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Summary
Summary
Welcome to Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions, the premier trainer of minions for Evil Overlords everywhere. No student is prouder to be at Dr. Critchlore's than Runt Higgins, a twelve-year-old werewolf. (At least he thinks he's twelve. He was abandoned at the school as a baby, so he can't say for sure.) Runt loves everything about Dr. Critchlore's. He loves his classes - like History of Henchmen and Introduction to Explosives. He loves his friends - like Darthin the gargoyle and Syke the tree nymph. And he loves his foster family, who took him in when his wolf pack couldn't.
But not everyone loves Dr. Critchlore's as much as Runt. After a series of disasters, each worse than the next, it's clear that someone is trying to shut the school down. It's up to Runt, who knows the place better than anybody, to figure out who's behind the attacks . . . and to save his home, and Dr. Critchlore himself, from total destruction.
Praise for Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions
"An Addams Family for a new generation, filled with bizarre, peculiar, and sometimes downright silly characters. Readers, whether evil or not, are going to love the imaginative world that is Dr. Critchlore's." - Michael Buckley, bestselling author of the NERDS and Sisters Grimm series
"Werewolves, minions, evil overlords, junior henchmen, AND terrifying girl explorers. Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions has got it covered. Clever and funny. I laughed throughout!" - Andrea Beaty, author of Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies and the bestselling Rosie Revere, Engineer
"Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions is one cool ghoul school, but behind the monstrous mayhem and creepy, comedic antics is a heartfelt theme of friendship. Evil Overlords need not force their minions to enjoy this spooktacular romp!" - Tony DiTerlizzi, co-creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles
"A droll addition to the magical school genre, worthy of a seat toward the front of the (Harry) Potter-wagon." - Kirkus Reviews
Author Notes
Sheila Grau is a writer living in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and four children. Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions is her first book.
Joe Sutphin has been illustrating since he was small. He lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Twelve-year-old Runt Higgins feels cursed. Between being cast out from his werewolf pack, failing in his bid to become a junior-henchman-in-training, and being trailed by Pismo (an annoying newbie who keeps getting Runt in trouble), nothing about the new school year at Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions is going his way. Worse still, it seems like someone is trying to sabotage the school. In this series opener, first-time novelist Grau turns familiar tropes upside-down in a realm where working for an evil overlord is the highest of honors. Goofy characters like Frankie, a minion whose head pops off every time he's overcome with emotion, come to ghoulish life in Sutphin's dynamic b&w illustrations. Runt's hapless attempts to do the right thing make him easily relatable amid themes of conquering self-doubt, wrestling with perfectionism (as one character puts it, "You can't get upset about what you're not"), and searching for a place to belong, whether it's with a family bound by blood or one created in a lab. Ages 8-12. Author's agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Twelve-year-old werewolf Runt Higgins might not be able to transform into a ferocious beast (yet), but he will do whatever it takes to save Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions when he discovers that someone is trying to shut down the monster-training institution. This funny magical-boarding-school story is a natural choice for Harry Potter devotees. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Runt Higgins is beginning his third year as a minion-in-training at the eponymous school, and his year is not getting off to an auspicious start. Nothing goes right for him: he serves serial detentions for tardiness; imps are making his life miserable; he has to herd zombies by whining at them; and his junior henchman trainee status is threatened by a competition to whittle the pool to five. Worse than that, a saboteur is attacking the school, and Runt, who was abandoned as a toddler at the school, is determined to protect the only home he has ever known. The plot thickens quickly as Runt and his friends race to unravel it. Grau keeps her readers guessing who the big bad is, and the answer may surprise them. Characters are drawn broadly and deftly in a matter-of-fact way and bring to mind cheesy but fun movies. The loopy cartoonlike illustrations highlight the story perfectly. Put this book to work with Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books or the H.I.V.E. series, by Mark Walden.--Scanlon, Donna Copyright 2015 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Runt Higgins is a werewolf. Well, sort of. He swears he turned once when he was seven, but his canines just won't come in. Luckily, Runt attends Dr. Critchlore's School for Minions, where "Slow and steady wins the race, if you have minions to sabotage your opponent." In her debut, Grau introduces a contemporary fantasy world that is a perfect blend of Hogwarts and Monsters University. Readers learn quickly, however, that all is not well in minion-land. Something is amiss at the School, and Runt is sniffing out the trouble. Backed by a humorous band of friends-Syke the half-nymph, Eloni the troll, and Frank 25, who can't keep his head on straight (literally)-Runt is on a mission to expose the evildoers sabotaging his school. Dr. Critcholore's is well paced, despite an overly pat resolution, complete with twists, red herrings, and zombies. The narrative is sometimes distracted by an overuse of canine-inspired expletives ("Dog Whistles!"), and readers are likely to be skeptical of the just-add-water friendship that blossoms in the last few chapters, but the humor alone keeps this one going. If readers still need convincing, just turn to one of the fantastic illustrations of zombies. Recommended for advanced elementary school readers and reluctant middle graders, this will appeal to a wide audience.-Taylor Worley, Springfield Public Library, OR (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Will assaults from within and without close a renowned school for minionsleaving the Evil Overlords of the world to draw from rival schools? Not if Runt Higgins, newest addition to the exclusive Junior Henchman Training program, has anything to say about it. The deck looks stacked, though. A devastating video of panicked Critchlore grads fleeing a group of (apparent!) Girl Explorers has gone viral, and an ongoing string of near disasters prevents recovery. Not only that, a massive explosion in the local graveyard has robbed the school of its chief source of undead new students. Even worse, iron-willed headmaster Dr. Derek Critchlore has suddenly taken to distractedly watching TV soaps and is in danger of being replaced. Kind, thoughtful and so nave that he's continually being victimized by pranksters, Runt really isn't henchman materialbut significant clues and loose ends hint that he'll be achieving a higher station in planned sequels. Moreover, Grau supplies him with loyal friends from half-ogre foster brother Boris to bolt-necked Frank Twenty-five, whose head tends to fly off in a shower of gore when he's upset. Frequent side jokes and Sutphin's accomplished caricatures of students, faculty and staff, both human and non-, add comical flourishes. A droll addition to the magical school genre, worthy of a seat toward the front of the (Harry) Potter-wagon. (pictorial cast list) (Fantasy. 11-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
