The Loud House Back To School Special by The Loud House Creative Team

The Loud Family is back… and back to school! If you need a fun way to help ease your kids into the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year, then there are certainly worse ways than to hand them this collection of short comics inspired by the Nickelodeon series, revolving around the titular theme.

Which theme has the kids going back to school or, like eldest child Lori, enrolling in Fairway University. My personal favorite vignettes were the ones that followed her as she got familiar with her new campus and its emphasis on golf. I really enjoyed watching her introduce Lincoln and friends to the cafeteria, and empathized with her later panic over getting the perfect gifts for everyone. Gosh, how long has it been since I’ve read another book set in college? Was it Vera Kurian’s Never Saw Me Coming from last September? Regardless, I’m a little taken aback at my own enthusiasm over the very relatable setting.

Kids who haven’t yet been to college will also find plenty to relate to as Lincoln attempts to dodge his hall monitor sister Lynn, and winds up getting involved in several special projects courtesy of both his teachers and his friends. Said teachers also get their time in the spotlight, as do the kids in pre-K, including Lincoln’s littlest sister Lily. Meanwhile, Ronnie Anne and Sid find themselves trying to figure out how to pass gym class’ final and biggest test under the curmudgeonly eye of returning Coach Crawford. There’s also a funny little diversion into the history of clowns with the Morticians Club: I was genuinely surprised to learn something new in their vignette.

Overall, this is another entertaining if slight volume that ties in nicely with the cartoon. It’s great for readers with shorter attention spans, which might be quite a few kids you know as the long days of summer, in this hemisphere at least, draw to a close!

The Loud House Back To School Special by The Loud House Creative Team was published today July 26 2022 by Papercutz and is available from all good booksellers, including