“She’s right to be worried.  I saw on TV that 80% of the children that disappear for more than 48 hours are later found dead and naked in a ditch.”
“48 hours?!  But, that’s horrible!  How much time do we have left?”
“Well done, Olga, very tactful!  Why don’t you tell us about the other 20% instead . . . ”
“Oh yeah . . . I imagine the other 20% are buried, so it takes longer to find them.”

Norman is just like the boy next door.  An adorable, little 8-year-old psychopathic killer whose mantra seems to be “Stab first, ask questions later.”

After dispatching his latest victim bearing school raffle tickets, classmate Norman thinks that everything is smooth sailing.  But, not so much, as class Queen Bee Grace decides she wants to know what happened to her soon-to-be-boyfriend Jeremy.   And, with the chatty, little devil on his shoulder dispensing advice that ranges from smart to suicidal before deciding to go and get a sandwich, Norman finds that his homework has a swiftly rising body count.  But, will the school sandbox be big enough to handle his endeavors?

Add to that a disillusioned alcoholic teacher with a penchant for giving underwear laps as punishment and a supporting cast straight out of South Park Central Casting and you’ve got the bloodiest, most gruesomely hilarious 2nd grade classroom since Charles Addams picked up a pencil.

Originally published in France, Stan Silas’ abbatoir of an elementary school is the place no child wants to end up.  His bright and colorful panels underline the darkness that already exists in children, serving to heighten it to the nth degree.  This is Charles Schultz meets Tim Burton, set in South Park.  Adorable, stumpy, little, manga-eyed moppets with attitudes of demons and mouths like sailors wreak havoc around them, whether plotting their next crimes or running séances to speak to the dead.  But, as Norman scrambles to cover up his nefarious deeds, he stumbles on a plot even more sinister than anything he could have concocted on his own.

If you like dark humor, you’re going to get your money’s worth with this volume.  And, if you don’t, just think about it the next time an adorable, little kid stops by your house bearing raffle tickets . . .

“Okay, I’m ready.  We can cut her up now.”
“Have you made sure she’s dead?  We don’t cut them up alive.  We’re not animals, after all”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”
SPROTCH!
“It’s okay. I checked”

VERDICT:             FIVE Chef Surprise Hot Lunch Fridays out of FIVE