It's the First Day of School...Forever!

by R. L. Stine

Overview

On the first day of school, Artie falls out of his bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he's dizzy and she says, "You're just worried about your first day in a new school."

At breakfast, his little brother, Eddie, splashes syrup in his hair, and there's no time to wash it. Artie has to go to school with syrup-hair. And then, on the way there, he gets splashed by a puddle that makes him look like he wet his pants. It's not just the first day of school; it's the worst day of school.

On the second day of school, Artie falls out of bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he's dizzy and she says, "You're just worried about your first day in a new school."

Huh? Today is just like the day before. Can Artie find a way to change it, before it's the first day of school…forever?

"A fast and goofy romp" (Booklist) that "delivers the hilarity and horror that readers love" (School Library Journal), from the master of children's horror, R.L. Stine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250004765
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	05/22/2012
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	292,256
Product dimensions:	5.28(w) x 7.46(h) x 0.53(d)
Lexile:	400L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Before R. L. Stine made his name as the Stephen King of children's literature, he was the author of humorous fiction and an editor of Bananas magazine. He is the bestselling author of more than three hundred books, including the phenomenally bestselling Goosebumps series. It's the First Day of School . . . Forever! is Stine's first book with Feiwel and Friends.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

October 8, 1943

Place of Birth:

Columbus, Ohio

Education:

B.A., Ohio State University, 1965

Website:

http://www.rlstine.com

Read an Excerpt

From It’s the First Day of School . . . Forever:

I started to climb the stone steps that led to the white double doors at the entrance. I was halfway up when I recognized the man in the brown suit at the top.

He was Mr. Jenks, the principal. I’d met him when Mom and Dad brought me to see my new school for the first time. He was shaking hands and greeting every student.

“Artie, hello,” he said. He reached out and shook my hand. I smelled peppermint on his breath. “Welcome to Ardmore.”

I was nearly through the front door when I heard a commotion behind me.
 
Kids shouted.
 
A dog barked.
 
“Huh?” I spun around and instantly recognized the big dog racing up the stairs.
 
“Wowser?”
 
Oh no. he followed me to school.
 
“Wowser—down!” I shouted.
 
But the dog never listens to me.
 
I watched helplessly as the giant monster dog—my giant monster dog—tretched onto his hind legs. Leaped onto Mr. Jinks. Licked the principal’s face. Pawed his shoulders, leaving big mud stains all over.

Then I heard a loud RRRRIPPPP as Wowser tore the jacket pocket right off the principal’s brown suit.

Mr. Jenk’s face turned bright red. “Artie,” he said softly. “Is this your dog?”

Editorial Reviews

Stine takes the normal anxieties of childhood—in this case, the first day at a new school—and blends exaggerated humor with a few equally exaggerated moments of horror in a fast and goofy romp. Lots of fun for Stine fans.” —Booklist

“As usual, Stine delivers the hilarity and horror that readers love, and his mastery of sustaining mood will not disappoint. The humor and descriptive first, first day of school allow for faster pacing in the subsequent days, and kids will love the twist at the end.” —School Libary Journal

“Stine's signature blend of horror and humor, combined with an unexpected ending, offers a fresh view on a familiar idea.” —ABC New York

“The genuinely scary encounters in Ardmore's basement will get kids racing through the pages. And the surprising twist in the end provides the just right explanation for it all.” —ReadKiddoRead.com

“R. L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series, brings his unique blend of storytelling, suspense, humor and horror to It's the First Day of School . . . Forever! . . . . Stine's many fans will not be disappointed in this book, and anyone who likes mysteries, humor or scary books will enjoy it as well.” —BookPage

“Stine excels in describing events every school child fears. His young fans will find this one a satisfying read.” —TeensReadToo.com

“A preteen horror take on Groundhog Day . . . . Great fun as ever, supplied by genre's most prolific and reliable master.” —Kirkus

“Blending comedy with his trademark brand of bestselling horror, Stine's take on a Groundhog Day–style premise stars a fifth grader stuck reliving his disastrous first day at a new school.… There's some expected repetition as Artie's day replays, but Stine's embellishments—including plenty of chapter cliffhangers and a twist ending—keep things wickedly funny (Artie is a ready source of quips and one-liners) and increasingly ghoulish (on the second go-round, the dog bites the principal's hand; later, he bites the hand off). After bearing witness to the injuries, humiliations, and terrors that Artie faces, even readers' toughest days at school will feel like a breeze.” —Publishers Weekly

“Intriguing and well written, this nightmare inducing novel will appeal to any fan of the Goosebumps series of books.” —Danielle Williams, Children's Literature

From the Publisher

Blending comedy with his trademark brand of bestselling horror, Stine's take on a Groundhog Day–style premise stars a fifth grader stuck reliving his disastrous first day at a new school. Arriving at school with syrup in his hair and the front of his jeans soaked, Artie discovers he's been followed by his dog, who tears the principal's suit. Like falling dominoes, a sequence of debacles follows: Artie hits a popular boy with a baseball (and later causes him to fall and break his leg), lets the valuable class scorpion escape, has a spaghetti-related accident at lunch, and wanders into the girls' bathroom. There's some expected repetition as Artie's day replays, but Stine's embellishments—including plenty of chapter cliffhangers and a twist ending—keep things wickedly funny (Artie is a ready source of quips and one-liners) and increasingly ghoulish (on the second go-round, the dog bites the principal's hand; later, he bites the hand off). After bearing witness to the injuries, humiliations, and terrors that Artie faces, even readers' toughest days at school will feel like a breeze. Ages 9–12. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Stine's signature blend of horror and humor, combined with an unexpected ending, offers a fresh view on a familiar idea.

ABC New York

As usual, Stine delivers the hilarity and horror that readers love, and his mastery of sustaining mood will not disappoint. The humor and descriptive first, first day of school allow for faster pacing in the subsequent days, and kids will love the twist at the end.

SLJ

Stine takes the normal anxieties of childhood--in this case, the first day at a new school--and blends exaggerated humor with a few equally exaggerated moments of horror in a fast and goofy romp. Lots of fun for Stine fans.

Booklist

An engaging and welcome addition to children's library audiobook collections, highly recommended.

The Midwest Book Review

Artie is pretty lovable. You have to root for this kid who is trying to do everything right, but ends up doing everything wrong, even when he's lived through it once or twice.

5 Minutes for Books

Gr 3–5—Artie Howard experiences the worst first day of school ever as a new fifth grader at Ardmore Middle School. He hits his head when he falls out of bed in the morning, gets electrocuted, has syrup splashed all over his shirt and hair, his dog bites the pocket of his principal's blazer, he kills his class's pet scorpion, he makes enemies with the most popular guy at school, and he discovers weird happenings in the basement book room. And that's only half of it! To make matters worse, when Artie wakes up the next morning, he is doomed to repeat his first day of school all over again, and each iteration is more bizarre than the last. As usual, Stine delivers the hilarity and horror that readers love, and his mastery of sustaining mood will not disappoint. The humor and descriptive first, first day of school allow for faster pacing in the subsequent days, and kids will love the twist at the end.—Adrienne L. Strock, Maricopa County Library District, AZ

School Library Journal

A preteen horror take onGroundhog Day.

Artie's first day at Ardmore Middle School starts off badly: Before he even leaves the house he's fallen out of bed, zapped himself plugging in the cellphone charger and been squirted with syrup by his little brother. It gets so radically worse that by the afternoon he's received the dismaying news that a gang has been dispatched to beat him up on the way home at the Principal's request. Before that can happen, to his astonishment, he's suddenly waking up in bed. Was it a dream? Hard to say, because again he falls out of bed, zaps himself, gets squirted and goes on to another first day that is nearly the same but even more disastrous. And then again. Each round gets shorter but weirder as Artie's struggles to head off catastrophes he knows are coming lead to bizarre accidents, wild chases, scary discoveries in the school's dank, dark basement and, at last, a truly memorable encounter with an oversized custodian who disintegrates into a pack of weasels. After that, it's almost a letdown when Stine explains Artie's misadventures with a logical and obvious revelation.

Great fun as ever, supplied by genre's most prolific and reliable master.(Humorous horror fantasy. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews