Under the Magician's Spell by R.L. Stine

We find ourselves in an underground cavern with a coffin and another curtain. Thunder and lightning are heard (and seen). Joanie finds a spell book that’s not in English, but there are some words in the back. There's a black curtain but there's nothing but a stone wall behind it. But he doesn’t offer his assistance, just laughs and when we turn around he has disappeared. But at the same time, Sid has handcuffed his-self. As we get closer we see that she has chopped off her finger on a guillotine. When we get inside Joanie has already started to get into trouble. I lose track of Joanie and immediately a magic shop catches our eye and we see her go in. I have to take my bratty nine-year-old sister with me to the mall. PLOT: (MAIN STORY) Under the Magician’s Spell is a Give Your Self Goosebumps book. I would absolutely read the book again! Very fun read!

I would definitely recommend that teachers recommend not just this, but many of the Goosebumps books these books are written by an author who knows the distinction between 'real scary' and the 'fun scary' way that these books are written. It is a book for beginner readers, and especially for ones who teachers and parents find have difficulty finding enjoyment in their usual reading. I would recommend this be a book children read on their own, not a book to be read aloud to the class (as it is one where many personal choices must be made). There are over 20 endings, and many fun choices for the kids to make (from choosing to strangle your sister, to choosing whether or not you want to go dumpster diving). It follows a group of young kids who, inadvertently, steal an evil magician's book.

The book is written in the second person, so it really gets children involved in their reading. This book is a very fun one, probably great for ages 8-11. Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences.

Under the Magician's Spell by R.L. Stine