, mummies, aliens, zombies, and cryptids—and a few humans. Nichols addresses readers directly, using a familiar tone much like that of an older kid sharing wisdom with the younger crowd. This book focuses on a class that includes Vlad the vampire, Frankie the mad scientist (a human with dark skin and black hair), Lobo the werewolf, and Bobby the gelatinous glob, among others. Each chapter features a different short story about an inhabitant of Creep’s Cove and their hijinks. The world is so well imagined that Bobby even has his own Glob Talk glossary included at the end. Many of the footnotes are funny asides, providing context but also adding to the conversational, storytelling tone of the book. The black-and-white illustrations peppered throughout read as cute more than creepy, which helps establish the book’s playful atmosphere. The characters are charming; the features that make them monsterlike also serve to make them endearing and true to their childlike characteristics. Who can resist a blob who can’t stop eating cruciferous veggies and swells to take over a town? Or Griff, an invisible kid who’s a master at hide-and-seek? The pacing, voice, and imaginative creatures will keep readers turning pages.

High-appeal characters presented with plenty of laughs. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

"Who can resist a blob who can’t stop eating cruciferous veggies and swells to take over a town? Or Griff, an invisible kid who’s a master at hide-and-seek? High-appeal characters presented with plenty of laughs." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher