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The Art of Goosebumps
Featuring tons of fun facts about the series alongside a walkthrough of all books and covers in the Goosebumps collections, this art book is a must-have for old and new fans alike!
In the summer of 1992, Scholastic tasked two terrifyingly talented artists with creating the cover paintings for the books that would premiere the Goosebumps series. At that time, four books in the line were being market-tested by the publisher to see how young readers would react to R.L. Stine's particular brand of humor-tinged horror. One element that was sure to catch the attention of little eyes everywhere was striking cover art, and, boy, did they find it!
The imagery provided by the covers of the Goosebumps series is part and parcel to the 90s Kid zeitgeist, helping to create a visual brand for R.L. Stine's smash-hit horror series. The covers helped set the tone for the numerous adaptations of the series, including a television series, a theatre experience, and, more recently, blockbuster films!
In the summer of 1992, Scholastic tasked two terrifyingly talented artists with creating the cover paintings for the books that would premiere the Goosebumps series. At that time, four books in the line were being market-tested by the publisher to see how young readers would react to R.L. Stine's particular brand of humor-tinged horror. One element that was sure to catch the attention of little eyes everywhere was striking cover art, and, boy, did they find it!
The imagery provided by the covers of the Goosebumps series is part and parcel to the 90s Kid zeitgeist, helping to create a visual brand for R.L. Stine's smash-hit horror series. The covers helped set the tone for the numerous adaptations of the series, including a television series, a theatre experience, and, more recently, blockbuster films!
200 pages, Hardcover
First published November 9, 2021
11 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Rodriguez
30 books20 followersSarah Rodriguez is a writer and is the author of Marvel’s Agent Carter: Season One Declassified, published by Marvel Entertainment. She is currently working on a new fantasy novel with her cousin, fellow author LeTeisha Newton, entitled Avarice Touched.
For short story enthusiasts, Sarah also manages a Patreon account where she releases new short stories on a monthly basis.
A hardcore geek and gamer, Sarah freelances as a games writer, and has worked on Heroes Charge and Blade: Sword of Elysion.
Sarah has worked for companies such as Geek & Sundry, Maker Studios and fortyseven.
During her stint as a PR specialist, she helped promote games such as Skyrim, Dishonored, Guild Wars 2 and The Sims 3. At Maker and Geek & Sundry, she worked with YouTube stars such as Felicia Day, Wil Wheaton, Markiplier and Jesse Cox.
Sarah also founded Nerdy But Flirty, a feminist gaming website and, in her spare time, co-hosts Woman Up! Podcast, a geek podcast that focuses on diversity and inclusiveness.
For short story enthusiasts, Sarah also manages a Patreon account where she releases new short stories on a monthly basis.
A hardcore geek and gamer, Sarah freelances as a games writer, and has worked on Heroes Charge and Blade: Sword of Elysion.
Sarah has worked for companies such as Geek & Sundry, Maker Studios and fortyseven.
During her stint as a PR specialist, she helped promote games such as Skyrim, Dishonored, Guild Wars 2 and The Sims 3. At Maker and Geek & Sundry, she worked with YouTube stars such as Felicia Day, Wil Wheaton, Markiplier and Jesse Cox.
Sarah also founded Nerdy But Flirty, a feminist gaming website and, in her spare time, co-hosts Woman Up! Podcast, a geek podcast that focuses on diversity and inclusiveness.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
January 3, 2022
A perfect introduction to evaluating art—for kids and adults.
The Art of Goosebumps is a large, coffee table-sized book with all the iconic Goosebumps illustrations produced by Tim Jacobus. This also includes Goosebumps 2000 and cover art for unwritten books that were meant for the cancelled "Goosebumps Gold" series.
Each illustration is coupled with backstory, mock-ups and/or alternative sketches. It's particularly exciting to see what possible covers could have been used for these classic books.
I love that there's a brief paragraph on technique used in the paintings. I came into this book with an almost religious knowledge of these works of art, and still the author points out hidden details and color strategies that I hadn't thought about. Sarah Rodriguez clearly shows an astute understanding of the entire Goosebumps literary saga as well as how Jacobus' color palette attributed to the signature horror and humor of the series.
Although I consider myself artistic-minded and have long held an appreciation for visual media, this is honestly the first book which has really helped me understand techniques used by painters, the draft process, and how color can be used with intention and viewer effect. Wish I had this book as a kid, but it’s never too late to learn!
A must-have for all Goosebumps fans, young and old.
The Art of Goosebumps is a large, coffee table-sized book with all the iconic Goosebumps illustrations produced by Tim Jacobus. This also includes Goosebumps 2000 and cover art for unwritten books that were meant for the cancelled "Goosebumps Gold" series.
Each illustration is coupled with backstory, mock-ups and/or alternative sketches. It's particularly exciting to see what possible covers could have been used for these classic books.
I love that there's a brief paragraph on technique used in the paintings. I came into this book with an almost religious knowledge of these works of art, and still the author points out hidden details and color strategies that I hadn't thought about. Sarah Rodriguez clearly shows an astute understanding of the entire Goosebumps literary saga as well as how Jacobus' color palette attributed to the signature horror and humor of the series.
Although I consider myself artistic-minded and have long held an appreciation for visual media, this is honestly the first book which has really helped me understand techniques used by painters, the draft process, and how color can be used with intention and viewer effect. Wish I had this book as a kid, but it’s never too late to learn!
A must-have for all Goosebumps fans, young and old.
December 18, 2021
The Art of Goosebumps is a handsomely produced coffee-table-book-for-kids that showcases the art created by Tim Jacobus for the covers of the 62 original Goosebumps books and the 25 books that followed in the Goosebumps Series 2000 canon. (Two covers in the original series, Stay Out of the Basement and Be Careful What You Wish For..., were designed by other artists, but in each case the splash panel is given to the covers created by Jacobus for the reprint editions.) As a bonus, the artwork for a few planned-but-unpublished Goosebumps books from the time--one for the abruptly-canceled Series 2000 and a few for the Goosebumps Gold series that never materialized--are included as well.
The book includes new-but-standard interviews with R.L. Stine and Tim Jacobus and trivia notes for various books that you probably remember from the '90s if you were a member of the fan club through the Scholastic book fairs. Every entry also includes pencil sketches and "color mockups", allowing you to see how Jacobus evolved a concept from initial idea to finalized cover; a couple of books even have photographs from photo shoots utilized as reference materials, so you can see what the real-life equivalent of the kid on the Let's Get Invisible! cover looked like. Jacobus himself served as a model for any number of adult characters.
There are a few anomalies in the accompanying text, such as typos and sentences with weird syntax that read like a blogger composed them, but overall the book is worth the money if you have fond memories of the chilling, comical, and evocative covers created for the Goosebumps books. (Let's face it, some of them were better than the book itself.) Now the covers for the Fear Street books need to get the equivalent treatment.
The book includes new-but-standard interviews with R.L. Stine and Tim Jacobus and trivia notes for various books that you probably remember from the '90s if you were a member of the fan club through the Scholastic book fairs. Every entry also includes pencil sketches and "color mockups", allowing you to see how Jacobus evolved a concept from initial idea to finalized cover; a couple of books even have photographs from photo shoots utilized as reference materials, so you can see what the real-life equivalent of the kid on the Let's Get Invisible! cover looked like. Jacobus himself served as a model for any number of adult characters.
There are a few anomalies in the accompanying text, such as typos and sentences with weird syntax that read like a blogger composed them, but overall the book is worth the money if you have fond memories of the chilling, comical, and evocative covers created for the Goosebumps books. (Let's face it, some of them were better than the book itself.) Now the covers for the Fear Street books need to get the equivalent treatment.
March 7, 2022
Okay I'll be honest. When I first heard of The Art Of Goosebumps coming out .I immediately thought I'd give this thing five stars. A book dedicated to all of the Goosebumps covers! Even if it was just pages of just the art, I would have been happy ,but we even get trivia from Stine, Tim Jacobus, curly and slappy. I absolutely loved this book. I do have my nick pics though, but with every nitpick it evened out in the long run . The negatives I had were just a couple of spelling errors that really bugged me .For example the monster from I Live In Your Basement is named Keith. They refered to him as Kevin. They also miss named Mr. Mortmon as Mr. Morton, which really bugged me a little bit .Other then that tthis There was a solid fun read with some really great facts that I didn't know. I had no idea there was going to be a 27th Goosebumps series 2000 book . I also didn't know that Piano Lessons Can Be Murder had an alternative title called Guitar Lessons Can Be Murder, but guitars aren't as scary as pianos .Some of the trivia was actually pretty funny too, especially The Girl Who Cried Monster page, which included a joke about Tim Jacobus's hair .I really enjoyed this book. it did have its flaws, but I'm thankful that we even got anything like this .I hope they make another one with other covers .I give The Art Of Goosebumps a four out of five stars . I highly recommend it if you're a Goosebumps fan, or if you're just a fan of art in general. I think it's a great collectible and an absolute must read.
April 4, 2022
What a fun nostalgia trip! I remember almost all the books from the original Goosebumps run, haha. I enjoyed revisiting those covers and learning a little about the stories behind them.
The art analysis is fun, too. It's not super deep, but it still points out things I hadn't noticed, like how much cover artist Tim Jacobus likes to include checkered surfaces (floor tiles, countertops, even ceilings) and Converse shoes. Plus, I'd never paid a lot of attention to his use of color, but it's really fun!
The art analysis is fun, too. It's not super deep, but it still points out things I hadn't noticed, like how much cover artist Tim Jacobus likes to include checkered surfaces (floor tiles, countertops, even ceilings) and Converse shoes. Plus, I'd never paid a lot of attention to his use of color, but it's really fun!
December 27, 2021
What a blast and total nostalgic dream come true. I have been a fan of Goosebumps ever since they first released, even using them for book reports in elementary school. I credit the series as a huge influencer of my love for horror to this day. Going through this book and looking at the original artwork, sketch designs, and color mockups was such a great time. I loved all the trivia sprinkled in and the quotes from R.L. Stine himself. This is a must-read and must-experience for any Goosebumps fan!
December 17, 2021
Oh I loved this. I thought it had beautiful artwork. It was cool to see the covers again from the original series, and to have little tidbits, where R.L. Stine got the inspiration for these stories. It was like a walk down memory lane. I so enjoyed it. Super nostalgic.
January 14, 2024
I started and finished this book before I even had a chance to say I was reading it. The stories of Tim Jacobus's artwork for Goosebumps were terrific. If you're a Goosebumps fan, this is a must-have for your collection. Five stars all the way.
August 6, 2025
Oh nostalgia! Of course I loved this because it explained the spooktacular artwork from Goosebumps!
December 29, 2021
This book is so cool! As a diehard fan of the Goosebumps series, it's great fun to look at concept art for the original 64 titles, but also the whole of the "Series 2000" covers and other little bits of media that Jacobus illustrated! I maybe wish there was a bit more background info, but having full, two page spreads for all of the covers is just fantastic. I also learned a ton about Stine and Jacobus, and I had no clue that Stine essentially published a Goosebumps book for every month of the year for 1994 thru 2000. That's ludicrously impressive! Brava, good sir!
If I had one comment (not even a complaint, really), it's that the artwork featured on the cover of the book itself (3 pics excluded) aren't even the covers discussed in the book. This seems like a silly error on the publisher's part.
EDIT: So I actually bought a physical version, and unlike the Amazon listing and the ebook, the cover is a little different and only features art that’s -ahem, “covered” in the book.
If I had one comment (not even a complaint, really), it's that the artwork featured on the cover of the book itself (3 pics excluded) aren't even the covers discussed in the book. This seems like a silly error on the publisher's part.
EDIT: So I actually bought a physical version, and unlike the Amazon listing and the ebook, the cover is a little different and only features art that’s -ahem, “covered” in the book.
October 24, 2022
Fun look at the creation of the Goosebump covers and fun facts about the series.
January 20, 2022
Oh, this was just the perfect book for any Goosebumps fan! It was such a fun trip down memory lane seeing the artwork of all the original covers of Goosebumps.
February 9, 2022
I didn't read too many "Goosebumps" books growing up but was always fascinated by the cover art when I would see them at a bookstore so I figured I would check this one out. It was super cool to see the art all collected like this along with how it came to be and how each one related to (or didn't relate to) the story included. A recommend for anybody who needs a shot in the arm of nostalgia right about now.
January 21, 2022
As both an artist and Goosebumps fan, this book was everything I dreamed it would be.
February 4, 2022
Do you like Goosebumps?
Do you remember the saturday morning t.v. show? Do you remember the nostalgia of those great 90's covers?
Check out this great book that shines with insight from Goosebumps author himself, R.L. Stine, one of the masters of secondary elementary scares.
Hundreds of Design Photos, original model reference shots, drawing concepts, feedback from Stine himself, and honorable notations and interview with cover artist Tim Jacobus, this is a fun read, in terms of the "horror element", the nostalgia, and the craft of cover art design.
This book serves as a great opportunity for those artists who may want to try this as a potential career, ties in well with fans of the Goosebumps vast franchise, and is as good of a look as any visual coffee table read.
Do you remember the saturday morning t.v. show? Do you remember the nostalgia of those great 90's covers?
Check out this great book that shines with insight from Goosebumps author himself, R.L. Stine, one of the masters of secondary elementary scares.
Hundreds of Design Photos, original model reference shots, drawing concepts, feedback from Stine himself, and honorable notations and interview with cover artist Tim Jacobus, this is a fun read, in terms of the "horror element", the nostalgia, and the craft of cover art design.
This book serves as a great opportunity for those artists who may want to try this as a potential career, ties in well with fans of the Goosebumps vast franchise, and is as good of a look as any visual coffee table read.
February 8, 2025
A must-have collector's item. I binged on Goosebumps in elementary school, getting hooked on the series within its first dozen releases, and I remember it SO fondly, even though a personal-history-research tour I did a few summers ago suggests I may not have read more than half of them. Worse, the handful of rereading attempts I've done since then suggests I may have permanently outgrown them. :(
I will never outgrow the cover art, though! I had such a blast paging through this, seeing the nearly-full-page cover illustrations in their original glory without the tagline and borders covering any of it. (I am guessing some of these copies will get torn up for parts)
There's not a lot of text, and most of it is used to point out specific artistic choices and technical details Jacobus uses, but sometimes you get Fun Facts about changes that were made during the process, Jacobus or Stine's favorites, etc. I also liked the sketches & mock-ups showing the evolution of each cover design from concept to final version, which often became entirely different pictures. And the photo references! Truly was a fun fact to know that Jacobus often modeled adults on the cover after himself, posing in the same way.
I also like that the exact month and year of publication are included at the top of every left page, along with the original back-cover synopsis, which is much easier than clicking dozens of Goodreads or Wiki links for anyone who wants to do their own nostalgia tour and try to remember how many/which ones they've read.
The wildest thing I learned was that Goosebumps 2000 actually started the very next month after the "original" series ended (January 1998), and that first book was originally planned to be the last Goosebumps-regular book. Now, to be fair, the original series ended when I was in sixth grade, and I had started moving on to Fear Street in grade 5, but I still had NO CONCEPT of this second series existing until I came across them online as an adult. Can't say I have much interest in them though, since these covers are by and large just straight-up gross (see: the werewolf on this cover), so while it makes sense to include, that section was not my favorite.
I DID love the last few pages, though, which talked about art for the movie and a play that (apparently) briefly existed too.
LONG STORY SHORT: I leave you with a strong recommendation to get your hands on this no matter your age, if you ever loved Goosebumps at any point in your life. I should also let you know that, as of 2025, the Tim Jacobus website is a treasure trove of more (or something to look at while waiting to find this one), and you can even order prints of select cover art.
I will never outgrow the cover art, though! I had such a blast paging through this, seeing the nearly-full-page cover illustrations in their original glory without the tagline and borders covering any of it. (I am guessing some of these copies will get torn up for parts)
There's not a lot of text, and most of it is used to point out specific artistic choices and technical details Jacobus uses, but sometimes you get Fun Facts about changes that were made during the process, Jacobus or Stine's favorites, etc. I also liked the sketches & mock-ups showing the evolution of each cover design from concept to final version, which often became entirely different pictures. And the photo references! Truly was a fun fact to know that Jacobus often modeled adults on the cover after himself, posing in the same way.
I also like that the exact month and year of publication are included at the top of every left page, along with the original back-cover synopsis, which is much easier than clicking dozens of Goodreads or Wiki links for anyone who wants to do their own nostalgia tour and try to remember how many/which ones they've read.
The wildest thing I learned was that Goosebumps 2000 actually started the very next month after the "original" series ended (January 1998), and that first book was originally planned to be the last Goosebumps-regular book. Now, to be fair, the original series ended when I was in sixth grade, and I had started moving on to Fear Street in grade 5, but I still had NO CONCEPT of this second series existing until I came across them online as an adult. Can't say I have much interest in them though, since these covers are by and large just straight-up gross (see: the werewolf on this cover), so while it makes sense to include, that section was not my favorite.
I DID love the last few pages, though, which talked about art for the movie and a play that (apparently) briefly existed too.
LONG STORY SHORT: I leave you with a strong recommendation to get your hands on this no matter your age, if you ever loved Goosebumps at any point in your life. I should also let you know that, as of 2025, the Tim Jacobus website is a treasure trove of more (or something to look at while waiting to find this one), and you can even order prints of select cover art.
April 1, 2022
I was obsessed with Goosebumps as a kid and still read them today. The covers have always been alluring and when I heard they were making a book about the art featured in my favorite childhood book series, I was beyond excited. I’ve always been interested in art and am now an artist so getting to the processes of other artists is always a fun time!
The entire original series, as well as the 2000 books, some unpublished books, and some art related to the movie are discussed in detail. Most of the book consists of illustrations and descriptions on the colors and themes artist Tim Jacobus used. Some trivia, sketches, short interviews, and model photos are also sprinkled throughout. It’s a great opportunity to really look at the detail of the covers.
Two of the original books were designed by other artists but Jacobus is the main artist and it was cool to see his trademarks that I’d never really thought about before (the colors, converse, tiled floors, etc). He also got a chance to do the art for those two books for their reprints and those pictures are also included.
Since I grew up with the original books, I was more interested in that section, though it was cool to see the ones for the 2000 series. I’m convinced to add a few more of those to my list after reading some of the trivia and interview comments. I also learned more about Tim Jacobus, which is great considering its impossible to find his autobiography for a reasonable price. It was fun to see him as the model for some of his covers as well.
I’m now upset with Scholastic for not publishing (at least) the first two books for the Goosebumps Gold series—those seriously looked and sounded awesome!
My only complaints with this book are that there are a few errors (wrong names mostly) and how it ends abruptly without any kind of conclusion—always jarring for me.
Overall, this was a nostalgic blast to read. I can definitely see myself looking through it again and again. My favorite cover has always been the one for The Barking Ghost, which is also the first one I picked up. The story is probably one of my least liked ones, but the art is killer! I would love to see more books like this--maybe covering the covers of the Ghosts of Fear Street or Fear Street series, though I know they have different artists.
4.5 stars!
October 13, 2023
The Goosebumps series was a phenomena when it was released in the early 90s for children's literature. It was a sleeper that became the best selling book series for kids until Harry Potter dethroned it by the end of the decade. Now as much as the stories captivated readers with scares and laughter, the art for the book covers are as iconic and now holds a place as timeless art for the fans. The Art of Goosebumps takes a look into each piece of illustrations done by Jacobus and how they were made to be appealing and unique.
As someone who was born near the end of the series' run, I do recall seeing plenty of Goosebumps books in my library and their covers were definitely eye catching to look at. Though I read two books, they never really caught on to my liking as much as Stine's other works. Despite that, the art truly were captivating to see and imagine what horror awaited in the stories. This book provides nice insights behind Jacobus' methods and different ideas he created before the final product. Additionally, there's some nice trivia along the way with each book coveted here. It's wonderful to read some pieces about modern art media, though since the analysis doesn't go too in depth, it can get repetitive at some parts. Still a pleasant overview of a series covering an entire decade for fans.
All I can say next is that can there be a book covering the art of old Fear Street books? I think they deserve some recognition in their homage to 80s horror movie posters.
As someone who was born near the end of the series' run, I do recall seeing plenty of Goosebumps books in my library and their covers were definitely eye catching to look at. Though I read two books, they never really caught on to my liking as much as Stine's other works. Despite that, the art truly were captivating to see and imagine what horror awaited in the stories. This book provides nice insights behind Jacobus' methods and different ideas he created before the final product. Additionally, there's some nice trivia along the way with each book coveted here. It's wonderful to read some pieces about modern art media, though since the analysis doesn't go too in depth, it can get repetitive at some parts. Still a pleasant overview of a series covering an entire decade for fans.
All I can say next is that can there be a book covering the art of old Fear Street books? I think they deserve some recognition in their homage to 80s horror movie posters.
July 31, 2022
All things considered, this is a very neat book that I wish was a little more clear on its audience. It seems like it’s either written for children who have recently discovered Goosebumps, regardless of era. At the same time, it could be appealing to the inner child of those of us who grew up with these books in the 90s. My wish here was that the content aged up a bit and maybe spent a little more time interviewing Stine and Jacobus, even if they remained the epicenter of this piece (as they logically should). I’m really curious to know more about the process of getting one of these novels from the early idea steps to the bookstore shelves (or, honestly, the shelves at my local Target where I probably procured half of those I still own today). I also wish there was just a little more effort put into figuring out the references and touchstones for Jacobus’ artwork — it seems like Rodriguez only really brought these things up when Jacobus put them front and center, like with his conversations around music and Roger Dean’s artwork for bands like Yes and Asia.
January 25, 2025
A comprehensive look into Tim Jacobus' artwork for the covers of the Goosebumps books. I was surprised to see that every single cover is shown in full here. Most of the art books I've read will typically select and display the "best" (or most known) artwork from a property, while not including other lesser known pieces. Here, they show even unreleased artwork for books that were never published.
This cover art is extremely nostalgic for me to see again. In fact, I found most of the time I didn't care much about the stories, but I thought the cover art was fascinating to look at. The author of this art book, puts blurbs on every page for every piece that's presented, but a lot of them are very repetitious and unneeded. It was also interesting to see the differences between Jacobus' finished work and how Scholastic would sometimes crop or edit it slightly.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and this is probably one of my favorite art books I own (which, at time of writing, numbers about 12).
This cover art is extremely nostalgic for me to see again. In fact, I found most of the time I didn't care much about the stories, but I thought the cover art was fascinating to look at. The author of this art book, puts blurbs on every page for every piece that's presented, but a lot of them are very repetitious and unneeded. It was also interesting to see the differences between Jacobus' finished work and how Scholastic would sometimes crop or edit it slightly.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and this is probably one of my favorite art books I own (which, at time of writing, numbers about 12).
December 30, 2021
I really like Goosebumps books. Not just because I used to read them to my daughter, but because I'd actually checked them out before she was born. They're cool and creepy, funny and sad. Always freaky and even silly. Some are totally awesome and others are quite ridiculous, but I enjoy checking them out.
So, when hubby ordered this book—because he's the best—and insisted this was something I had to add to my collection, I was ecstatic!
This is such a pretty book. It's a bright, large, hardcover full of fantastic artwork. Not just the iconic covers, but also the drawing evolution of quite a few of them. As well as insights from the main cover artist, Tim Jacobus, and quite a few tidbits from the always funny, R.L. Stine.
I had a blast checking this out and recommend this book to anyone who loves Goosebumps because it's definitely something you need on your shelf.
So, when hubby ordered this book—because he's the best—and insisted this was something I had to add to my collection, I was ecstatic!
This is such a pretty book. It's a bright, large, hardcover full of fantastic artwork. Not just the iconic covers, but also the drawing evolution of quite a few of them. As well as insights from the main cover artist, Tim Jacobus, and quite a few tidbits from the always funny, R.L. Stine.
I had a blast checking this out and recommend this book to anyone who loves Goosebumps because it's definitely something you need on your shelf.
May 20, 2022
The Art of Goosebumps by Sarah Rodriguez was totally awesome! 😁😎 The book gives behind-the-scenes information on all the Goosebumps covers in both the original 62 books, as well as the 25 Goosebumps 2000 titles, revealing the unreleased covers for book 26, and the 3 unreleased covers in the never-published Goosebumps Gold series. The back section talked about Goosebumps: Live on Stage, as well as the Goosebumps movie, which I had fun finally watching ! This book gushes nostalgia and is a must own for any die hard Goosebumps fans! Next they should do the covers for Give Yourself Goosebumps, and all the covers for Fear Street! Side note: i was unaware that 2 other artists had worked on Goosebumps, each doing one cover a piece (books 2 and 12) with Tim Jacobus doing 85 of the original 87 books (original GB + GB 2000). I highly recommend this to any GB fan! 👍🏻😃😃
July 30, 2022
My favorite way to turn my brain off is with a lovely art book. All thoughts go out the window and I soak in the pretty colors. There's nothing like it, I tell ya. I've a bit late to the Goosebumps train because they were being published before I was born. I only recently started reading them in 2018 and I pick them up whenever I'm in the mood. After reading this book, I'll be sure to pair this along with a Babysitters Club for old time's sake. I learned a lot about the Goosebumps franchise from this book and even discovered some titles I never knew existed. The artists who created these covers had very little information about the novels before they drew them. I found that to be very interesting and sometimes RL Stine even incorporated that into the story. This was nice little gem I found on Hoopla and I hope to discover more when I need a total brain shutdown.
August 3, 2024
I loved Goosebumps as a kid from reading the books to watching the TV series and even had some merchandise. I can remember reading multiple Goosebumps books in school for reviews and the teacher asking me to try something else 😂
It inspired me to write my own horror series as a kid and I’m tempted to do it again as an adult.
So this book was a fun read seeing the original art (even though it was for the American covers and not UK) and discovering the stories behind it and trivia pertaining to the books.
I never did have all the books but Goosebumps will always have a place in my heart for all the childhood nostalgia
It inspired me to write my own horror series as a kid and I’m tempted to do it again as an adult.
So this book was a fun read seeing the original art (even though it was for the American covers and not UK) and discovering the stories behind it and trivia pertaining to the books.
I never did have all the books but Goosebumps will always have a place in my heart for all the childhood nostalgia
October 1, 2024
Las ilustraciones obviamente son increíbles, Jacobus fue el artista ideal para traer a la vida las historias de Stine. Mi único problema con esta recopilación eran las descripciones de dichas obras, que después de la décima pintura se volvían a repetir describiendo colores y ángulos usados por el artista. También me habría gustado que en la colección del 2000's pusieran la sinopsis de las novelas porque sentía que me estaba perdiendo de mucho con solo tener el título de las historias. A pesar de esos detalles, es un libro increíble que apreciaré siempre que lo mire en mi librero. Me trae mucha nostalgia recordar lo bien que lo pasaba viendo la serie de TV. Por Dios, qué recuerdos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2024
A trip to nostalgia lane for me. My childhood was brought up with the goosebumps books. When I was younger I collected them for the covers since I loved to draw and loved horror. I’ve since read a few of the books and read Tim Jacobus’s autobiography a few years back (I really regret getting rid of that book!!). This art book serves as a great collector’s item for the 90s kids who liked to get scared silly, read the goosebumps books, and learn a little more about how their favorite book series came to be. I love seeing the pencil sketches and color tests before we see the final results. Really cool, and helps take the sting away from parting with Tim’s bio book.
November 30, 2021
I don't typically review art books because, well, they're art books. But this one had so many great interviews and facts written in that it could leave you with the fulfilling feeling that the goosebumps series themselves did when you were a kid. This is a great collection that let me learn more about my favorite pieces of cover design from my childhood. Strongly recommend as a coffee table book if you love the Goosebumps series.
January 1, 2022
As somebody who grew up in the heydays of goosebumps madness this was quite enjoyable. I do wish there was a little more inside information from either Tim Jacobus and RL Stine On Writing and painting for the series I also wish they would’ve had a little section highlighting all of the UK covers as they are very different and unique . but even with all that said I still really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to any major Goosebumps fan out there
March 28, 2022
Not as comprehensive or serious as I would have liked considering all the great artwork, trivia, promo material, and history this series has; but this is a cute, fun, nostalgic look into one of my childhood's most defining pieces of media.
It still holds a lot of artwork, a good amount of information, and some small insights that younger readers will fall in love with.
The Art of Goosebumps is a long overdo compilation.
It still holds a lot of artwork, a good amount of information, and some small insights that younger readers will fall in love with.
The Art of Goosebumps is a long overdo compilation.
January 22, 2023
I feel like this didn't really tell you much more than you could get from just looking at the art itself. It did reignite my love for these covers and the art of Tim Jacobus (thank you so much Tim, you really helped shape my love of all the spooky things in the world!). This book also did make me want to re-read my favorite Goosebumps from childhood, like Say Cheese and Die and The Horror at Camp Jellyjam.
December 22, 2025
Fellow reviewer Justin perfectly sums up my thoughts on this volume here. I love Goosebumps, so I was always going to love this, but I've been reticent to read some of the later entries (including series 2000), feeling that sequels rarely live up to their originators and not wanting to spoil Goosebumps for myself. Knowing now how close they came out to the originals, I feel more inclined to give them a go! And of course, I've also come away with a rejuvenated appreciation for these classic covers. This is definitely one for the fans (affectionate)
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