Who Knows the Way to Mr. Grimly's Classroom?: (A Spooky School Picture Book for Kids Ages 4-8)

Who Knows the Way to Mr. Grimly's Classroom? 

About the book: When Miss Flytrap asks if anyone knows the way to Mr. Grimly’s classroom, Grace’s hand flies up—she can’t help herself, even though she’s a new kid in school and has no idea where to go. Nonetheless, with a book to deliver proudly in hand, Grace sets off on a long, strange journey through a very odd place, full of twists, turns, and creepy characters who give puzzling directions. Climbing dark, cobwebby staircases, feeling her way through a fogged-up playground, careening by zipline from the top of a treacherous tower right into a kitchen window—will she ever find Mr. Grimly’s classroom? With equal parts suspense and humor, author Chris Priestley leads an unsettling school tour for the ages, while Mariachiara Di Giorgio’s atmospheric, immersive illustrations beckon readers on with mesmerizing visual riddles.

My thoughts:  It would appear from the rambling of Grace through the convoluted, upstairs and downstairs, dark and mysterious hallways of her school that she is attending a huge estate-style academy rather than a sleek, modern, straight-lined, stark building. But then this is, in fact, an imaginary tale of scary things, so perhaps it is Grace's imagination as she goes from hallway to hallway, up the up stairs and down the down stairs to deliver the book. So let's take a look-see for ourselves.

As Grace goes forth on her journey to deliver the book to an unknown classroom, she encounters several weirdly spooky people who direct her onward in her quest. And through the dark, strange halls, and creepy stairs she does finally find the Mr. Grimly in his classroom. But alas, there is still a problem.

Now we know that Grace really didn't know the way to Mr. Grimly's classroom. We know it was her first day in this new-to-her school. And we knew that Grace wanted to always raise her hand saying she "knew the answer" (in this case, knew the way to the book's destination). So Grace's impetuous agreeing to run the errand resulted in a spooky traipse through the halls of her new school. So were the spooky dark convoluted halls a reality, or was it simply the product of an overly imaginative little girl?

I recommend you read the book to find out. And definitely give the illustrations a thorough perusal. I think they are marvelous.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review from Candlewick Press publishing. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.