Young Mark hasn't seen his aunt in years as she's a scientist conducting research deep in a far away jungle. So it's a surprise when a woman who works with Aunt Benna shows up at Mark's house with a shrunken head sent to Mark as a gift and an offer from his aunt to come visit her in the jungle. What Mark finds in the jungle is a situation that is nothing like what the mysterious woman told his mother. For one thing, Aunt Benna has been missing for weeks, and the other adults seem to be lying to Mark. Also, the shrunken head isn't just a gruesome ornament. ( )

#39 "Heads up!"
Mark's aunt Benna just sent him a present from the tropical jungles of Baladora. A present that reminds him of one of his favorite video games. A shrunken head! But this isn't any normal shrunken head. This one has strange jungle magic inside it. Can Mark learn how to use the strange magic and save the island and his aunt? ( )

This is one of the most iconic covers in my mind, and fortunately it fits rather well with the book description. It doesn't very much fit with what an actual shrunken head looks like, but that's really a minor sort of gripe to have. It would be like complaining that Jungle Magic doesn't exist and is a really offensive thing to put in a book. But this was the 90s, and we were all about conservation then, if not so much about political correctness. And I guess in this book's world the indigenous jungle inhabitants no longer existed, so. There's that. They just left hundreds of shrunken heads, Jungle Magic, and artifacts to their name.

[b: How I Got My Shrunken Head|125578|How I Got My Shrunken Head (Goosebumps, #39)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867789s/125578.jpg|120943] is very much a 90s book. It deals with the jungle, people wanting to destroy it for financial gain, and a kid having to save it with Jungle Magics. What isn't 90s about that premise? The shrunken head is more of a prop, people are the real monsters, though in reality this is far more of an adventure book than any sort of horror or thriller venture. A let's tromp through the jungle and survive sort of thing.

So, all in all this book is ridiculous but it tickled me much like Jumanji did so I can't complain. ( )

## Heads up!

12-year-old Mark Rowe has an unhealthy obsession with jungles and video games and jungle-themed video games. Anything thematically related to jungles really gets him excited, and he dreams of one day following in his Aunt Benna's footsteps in studying the jungle's wildlife and cultures. As the story opens, his Aunt Benna's assistant shows up with an unusual gift: A 100-year-old shrunken head.

That, and a free trip to visit her area of research in an isolated corner of southeast Asia.

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

Mark's story feels like a pulpy jungle yarn straight out of '60s comic books. Mark has to endure the jungle's oppressive heat, blood-thirsty beasts, gun-toting villains, and ancient magic in order to save the day (and his aunt). In the process, maybe he'll grow up a bit, too.

It's not bad, but its pulpy roots make it feel dated far beyond its 20 years. It dates itself with references to jungle mysticism (literally: 'Jungle Magic') and shrunken heads. It's also one of the more violent Goosebumps books. Death looms around every corner, and the villains' comeuppance is both ominous and -- at least partially -- undeserved.

(I seriously wonder about the beloved Aunt Benna. Her area of research seems to be everything: Archaeology, ecology, biology...astrology. She doesn't make a good role model for a scientist, particularly when she's directly to blame for every ill and danger in the story. E.g., she kept a series of easily-obtainable diaries detailing a) how she was deceiving her enemies, and b) explicit instructions on how her enemies could best her every move. Again: Terrible role model.)

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#38 The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena | #40 Night of the Living Dummy III ( )

How I Got My Shrunken Head is about a boy named Mark who gets a shrunken head from his aunt. The day after he gets the head he finds out that he is going to go the jungles of Baladora where his aunt lives. When he lands in Baladora his aunt has disappeared. Where do you think Mark's aunt is? The writer is very descriptive and made me scared as I turned the pages. I highly recommend this book for people who like scary stories. ( )