Stay Out of the Basement (Goosebumps Series) (Paperback)

by R.L. Stine (Author) "Hey, Dad-catch!..." (more)
Key Phrases: Aunt Eleanor

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Dr. Brewer is doing a little plant-testing in his basement. Nothing to worry about. Harmless, he says. But Margaret and Casey Brewer are worried about their father. Especially when they...meet...some of the plants he is growing down there. Then they notice that their father is developing plant like tendencies. In fact, he is becoming distinctly weedy-and seedy. Is it just part of Dr. Brewer's 'harmless' experiment? Or does Dad have more than just a green thumb...?

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439568455
• ISBN-13: 978-0439568456
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ooooooohhhhhhh, January 21, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stay Out of the Basement (Goosebumps, No 2) (Paperback)

In Stay Out Of The Basement, a girl's scientific father has been acting very strangely lately. She thinks that he might be half man and half plant. He has been working on an experiment for a very long time. His daughter wants to know what he is up to,so she goes into the basement to the lab and discovers that her Father's clone,who is made of plants,trapped her real dad in the closet. She couldn't tell which was which. Will she destroy her own father? Read the book and find out.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Will Never Look at Plants the Same Way Again!, November 30, 2001

By	Lee DeWald (Nebraska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stay Out of the Basement (Goosebumps, No 2) (Paperback)

Although not as sharp as his first outing in the immensely popular "Goosebumps" series, "Stay Out of the Basement" is still quite the page-turner. R.L. Stine has the ability to grab his readers' attentions almost immediately, and that is one reason why his books are so adored by millions of kids everywhere.

This was one of the many "Goosebumps" books I got for Christmas in sixth or seventh grade. I had changed from "I'll never read those stupid books" to "I want them all!" I hadn't had most books for more than a couple of hours before they were already read. That's how hooked I was.

"Stay Out of the Basement" starts off with Margaret and Casey playing Frisbee. Their father, Dr. Brewer, is a scientist who always has to wear a baseball cap on his head; he does this because, as we later find out, one of his experiments go awry and the side-effects include having leaves growing out of his head instead of hair.

Things are going fine for Margaret and Casey until they start noticing things. Things like their father's insistent warnings to never go down into the basement; things like millions of bugs squirming around in his bed; things like their father scarfing down plant food and trying to make them eat it, too! As if having leaves sprouting up from under his cap wasn't weird enough!!

The climax works well in this book. It all comes down to the classic "Who do you trust?" saga. Towards the end, we discover that there are two Dr. Brewers; one is a real person, and one is a human-sized plant-like clone. Margaret has to decide who is lying and who is telling the truth when each Dr. Brewer claims to be her and Casey's father. I remember back when I first read it and not knowing who it was going to be. R.L. Stine had done such a wonderful job in writing the book that I didn't know who to trust, either.

In case you're a viewer who's never read the book, I won't spoil the ending for you. It's classic R.L. Stine, as everyone who has read his series will identify with. This is one "Goosebumps" book that will give you what it says.

4.0 out of 5 stars It is pretty good!!, February 5, 2008

A Kid's Review

It is about a girl named Margeret. Her dad never has time for fun. Then she and her friend, go into the basement, her dad is on the steps. He screamed a warning: STAY OUT OF THE BASEMENT!! Then they go in the next. Day. Their dad is captured by his evil twin that is a plant, will Margeret find which is the real dad? she chooses. Then the next day, a flower below her skueaked:I AM YOUR real DAD!