Choice Words: Give Yourself Goosebumps #22: Return to the Carnival of Horrors

Of course Give Yourself Goosebumps wouldn't be averse to the ultimate sin that is Goosebumps sequels. Both in terms of books in the GYG series and sequels to other mainline books. Fortunately there's only one sequel to a GYG book and it's fittingly the first book. Escape from the Carnival of Horrors is a solid first start to the series and one I remember liking. And the carnival setting is at least one that can make for more fun returns. So was this crazy carnival worth the revisit or is it one ride we'd rather forget? Let's see as we Return to the Carnival of Horrors.

Before I talk about the book proper, I think it's best to bring up that this is the final book in the Give Yourself Goosebumps series to feature the holofoil cover. I think this was likely a decision made both because with the main books moving to Series 2000, the choice was made to alter the GYG covers to match that style. That, and the more likely reason, it's likely much cheaper to produce the book covers without the holographic cardboard needed. Which does suck as the holographic covers are cool to look at. Granted, I find the covers chip more easily than the normal covers overtime, but that's the price to pay for neat gimmickry. 

Now for the cover itself. I love this cover. It might honestly be my favorite of at least the holofoil covers. The large full moon and the roller coaster filled with ghostly skeletons, all having a great time. I don't know if I saw this cover much when I was younger, so I don't know if this one freaked me out or not. I say that because it weirdly gives me a Say Cheese and Die vibe and you know my reaction to the old skeleton picnic. It also makes me think of the tramcar full of laughing skeletons from A Shocker on Shock Street. I love the color of the sky, the warping actually works for this one given it is a roller coaster, and there's even what looks to be a nod to Trapped in Bat Wing Hall on the front of the coaster. It also does something the first cover didn't do well and that's feel like a book about a scary carnival. Nagata nailed that feeling with this art while Tim just gave us a purple gator in one of his blander outings. A great cover to sendoff this era of the books.

Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club #15: Little Miss Stoneybrook ...and Dawn

It's time for Dawn's third outing as the lead narrator. And I do feel like I've been a bit too harsh on the first two. Neither were particularly bad books, but neither exactly wowed me either. Especially the second book that may or may not have confirmed a ghost... at Dawn's house. The first book was fine, but, again, her brief negligence causing an almost-kidnapping soured the book for me. But, as the saying goes, the third time's the charm. And the books have at least started building a plot with Dawn in recent books when it comes to her brother Jeff's acting out and wanting to live in California with his dad. So this hopefully means this book is meatier than the last Dawn book. Should I prepare for imminent disappointment? Let's see with Little Miss Stoneybrook ...and Dawn.

This cover is fine. It sets up the plot well enough with the girls in the pageant being front and center with Dawn in the background. Dawn being behind the curtain for a book where she's the focus does feel a bit silly, again feeling like she's the most background character of the BSC, but it makes sense why it's done. I mean the ...And Dawn is there for a reason.

The reprint cover is one I actually like more. Dawn isn't as obscured, we still get the girls focused on. I'd argue it's a bit more claustrophobic, and the curtain takes up a lot of space, but it does what it sets out to do. You w ant a book about a kid beauty pageant well, here you go. 

Choice Words: Give Yourself Goosebumps #15: Please Don't Feed the Vampire!

I'm often curious what of the Give Yourself Goosebumps lines are considered either the most popular or at least the most well-known. Because I think it's this one. Or at least when it comes to the book being referenced in a lot of later-era GB media. Because Fifi the Vampire Poodle has made appearances in everything from the movie to the 2023 TV series. It's also a vampire book, and Stine rarely does vampires. According to him it's a genre where he doesn't really get good Goosebumps ideas from, and Vampire Breath was just okay at best. So that makes this one even more intriguing. Is it a delightful bite or fangs for nothin'? Let's see with Please Don't Feed the Vampire!

This cover is great. Simple, but very good in giving us the basic premise of the plot. We have a vampire dog on our hands. And Fifi is a creepy enough vampire poodle, complete with menacing red eyes and giant fangs. The excited wagging tail and the bows are cute touches, a good example of adding silly to scary. I will say the warping still looks off, especially in the cut down art for the cover. Looks a bit better in the full art, but still in a way that does feel a bit too surreal. You might find me knocking the cover art as disrespectful, but Mark Nagata himself has stated the cover art had to be rushed as it was around this time that issues were mounting with a few of the prior covers, namely Secret Agent Grandma, which was mentioned when we covered that book. That issue aside, it's still good stuff.

With the Goosebumps movie's release in 2015 came more Classic Goosebumps covers, which means new covers by Brandon Dorman. Interestingly, this is the only Give Yourself Goosebumps book to receive a reprint. As for the cover, it's an attempt at remaking the original, and it's not bad. Fifi looks great, coming off closer to her look in the movie. Though maybe it's the angle, but her snout looks more rodent-like. I think the wrinkles looking a bit whiskery doesn't help matters. I also like the little bat chew toy, I guess in case you needed further confirmation that this is indeed a vampire dog. Good stuff from Dorman. 

Choice Words: Give Yourself Goosebumps #12: Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum

We return to Give Yourself Goosebumps and it's time to get messy with this trip to a wax museum. Now, if you know this blog well, we've had some interesting experiences with stories involving wax museums in the past. Namely with Shivers' Weirdo Waldo's Wax Museum. But, of course, it's a Shivers book, and I call it the Russian Roulette of GB-likes for a reason. So it's R.L. Stine's turn at the bat, and it's a GYG book, which could at least mean some fun bad endings. Is this a great trip or just a bunch of waxy buildup? Let's see with Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum.

This is easily one of the best covers from GYG, and one of Mark Nagata's best. Mainly when it comes to our villain of the story, Sybil Wicked. Her design is very cool and freaky, very "goth awakening" I'd say. Though this isn't actually what she looks like in-book, but heck with it, it still works. The general design looks a lot like Vampira, which Nagata has since confirmed. But what makes it work is the melting wax, how it oozes over her, with it turning into a gross yellow slime. There's also the hidden skull that Mark liked to add, this time being easily spotted on her brooch. You get some other classic cover details like the warping, which I feel does work well, and of course some random lightning in the background. Even the statues and busts in the background look creepy. At least they would if most of them weren't obscured by word balloons. Honestly, they should have advertised the fan club on the back covers, these just take away from good art, which this is easily one of the best.

Club-Read: Baby-Sitters Little Sister #01: Karen's Witch

It's really no surprise that Baby-sitters Club would do spinoffs. The massive success of the series in general sort of made it a given. But, in an attempt to sell more books and, I guess, market these books to an even younger demo than the mainline books, we would get the Baby-sitters Little Sister book series in August of 1988. These books are based around Karen Brewer, the stepsister of Kristy. A book series that would go on for a rather staggering 122 books. Nine less than the mainline BSC. It actually lasted longer than the original series, ending in 2000 along with the Friends Forever line. Yes, somehow the world asked for 122 books about Karen Brewer.

 Karen is a character that I have dubbed the Agent of Chaos as most of her appearances have led to some form of chaos. Be it the claims of a ghost in the third floor of her home, convincing kids in a park that Martians are real which causes hysteria, destroying her dad Watson's cars with wire sponges, trying to take away from someone's birthday at Disney World by lying that it is also her birthday. Oh and constantly accusing her next door neighbor Mrs. Porter of being the witch Morbidda Destiny. So, you can see why I give her that moniker. And it's the subject of the witch accusations that is the plot of the first book in the series. It's the witching hour (maybe, I don't know when you're reading this), so let's talk about Karen's Witch.

The original cover is decent. It works in selling the plot of the book. Karen would of course be a snoop who spies on people, that's pretty much on point with her. And we get our first actual look at Mrs. Porter and I can at least see why Karen would claim her to be a witch. Gives me a vibe of The Girl Who Cried Monster for Goosebumps in how its structured honestly, but at least Mrs. Porter isn't eating any flies, so point in this cover's favor.

And of course there's reprints for the Little Sister series as well to cover and the main one is just okay. It's sort of similar to the original, only we push Mrs. Porter way back. Still gives her the look of a witch, so it works fine. It's a cute little cover that again I think would interest readers to see just what's going on, but I think the first cover is stronger.

And to round this up, there's also a graphic novel of this book because of course there would be. There's still milk in those BSC udders. This cover isn't my favorite because I do feel like it doesn't do enough to sell the plot. We don't even see Mrs. Porter on the cover, so it makes the cover feel more like it could be for any plot, not one about a possible witch. Weakest of the three.

Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #01: Baby-Sitters On Board!

I mean I shouldn't be surprised. A book series as popular as Baby-Sitters Club was of course going to get special edition books. And in July of 1988, the first BSC Super-Special was released. Running for 15 books from 1988 to 1998. Each book being a vacation-themed story and does away with a singular narrative story in favor of giving each character their own chapters and stories to pad out them pages. Much like, say, Animorphs with the Megamorphs books. And this first one isn't exactly subtle with who Scholastic was partnering with as much like many a sitcom on ABC in the 90s, this sucker is sponsored by the mouse. It's a cruise to Disneyworld for the Baby-sitters Club Does this mean a good book or is this magic kingdom a tragic kingdom? Let's explore with Baby-Sitters on Board!

This cover is fine, but also, I can't put my finger on as to why, but it feels really bland. Just the BSC and a few of the kids waving as they board the Ocean Princess. For a book that hinges some of its plot in Disneyworld, you'd think that would be featured, but I guess, collab or not, even Scholastic fears the mouse. But to sell that the girls are going on a vacation, it does the trick.

As for the reprint cover, it's a bit bland to be honest. Neat that Mallory is featured given her recent addition (Jessi isn't featured in this book, since technically this book takes place before Stacey leaves Stoneybrook but was released shortly after) but it just feels like mid-conversation on a boat rather than anything super exciting. Still does the job in selling the girls on vacation so it's really not an issue either way.

Point by Numbers: Sister Dearest

It's time to return to the world of Point Horror. It's been a while. Moreso that it's been a while since I've covered anything from Point that wasn't R.L. Stine related. Well, this time we're covering the works of one D.E. Athkins. Yeah, Deathkins. This is a pseudonym in case you couldn't tell. Namely that of one Nola Thacker, who is also Graveyard School's Tom B. Stone. Props to Thacker, she loves her some goofy names. We've got some family drama in this one. One that's just barely over 100 pages, making it easily the shortest Point that I've covered for the blog. So does that mean a good book that goes quick or one that's gonna leave us wanting more? The answer lies when we learn about Sister Dearest.

This is a very simple cover, but it does the trick. The fingers touching one another, the ring that easily signifies a younger girl in her teens, the trickling blood that forms into the title of the book. All good stuff. One could argue that a big issue with a lot of Point covers is that many of them are very basic. Lacking in a lot of the more exciting detail that could really entice a reader. But I feel when it's done well, a very simple cover can still be striking. And this one, while it won't be one you'll remember for a long time, is still enough to at least interest you into reading the book. Decent stuff.