Egg Monsters from Mars
Author: R.L. Stine
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright: 1996
Pages: 115
Reading Level: 4
Genre: Scary
Rating: ***

Summary:
Dana Johnson wants to be a scientist when he grows. So when he is out hunting for eggs for his sister Brandy’s birthday party “egg hunt” and come across an egg like he has never seen he has to take it home. The egg is large, has green veins and what sounds like a heartbeat, and no matter what he does to it, it doesn’t crack open. The next morning though, he wakes to thumping and bumping…and opens his drawer where the egg is hidden to watch it hatch. And what does he find a scrambled egg looking sort of monster. It is yellow and lumpy and has black beady eyes, and on top of that, it growls. So what does he do? He takes it down to the local lab like any scientist to find out what it is. Once he is there Dr. Gray brings him and explains that the scrambled egg looking thing is in fact a Martian from mars that fell from the sky. He shows Dana the room full of other Martians, but then things suddenly go south for Dana. The Doctor locks him in the room and will not let him return home, because not only are the Martians being studied, he will be now too. Locked inside the freezing room, Dana is about to give up. His father came looking for him, but he was in a sound proof room and the lights were off so he couldn’t see him and left. As the night went on, Dana got colder and colder and just when he thought he would freeze to death the eggs all combined together and made a large blanket to keep him warm. Then, Dr. Gray came in the next morning, the eggs attacked him and Dana escaped. Though no one believed him he knew what happened was real. And on his way to his friend Anna’s house the next morning…suddenly Dana laid an egg…

Who would benefit from reading this?
I think any kid in the elementary age would benefit from this, especially those who like a little terror. These books have just enough scare factor to keep kids reading, but not so much that they wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. Very fun, and a quick read.

Potential problems/conflicts:
The fact that it is a scary is the first conflict that comes to my mind. It might scare some kids, or possibly give them nightmares. It also talks about aliens, which parents might not want their kids reading about because they don’t believe in it. The main problem is it is scary.

My reaction:
My sister used to read these books all the time as a child, and for some reason I never had the desire to read them. I was more the “Little House on the Prairie” type, but reading this made me laugh. Though it held absolutely no scare factor for me as an adult, I could see how it would keep kids reading because they were on the edge of their seat. A fun read. I can see this being a great series for those that find reading boring, because there is really nothing boring about the Goosebumps series. I mean the series name says it all! I would have no problem letting my kids read these books, they are a fun and different read from the normal. I enjoyed it.