Showing posts with label Goosebumps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goosebumps. Show all posts

Thursday, January 6, 2022

[Review] - Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Judy and the Beast by R.L. Stine


The Goosebumps franchise will be turning the big 30 this year. So, in other words, I've been reading R.L. Stine's scary tales for over thirty years.  Yes, I feel old just writing that. 

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

[Review] - Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Fifth-Grade Zombies by R.L. Stine


I've never been hush about my love for Goosebumps. Yes, I'm a soon-to-be 40-year-old who still collects middle-grade books, and I'm proud of it. I still remember finding the original two books Welcome to Dead House and Stay Out of the Basement at a small Walmart in the summer of 1992. Back then, I was a few weeks shy from officially becoming a fifth-grader, and my 11th birthday was just around the corner. I don't know what attracted me to the books more, the creepy covers or the author's name - R.L. Stine. If my memory serves me correctly, I was already reading Fear Streets novels before Goosebumps, so the name R.L. Stine was already a permanent fixture in my young mind. By the time school rolled around in late August, I quickly learned I wasn't the only Goosebumps fan in my class. It seems every middle-schooler read these books to death in the '90s, and I guess kids still read the original 62 Goosebumps books, which would explain why Scholastic has continued to published new editions with new covers.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

[Review] - Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Monster Blood Is Back by R.L. Stine

Available on AMAZON.


If you're nearing 40, as I am, then more than likely, you grew up reading the Goosebumps books written by R.L. Stine (author of the popular teen Fear Street series). Just in case you don't know what I'm talking about, let me give you a history listen. Goosebumps was a hugely popular children's book series throughout the 1990s. From 1992 to the end of 1997, R.L. Stine published 62 Twilight Zone-like stories that gave every young reader nightmares. Goosebumps quickly became a brand name, starting with the Fox Kids television series that ran for 74 episodes. Spinoff books soon followed, such as Give Yourself Goosebumps, Tales To Give You Goosebumps, and Goosebumps 2000, and a slew of merchandise (bookmarks, games, toys, etc.). As fans became older, they moved on to other things, which resulted in the downfall of the franchise. After a hiatus, R.L. Stine returned to the world of Goosebumps with the spinoff series Horrorland in 2009, followed by two other spinoffs, Most Wanted and SlappyWorld, and two film adaptations, Goosebumps and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Review - Goosebumps SlappyWorld: My Friend Slappy by R.L. Stine

 

Everyone's favorite ventriloquist's dummy is back in Goosebumps Slappyworld: My Friend Slappy by R.L. Stine. To be more precise, Scholastic released the book on October 6th, 2020, and due to unfortunate events, I am just now getting around to read to review it.

My Friend Slappy is the 12th installment of the newest incarnation of the Goosebumps franchise. Goosebumps SlappyWorld debuted in 2017 with Slappy as the narrator, and occasionally he plays the villain within whatever story he's telling. The main character in this tale is 6th grader Barton "Sluggs" Suggs. When he's not being bullied by his classmates Kelly and Travis, he's hanging out his only real friend, Lizzie Hellman. Well, that's until his father gives him a special present - a ventriloquist's dummy named Slappy!

Barton quickly learns that Slappy isn't your typical dummy, as he can walk and talk just like a human being, but there's a twist - Slappy is pure evil. Yep, that's right! At first, all Slappy wants to do is terrorize Barton, but he changes his mind once he learns the boy needs a best friend to show him how to get back at Kelly and Travis.

In the world of Goosebumps, the saying "Best Friend Forever" isn't a good thing, and poor Barton's new pal becomes a living nightmare for him.


Final Thoughts

I don't know about other Goosebumps readers, but I was starting to get a Slappy fatigue. Don't get me wrong, I love the character, but each new story involving a ventriloquist's dummy feels the same. A 12-year-old protagonist would either receive Slappy as a gift or somehow stumble upon Slappy by themself. Then Slappy comes to life and turns the kid's life upside down.  

 

My Friend Slappy starts with the exact formula, but thanks to a few interesting twists, the story has a different outcome. Barton is the protagonist in this tale, and he's more fleshed out than typical your typical Goosebumps character would be. The poor kid has to deal with bullies and Slappy at the same time.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Goosebumps SlappyWorld: My Friend Slappy. It's one of the better entries in the Slappyworld series, but the "shocking" ending could have been better.


Saturday, May 2, 2020

Review - Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Diary of a Dummy


I was a few months shy of being an 11-year-old during the summer of 1992 when I first ventured into the haunted world of Goosebumps by R.L. Stine after stumbling upon Welcome to Dead House and Stay Out of the Basement at a Walmart. I had no clue how popular the series would become until I saw other middle graders reading the books. Then it became a phenomenon when the low-budget anthology series debuted on Fox Kids in 1995. The love for all things Goosebumps disappeared by the start of the new millennium. Scholastic relaunched the Goosebumps franchise in 2008 with R.L. Stine returning to write the spinoffs Horrorland, Most Wanted, and SlappyWorld.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Fall Reads: Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Revenge of the Invisible Boy by R.L. Stine


*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Barnes & Noble; Amazon
Hop into a time machine and travel back to the early 1990s, a time when I was in elementary school and was reading a R.L. Stine's Goosebumps book monthly. Yeah, believe it or not, between 1992 and 1997, R.L. Sine cranked out 62 Goosebumps installments and sold around 4 million copies monthly. After the 1998-2000 spinoff Goosebumps 2000 series ended, fans would have to wait until 2009 until the next series, Goosebumps Horrorland, was published. Every since then, R.L. Stine has been releasing a few new Goosebumps titles, with latest being Goosebumps Slappyworld: Revenge of the Invisible Boy ($3.99; Scholastic; 151 pages).

Like the previous 8 entries in the SlappyWorld spinoff series, this book is hosted by everyone's favorite Goosebumps villain - Slappy, the ventriloquist dummy. Sometimes, Slappy includes himself into the story but not this time. Instead, the story focuses on Frankie Miller, a twelve-year-old at Han Solo Middle School in Barberton, Ohio. Along with his friends Melody Richmond and Edurado Martinez, he's part of a Magic Club with his nemesis, Ari Goodwyn, who likes to play tricks on everyone.

The Magic Club gang are more than excited when they learn the legendary magician, Mystical Marvin, is going to preforming at the Town Center, and thanks to Frankie's dad being on the city council, they have tickets to the big event!

Shortly after the event, the gang goes backstage to meet Mystical Marvin, who shows them a secret formula he uses to disappear. To get back at Ari for all of his tricks, Frankie puts a few drops of the formula into his lemonade. However, Ari is smarter than he looks and switches Frankie's drink his own. Let just say the formula and lemonade don't mix well together and Frankie turns into the invisible boy!

Final Thoughts

Monday, April 22, 2019

Spring Reads: Goosebumps SlappyWorld: It's Alive! It's Alive!


$7.99; B&N; Amazon
In the late summer of 1992, I recall browsing through the book section at a extremely small Walmart. It was there that I stumbled upon the first Goosebumps book (Welcome to Dead House) by R.L. Stine and I was instantly hooked. Fast forward to 2019, where I'm a lot older, but still a diehard Goosebumps fan!!

If you weren't already aware, the Goosebumps franchise is still going today with the latest spinoff "SlappyWorld," which features the #1 Goosebumps villain Slappy as the host of each installment. The 7th title in the series It's Alive! It's Alive! was released to bookstores in February by Scholastic.

The book centers around Livvy Jones, a young girl who's excited about participating in the Springdale Robots Meet, which is a Robotic competition. She has teamed up with her best friend, Gates Warwas, and between the two of them, they have created a life size robot, Francine, that has been programmed with the greatest abilities imaginable - cracking eggs and cooking an omelette!

Sounds exiting, right?

It's at least exciting for Livvy and Gates; well, until their robot goes berserk and attempts to do harm to the other robots on their team. Thanks goodness Livvy's parents are computer programmers and experts in artificial intelligence, as they can help reprogram the robot.

However, Francine continues to malfunction. Does the robot have a mind of its own?

Final Thoughts

Monday, October 29, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Goosebumps SlappyWorld: The Ghost of Slappy


Scholastic; 160 pagers; Amazon
I could never have a Halloween event without featuring one Goosebumps title! 

I've been reading and collecting Goosebumps books since the very first book was released back in 1992! The latest spinoff series is titled Goosebumps SlappyWorld, which features the #1 Goosebumps villain Slappy as the host of each and every tale. 

The newest entry "The Ghost of Slappy" centers around Shep Mooney, who's scared of anything supernatural related, especially ghosts! Shep thinks that his basement is haunted by a ghost named Annalee, but neither his parents nor his younger sister, Patti, believes him. 

Maybe a camping trip will make Shep forget about the ghost. His class is having a sleepover in the woods. Sounds like fun, right?

Think again!

His teacher, Mr. Hanson, has brought along a very special gift for the trip - a ventriloquist dummy named Slappy! It seems Mr. Hanson had found the dummy in an attic and thought it would be fun to bring it for the campout. Mr. Hanson is aware about the curse that was put on the dummy and tells the story to Shep and classmates. 

After the camping trip is over, Slappy decides to stalk Shep and his family, but the boy is one step ahead of the dummy. However, Shep doesn't know that Slappy has a few new tricks up his sleeve!


Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Summer Reads: Goosebumps Slappyworld: Escape From Shudder Mansion by R.L. Stine

Scholastic; $6.99; 154 pages; Amazon

Many children's books from the 1990s have quickly fizzled and disappeared, but that isn't the case for the popular Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. Since 1992, Mr. Stine has been scaring young readers with his Twilight Zone-like tales. The fifth book in the Goosebumps SlappyWorld spinoff series, titled "Escape From Shudder Mansion," just arrived in paperback last month.

The book centers around Riley Shiner, a twelve-year-old who is obsessed with the video game "Escape From Shudder Mansion," which he believes is based on an actual haunted house in his neighborhood. Though the house looks exactly like the one in the game, nobody believes him, not even his twin sister, Scarlet. He's seen the horrors in the game, so he wants nothing to do with the real house.

Unfortunately for Riley, he has to get over his fears of Shudder Mansion when his teacher splits his class into groups and gives them an assignment which involves the kids making an adventure documentary. Riley is paired up with his sister, along with Danitia, Carter, and Cheng. What is their assignment? There assigned to spend the night inside Shudder Mansion.

Despite objections from Riley, he follows his sister, her new weird friend Mia, and their classmates to Shudder Mansion. While their parents stay on the first floor, the kids take their GoPro cameras and explore the upper floors of the mansion. Riley is the only one who has played the video game, so he already knows what horrors are awaiting them.


Final Thoughts

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Summer Review: Goosebumps Slappyworld: Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo

Scholastic; 152 pages; $7.99; Amazon

It's a great year to be a Goosebumps fan, as there will be a new movie, titled Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween, being released to theaters in October. Until then, you can by your time by reading the new installments of the Goosebumps Slappyworld series.

Early this year, Scholastic released Goosebumps Slappyworld: Please Do Not Feed The Weirdo by R.L. Stine, which is the 4th entry in the spinoff book series. Unlike the previous spinoffs, this one is hosted by the ventriloquist dummy named Slappy, who's the most popular antagonist of the Goosebumps franchise.

"Please Don't Feed The Weirdo" centers on a Jordan Keppler, a twelve-year-old who finds himself visiting Carnival World along with his young sister, Karla, and their parents. Most kids would be excited to visit a carnival, but not Jordan, as he has a fear of scary rides. Nevertheless, Jordan accompanies his sister on the Tunnel of Fear ride, which will change their lives forever.

How exactly do their lives change?

Well, while getting stuck inside the Tunnel of Fear ride, they come across a boy named Robby, who was locked inside a cage. Ignoring the warning sign "Please Do Not Feed The Weirdo," Jordan and Karla feed the boy, which turns him into a monster, who just won't go away.

Final Thoughts

Friday, March 31, 2017

Spring Reads: Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Slappy Birthday To You


Scholastic; 156 pages; $6.99; Amazon
Now available from Scholastic is the first book in the all new Goosebumps series, titled SlappyWorld: Slappy Birthday To You, featuring the fan favorite villain - the ventriloquist dummy named Slappy.

In a slight change of format from the Goosebumps Most Wanted series, SlappyWorld begins with a short introduction by Slappy himself, followed by the first part of the story. Occasionally, Slappy interrupts the story for a page or two; typically adding some slapstick humor.

The main character in this tale is Ian Barker, who is forced to celebrate his twelfth birthday with his younger sister, Molly, and their two annoying cousins Jonny and Vinny.

Ian's father repairs dolls for a living, (Yep, that's a real job!) and he gives Ian a ventriloquist dummy named Slappy. The dummy was sent to be repaired by Mr. Barker, but it came with no return address. After a year passed by, Mr. Barker decided to give the dummy to Ian, who has been wanting a ventriloquist dummy for years.

Of course Slappy is no ordinary dummy, (He even has his own Wikipedia page!). After Ian's cousin reads the words off a mysterious piece of paper - "Karru   Marri   Odonna   Loma   Molonu   Karrano!,"strange things begin to occur in the Barker household, all of which points to one conclusion - Slappy is alive!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

31 Days of Halloween: Goosebumps Most Wanted: The Lizard of Oz




Scholastic; 154 pages; $6.99; Amazon
I couldn't have a Halloween event on my blog without at least featuring one "Goosebumps" title. R.L. Stine has been scaring kids to death since the early 1990s with his Twilight Zone inspired book series. Each book is written from the point-of-view of a kid between the age 10-13, where he or she would have some sort of scary adventure. Typically, the books would have shocking endings.

The newest entry is titled Goosebumps Most Wanted: The Lizard of Oz (book 10 in the "Most Wanted" series). It begins with a quick introduction by R.L. Stine, who is showing the readers the Most Wanted poster of a lizard in the Goosebumps office. Then the story jumps to point-of-view of Kate Lipton, a twelve-year-old, with a very odd family, and, no, she isn't taking about her little brother, Freddy.

Out of nowhere, Kate's parents had decided to quit their jobs and start a miniature pony farm in Middle Village, Pennsylvania. After that plan failed, they tried to start a miniature pony petting farm, and you can probably guess that that idea didn't work either.

After borrowing money from relatives, the Lipton family travels to Australia. It seems her parents have always been obsessed with lizards, and that's exactly why they are in Australia - so they can get a rare lizard. After meeting a strange man named Dr. Gregg, her parents convinced him to let them buy a Tasmanian Cobra lizard egg to take back home.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Summer Reads: Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Edition: The Haunter


Scholastic; 192 pages; $7.99; Amazon
While Halloween is less than three months away, many publishers are already releasing books set around All Hallows' Eve. Scholastic released "Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Edition: The Haunter"  by R.L. Stine last month, which just happens to have a Halloween theme.

Similar to other Goosebumps Most Wanted titles, "The Haunter" opens up with a short prologue where R.L. Stine points out the readers to the "The Haunter" Most Wanted poster. Instead of telling the story himself about the monster, he quickly introduces us to Sammy Baker, the main character of this story.

Twelve-year-old Sammy is dreading Halloween, which is only days away, mostly because he's afraid of anything that is scary! He's not the most popular kid at Grover Cleveland Middle School, though he does have one good friend, Bill "Buzzy" Buzzner, who is the complete opposite of him as Buzzy is not afraid of anything. 

Out of the blue, Sammy's teacher, Miss Flake, announced that the class will split into groups for a Halloween-themed assignment, and of course he is given a scary subject to write about - "Are Haunted Houses Real?" 

The Good News
  • Sammy's crush, Summer Magee, is in the group.
  • Buzzy is also in the group.

The Bad News:
  • Sammy's nemesis, Rubin, is in the group.
  • They are going to play "Ghost Hunters" and explore the haunted Marple House on Halloween Night!

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Summer Reads: Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Editon #3 - Trick Or Trap


Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Editon 3 - Trick Or Trap
by R.L. Stine
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub. Date: July 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0545627788
Pages: 192
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:
 
It's almost hard to believe that the first Goosebumps title by R.L. Stine was published in 1992. I was nearly twelve-years-old when I stumbled upon "Welcome to Dead House" in the book section at a Walmart and I've been a fan of the series ever since. This is a big year for Goosebumps fans as the first feature film will released in October with Jack Black playing a fictional version of R.L. Stine. Until then, fans can entertain themselves with the newest book - Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Edition #3 - Trick Or Trap!

This installment centers on Scott Harmon, a twelve-year-old that is afraid of almost anything, especially his little sister, Rita, who is always playing tricks on him and his best friend, Amanda Gold. Rita isn't the only one that likes to bother them as the school bullies, Morty and Mickey, are always trying to scare them, which they always succeed in doing.

To prove that he isn't a scaredy cat and that he has the guts to standup to the bullies, he talks Amanda in going with him to the old abandoned house near the cemetery that everyone thinks is haunted! The plan is to have Amanda take a picture of Scott inside the house, but things don't exactly go as planned.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Review - Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Edition #1: Zombie Halloween


Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Edition #1: Zombie Halloween
by R. L. Stine
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub. Date: June 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0545627764
Pages: 192 pages
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Believe it or not, R. L. Stine has been haunting and thrilling young readers with his Goosebumps books for twenty-two years. There was a popular television series based on the books that aired in the late '90s, as well as the upcoming big-screen adaption starring Jack Black, scheduled to hit theaters next summer. Though the last book was published in 1997, there has been several spinoff series published, including the newest series, Goosebumps: Most Wanted, which debuted in 2012.

The newest addition, Zombie Halloween, is the first Special Edition in the Most Wanted series and centers on twelve-year-old Kenny Manzetti and his twin sister, Tricia, whom, along with their parents, moved into an old house across from a cemetery to take care of Grandpa Mo. While Kenny has already made a new best friend, Alec Schwartzman, Tricia hasn't made any new friends, but she hopes to make a few at their "zombie" themed Halloween party.

Speaking of zombies, a few teenagers appeared on the local news, all claiming that zombies attacked them near the cemetery. Kenny and Alec are both big fans of The Walking Zombies television series and they are eager to investigate the cemetery in the attempt of finding real zombies, but Tricia and Grandpa Mo tag along with them.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Review - Goosebumps Most Wanted: Creature Teacher: The Final Exam

Goosebumps Most Wanted - Creature Teacher: The Final Exam
By R.L. Stine
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub. Date: February 25, 2014
List Price: $6.99
ASIN: 978-0545627733
Pages: 160
Buy Links: Paperback, Kindle

Review:

Author R.L. Stine has been scaring kids with his Goosebumps books since 1992. The creepy book series was inspired by the Twilight Zone, in which both usually had a shocking ending, but course Stine's stories involved kids as the main characters. A television series of the same name aired from 1995 to 1998, which most of the episodes have crawled their way onto DVDs over the last several years. The books were so popular that several spin-off series were created, Give Yourself Goosebumps, Tales to Give You Goosebumps and Goosebumps Presents and Goosebumps Series 2000. Stine took a slight break from the Goosebumps world, but returned in 2008 with a brand-new series Goosebumps Horrorland and later followed by Goosebumps Hall of Horrors.

The latest series is titled Goosebumps Most Wanted, where Stine's favorite villains return to haunt a new generation of readers. The newest installment, Creature Teacher: The Final Exam, hit bookshelves yesterday; which is a sequel to 1998's Goosebumps Series 2000: Creature Teacher.

This terrifying tale centers on twelve-year-old Tommy Farrelly, who is not looking forward to spending the rest of his summer at Winner Island Camp, a camp that teaches you how to become a winner. The camp's tag-line is: Winners Are Always Winners. His parents are winners at everything, as well as his younger sister, so he is being sent to a strange camp to learn how to be like them.

Upon arriving at Winner's Island Camp a few days late, Tommy meets Ricardo and Sophie and learns of the camp's terrible secret. Each kid will leave the camp a winner, well, except for one loser - who will be eaten by the "teacher" Mrs. Maaargh, and Tommy happens to be on the bottom of the winners' list.