About the Author

R.L. Stine is the creator of the bestselling Goosebumps series, which has more than 400 million copies in print worldwide and celebrated 25 years in 2017. Goosebumps is one of the bestselling children's series of all-time and inspired a popular television show, as well as a feature film starring Jack Black that opened at #1 at the box office. His other popular children's books include the series Fear Street, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room, and Rotten School, and his picture books, with Marc Brown, The Little Shop of Monsters and Mary McScary. R.L. Stine lives in New York City. You can connect with him on Twitter at @RL_Stine or Facebook: facebook.com/rlstine. For more information, visit rlstine.com and scholastic.com/goosebumps.

Reviews

Gr 3-6-Alissa Hunnicutt does a more than capable job reading these two related stories (Scholastic, pap. 2008) by R.L. Stine. In the first story, Hunnicutt superbly conveys the mounting fear that Britney Crosby feels towards her cousin Ethan's creepy old ventriloquist's dummy named Slappy, voicing him to sound like Donald Duck gone psycho. Of course, she has every reason to be terrified of the wooden sociopath, and she and a friend try to get rid of the cursed item. As usual, her parents don't believe her, sand this comes back to haunt them in the second story. The Crosby family and Britney's best friend go to Horrorland for a vacation. While most people might have suspected something weird was happening, the family falls for it hook, line and sinker. Stine ups the chills level by concluding the second story with the girls realizing that Britney's parents have disappeared, and Slappy is responsible. The abrupt ending leaves no doubt that the girls are doomed to the nasty fate hinted at in the Horrorland story. Effective and nearly constant sound effects enhance the telling and increase the tension. This production will definitely be a hit with the author's fans and listeners who relish scary tales.-B. Allison Gray, Santa Barbara County Library, CA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.