Ahhh... This book SMELLS like my childhood. Well, not really.

I remember this book way back in my elementary school days. I plowed through so many books in that library (I can still remember the exact layout of that beautiful place...) and the Goosebumps series was one of them. Recently, I decided that I wanted to read more books from my childhood! Goosebumps was at the top of my list (especially since I did not read every single book in that series as a kid. That library was beautiful but lacking). At a local thrift store I found five books from this series and this was one of my epic finds!

I love these books because they are simple, spooky and amusing (they were scarier when I was kid. As an adult, I've seen too many horror movies and real life horrors to be scared by a man eating flies... forgive me). They are so simple to read but also introduce the reader to some new terminology along the way.

This story felt like it was just a little too long. Our lead, Lucy, goes after the monster librarian over and over and over... it was nice to see the typical trope of one fail and one win broken, but it was getting tiring. The premise of the book is absolutely wonderful despite this small flaw. And on top of that, the characters were fun and believable. Who didn't want to scare their friends and siblings with monsters? And didn't everyone feel like their parents didn't enjoy their hobbies?

The one thing that really does stand out about this book... the ending. It was an M. Night Shamalan-esque ending. Seriously, I doubt ANYONE sees that ending coming.

Overall, this book was cute and fun! I liked taking a break from longer, more serious books to dive into a funny, spooky tale.

Three out of five stars! ( )

#8 "She's got the monster of all problems!"
Lucy is the girl who cried wolf... or monster rather. She always loved freaking out her younger brother with tales of monsters, but when she sees the library and acting rather funny one day she gets a monster scare of her own. And this time it's for real. The problem is, nobody believes her! ( )

So, this was actually a surprisingly good and creepy Goosebumps book that would have been three stars from me were it not for the er... unforgivably idiotic ending. Now, it's time to address something here. [a: R.L. Stine|13730|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1194380070p2/13730.jpg] often has unforgivably idiotic endings. He's something of a master of the ridiculous and downright stupid endings, and eventually it became less of an annoyance and something I found hilarious as a kid. It still makes me smirk as an adult, but this one.. hoo boy.

The idea of a kid that makes up monsters everywhere she goes and in everything she sees eventually coming across a real one is hilarious. The description of the monster itself was actually fairly chilling. The image of a monster eating live flies, the crunch as it eats a turtle alive, the disgusting description of bulging eyes, gaping maw, etc. It's delightfully gross for a kid and went further than I expected a children's book to go.

So. Kudos to a gross monster story, and a massive eye-roll for the ending. ( )

## She's got the monster of all problems!

Lucy Dark is really into monsters. She loves stories about monsters, thinking up her own monsters, scaring her younger brother with imaginary monsters around every corner -- that is, until she realizes Mr. Mortman, the librarian in charge of her Reading Rangers program, is a real live monster!

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

Everyone knows Lucy's obsessed with monsters, so no one believes her. (Of course, given the book's title referencing 'the boy who cried wolf' folktales.) The Girl Who Cried Monster is about Lucy's attempts to prove to her parents and her friends that Mr. Mortman is an inhuman, cruel creature with bugging eyes, an external, hanging (gross) mouth, with a taste for live baby turtles, flies, eels, snails, etc. We can only hope he doesn't eat young girls, too.

The Girl Who Cried Monster is a childhood favorite; an iconic, imaginative early entry in the series. It invokes an atmosphere perfect for overcast, miserable afternoons, especially with that great cover from Tim Jacobus to get the reader's curiosity rolling. I love the library setting, as well, and Mr. Mortman's humorous penchant for order in his library. (Before chasing after Lucy, he must first stop to pick up and organize spilled library cards.) I remember reading this in the Sequoya Elementary School library back in the '90s, and translating some of the plot to our library and kind librarians.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#7 Night of the Living Dummy | #9 Welcome to Camp Nightmare ( )

Goosebumps weren't as good to me as the fear street series, but this one was one of the more fun, enjoyable ones. Love the cover too!