GOOSEBUMPS RISES FROM LITERARY GRAVEBy Brian Stelter writing in the New York Times March 25, 2008
When R. L. Stine’s characters confront a creepy villain, they may gasp, they may shiver, they may even cringe. Mostly, though, they shriek.
Author pic left by Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times
The best-selling author R. L. Stine is hoping to frighten a new generation of readers with a new “Goosebumps” series.
With his new “Goosebumps HorrorLand” books, R. L. Stine returns to the series for which he is best known.
“That’s when I started to scream” may be the most frequently used chapter ending in the hugely successful children’s horror series “Goosebumps,” which a decade ago catapulted Mr. Stine to prominence. Now, for the first time in eight years, during which Mr. Stine tried his hand at creating other series, he is back with a fresh “Goosebumps.” Can he resuscitate the dormant brand?
“Maybe it’ll be hard to do a second time,” he said. “Maybe it’ll happen again. Right now I don’t know.”Mr. Stine, who was born Robert Lawrence Stine 64 years ago, devotes considerable effort to the cliffhangers that virtually dare you to try to stop reading. For years it paid off with a sizable following of children — many of them now just getting out of college or having children of their own — for whom the slightly scary “Goosebumps” series was a sensation before it cooled off in the mid-’90s, just before Harry Potter took off in the United States.
Now his American publisher, Scholastic, hoping that another generation of readers ages 8 to 12 is ready for his stories, is releasing the first of 12 books in a new series called “Goosebumps HorrorLand.” The author and his publisher must know the odds are against lightning striking twice.
Then again, Mr. Stine said, he often receives requests for new “Goosebumps” books.
Sitting with two dozen shy-looking students in the library of Oak Street Elementary School in Basking Ridge, N.J., one recent rainy afternoon, Mr. Stine asked how many “Goosebumps” books they had read. Frank Petrillo, a fourth grader, proudly cited his tally — 38 — and then asked excitedly, “When are the ‘Goosebumps HorrorLand’ books going to come out?”
Mr. Stine and his editors at Scholastic are betting that boys like Frank will rekindle interest in the series — which, they are quick to say, never disappeared completely. In the new books Mr. Stine intends to link the scary stories of “Goosebumps” with a serialized tale set inside an evil amusement park called HorrorLand. The children in the first book are invited to the park, where they discover a werewolf petting zoo, bottomless canoes, a quicksand beach and other wicked attractions. Their misfortunes will be chronicled in serial form in 30-page installments at the end of the subsequent books, which will focus on different characters.
At the same time, the stories will continue online at two companion Web sites for the theme park, enterhorrorland.com and escapehorrorland.com.
These books have lured many a child (particularly the boys I think) into reading. Many parents & teachers considered them junk but the kids loved them and read them and that is the key to growing a reader.
ReplyDeleteThere are also Goosebumps titles available as graphic novels which is a great format for them, and again an excellent way to lure in those reluctant readers.