title: Eerie Dearies: 26 Ways to Miss School
author: Rebecca Chaperon
description: KIRKUS: An alphabet of excuses, from A is for ASTRAL PROJECTION to Z is for ZOMBIE APOCALPYSE, channels the gothic spirit of Edward Gorey. The text follows the standard abecedary model, with a large single letter and a following line on each spreads verso. The excuses range from at least faintly credible (K is for KIDNAPPED; M is for MONONEUCLOSIS) to such less-floatable plaints as E is for ENNUI and G is for GREMLINS. Painted largely on the covers, jackets or endpapers of old books (with the titles often visible), 26 neurasthenic girls cast in gloomy lighting and clad in school-uniform blouses, skirts and high boots poutingly model or act out each alibi amid minimally detailed surroundings. The backgrounds can be the best parts of the illustrations. Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls is a nice complement to G; Out of the Night is positively brilliant for I is for INSOMNIA; A Perfect Spy makes mordant comment on O is for OBSERVATION, in which a drowning girl is espied through a pair of binoculars. Others are less successful: Why position an ex libris sticker over the conked-out girl in N is for NARCOLEPSY? Of doubtful utility as an idea book for young slackers but sure to draw a few chuckles from the teen leather-and-lip-ring setand grown-ups who often find themselves writing or receiving parental notes to the teacher. (Picture book. 12 & up)<br /><br />Publisher's Weekly- Starred Review Canadian artist Chaperon uses a standard "A is for" structure in her children's debut, but when that A stands for "astral projection," it's immediately apparent that this is a rare and special abecedary. It's impossible not to feel the presence of Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies in Chaperon's portraits of somber, willowy girls, tidily dressed in pleated skirts, Peter Pan collars, and ribbons. For G, a redheaded girl eating her breakfast cereal is beset by tiny gremlins that tug at her hair and arm. "Separation anxiety" keep a pair of girls from school-kneeling cheek to cheek, they appear to be conjoined twins. By themselves, the images can be foreboding, unsettling, or bleakly funny; what takes them to another plane entirely is that Chaperon paints them on the covers and interiors of weathered old books, creating delicious thematic connections. A pink book jacket screams Now We Are Enemies as a girl with a sword glares off-page for "R is for Revenge"; a "dumbstruck" student's empty speech bubble is set against a yellowed index page crammed with verbiage. Just creepy enough to make parents insist on driving their kids to school. All ages. (Feb.)
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  Miss Pat at School
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER I. THE TWO NEW STUDENTS  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER II. GETTING ACQUAINTED  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER III. ANTICIPATION  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER IV. THE INITIATIONS  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER V. THE GHOST DANCE  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER VI. AFTERMATH  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER VII. DAVID'S TREAT  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER VIII. SMOOTH WATERS  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER IX. THE ACADEMY BALL  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER X. THE PRIZE DESIGNS  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER XI. THE LITTLE RIFT  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER XII. JUDITH'S DISCOVERY  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER XIII. RESTITUTION  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER XIV. NEW QUARTERS AND OLD FRIENDS  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER XV. AFTERNOON TEA  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER XVI. APRIL SHOWERS  
  
  
    
  [CHAPTER XVII. FAREWELL TO THE STUDIO
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Miss Pat at School
  
  
  ### Pemberton Ginther
  
  
  This page formatted 2007 Blackmask Online.
  
  http://www.blackmask.com  
    
  
  
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  [CHAPTER I. THE TWO NEW STUDENTS
  
  
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  [CHAPTER II. GETTING ACQUAINTED
  
  
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  [CHAPTER III. ANTICIPATION
  
  
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  [CHAPTER IV. THE INITIATIONS
  
  
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  [CHAPTER V. THE GHOST DANCE
  
  
  