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I have used the Goosebumps series as a lure to poor readers to start
reading, to check out offerings in the library.  I bought over 2 years
approximately 75 books in 25 titles and laminated the covers with Contac.


I also set up a "Before and After Goosebumps" display to take care of
kids on waiting lists and to get them to read other better stuff while
waiting or after becoming saturated.  Now, at last I am seeing what I
hoped.  We no longer have 2-3 reserves for each book, 8-10 books are
actually on the shelf waiting!  The craze has subsided but many poor
readers have increased their reading speed and found their way to other
authors such as Coville, Dahl, Nixon, Hahn, Howe, Wright, Winthrop,
Paulsen,----who write better scary books, ghost stories, survival stories,
fantasy, etc.

I don't have the Fear St. series by Stine.  Too "advanced" for K-5. But I
believe the Goosebumps series while not *deep* has amusing plots and a
suspenseful aura that does not harm kids, and benefits the slow readers
especially.  This craze in our school lured many reluctant kids to teach
themselves better searching skills as they had to look Goosebumps up in the
catalog to find out what we had and make reserve slips.  They had to look
on the fiction shelves to see what was available.

I say, capitalize on series books to create more good readers!


Hooray for Stine AND Babysitters....they create readers who go on to better
literature later.

Joan Kimball, Librarian    Hart's Hill Elementary School  Whitesboro, NY
      jkim@borg.com


Joan Kimball (jkim@borg.com)
Clinton, NY
Hart's Hill Elementary School Library
Whitesboro, NY


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