NIGHT OF THE FRANKENFROGS

Four lovable misfits known collectively as the Creeps must save their school from hideous, electrified Frankenfrogs.

At Pumpkin County Middle School, monsters are a commonplace occurrence. Four ethnically diverse students—bespectacled Carol, a genius computer hacker; fashionista Rosario, the muscle of the group; lanky Mitchell, the brainiac; and diminutive Jarvis, the gadget maven who fears nothing—bravely battle these nefarious beings with little fanfare. After a bout with a particularly messy pudding monster, the Creeps are assigned janitorial duty to give their overburdened custodian some relief. When they're sent to retrieve some frozen frogs for dissection and find the amphibian specimens missing, they know that they’ve stumbled on their next mystery. Suddenly the fearsome foursome find themselves not only dealing with reanimated frogs, but also navigating dirty sewer tunnels and battling disgruntled teachers, evil-genius science-fair flunkies, and animal-activist students; how will they be able to save the day? An excellent complement to his prose, Schweizer's cleanly paneled art is bright and busy, ever ready with a gag that helps blend the ghastly with the goofy, making his gang’s antics reminiscent of Scooby Doo. Be sure to recommend this to fans of Jared Krosoczka's Lunch Lady series, who will certainly appreciate the similar humor.

Silly fun with a smattering of science.