#41 "He's no Easter bunny!"
Tim Swanson loves magic tricks and one day wants to be a real magician just like his idol Amaz-O the Magician. When he goes to one of his shows he finds out that his childhood hero is really a grumpy old man. Depressed and determined to be a better magician, Tim steals Amaz-O's bag of tricks. But this might be the last time he ever performs a magic trick. ( )

I have a very fond memory of this book in my Second Grade classroom. It was stuffed in alongside other titles - the Wizard of Oz series, an encyclopedia of animals that to this day I miss, Boxcar Children... This book stood out over all the others to me. It drew me like a moth to the flame. There was something intoxicating in that utterly perverse cover, something so disgusting and ridiculous that I needed to pick it up. And read it. Again and again.

Amusingly, my memory changed aspects of the books irrevocably. I remembered the black cabinet that people disappeared in, but not how it worked. My imagination, working overtime, really put another dimension in there that people never returned from. Inevitably, as with most of these books, my childhood imagination did the heavy lifting and made the narrative much more vibrant and interesting. But that's the magic of these books, right? We fill in the spaces and make the mundane vibrant and beautiful. There's just enough there for us to terrify ourselves worse than [a: R.L. Stine|13730|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1194380070p2/13730.jpg] ever did. Its the beats in between that matter most. Coupled with the amazing covers.

In this book a would-be magician and his bratty sister attend the magic show of the unfortunately named Amaze-O against their parents wishes. When our hero's idol turns out to be meaner than he imagined, he steals Amaze-O's magic kit, and mayhem ensues. Predictably, there are rabbits and children may or may not be transformed into said rabbits. There's entertaining discussing of how some magic tricks are performed, and the maddening childish belief that one can get amazing at magic without much practice if only his gear is right.

Poor boy. He never stood a chance. ( )

## That's no Easter bunny!

The premise to Bad Hare Day isn't interesting. Tim Swanson, an amateur magician, lives by his magic trick -- he's obsessed with impressing his classmates with a small routines. He hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of his hero, Amaz-O. Amaz-O, on break from his TV celebrity routine, is putting on a late-night show at the local magician's theater. Tim and his sister, Ginny, don't have any choice but to sneak out and catch the performance. Things aren't what they seem -- of course! -- with Amaz-O's performance, and Tim finds himself stealing away the magician's bag of tricks for his own purposes. The magic, however, is much too strong, and too real, for Tim to control.

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

There's also a talking bunny.

The characterization of Tim and Ginny is really fun. They banter and joke, pretend to fight, but ultimately care for one another. Ginny, a budding student of karate, also issues out many much-needed chops and kicks to any deserving individuals or objects. Their parents are occasionally present to crack jokes about their soul-sucking jobs and overall misery.

Otherwise, the best friend, Foz, lacks a presence worth describing. The story itself is oddly paced -- the first of thirty chapters is overlong; 1/10th of the book. Tim's adventure doesn't event start until just over half-way through, which will lead to a lot of bored readers. It then rushes towards a humorous twist ending.

Yet it's just not interesting. Magic tricks are a pretty niche, unsocial thing to obsess over, so Tim's interests won't connect with a lot of readers.

I did enjoy the banter, though, and there are a number of genuinely funny moments in it. The small moments aren't enough, though, to help the lack of both scares and story.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#40 Night of the Living Dummy III | #42 Egg Monsters from Mars ( )

Rated for a children's book level

This is an adorable Goosebumps book, never lags in its plotline, hilarious in certain areas, just that right touch of magic/intrigue. The end is a surprising irony that works. What is it with Stine and making the worst, most loathsome sister characters for these poor kids? They're all such brats that you wish something would happen to them. And why are the parents always on the bratty sister's sides? At least the parents were funny in this book because they both just groaned and moaned about how much they hated their jobs. The sister, Ginny, was funny turned into a rabbit - especially since she took her annoying karate antics to the animal form. What I wonder is, why blame the brother when she's the stupid one who ate the carrot? Either way, it's a fun Goosebumps book that kids who like this kind of thing should totally dig. ( )

Goosebumps. This is the series that kept me reading through my childhood. More than any other series, Goosebumps kept me interested in reading, and R.L. Stein is a wonderful children's writer. I applaud his efforts, and can't express enough my gratitude for the series. ( )