Amember of the Colchester Education Association, Wargo is active on several state-level Association committees. We scare kids at amusement parks, on television, at the movies, and around the campfire-and they love it. So it's no wonder that R.L. Stine's young adult novels, and particularly his Goosebumps book series, are so popular. From the publication of the first book in 1992, I had a giant waiting list of youngsters eager to check the books out. I couldn't keep the books on the racks, and my daily circulation rate hit new highs.
Kids love to read about scary ideas and scary situations.
These books reach them where they are. Books in the Goosebumps series aren't harmful. A fan of scary books myself, I've read a few of them. To me, Goosebumps books are fun and a bit silly, but they don't make kids feel genuinely afraid for their safety. Students will outgrow books by R.L. Stine and learn to love reading.