State Secret: Do You Know the R.L. Stine of Michigan?
What if I told you one of the most popular book series not just in my school, but in the state of Michigan is one that out-of-staters have likely never heard of?
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What if I told you Michigan is home to the second coming of R.L. Stine (sorry, Bob, I know you’re still with us and quite spry – just go along with me here)?
All these things are true. If you ask any school librarian from Michigan about what’s popular, they will likely name the Michigan Chillers series by Jonathan Rand. Similar to Stine’s Goosebumps series, these books deliver horror stories with a lighter touch, and have a lot of devoted fans among the chapter book/middle grade crowd.
It got me thinking: what other regional delights are out there? Is there a book/series that is popular where you are, but unknown to the rest of the country? I want to know!
Share away in the comments.
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About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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Kids in the South East love Kathryn Tucker Windham’s ghost story books. They include 13 Alabama Ghosts, 13 Georgia Ghost, 13 Mississippi Ghosts, etc. I loved the books when I was a kid, and my students still do as well.
Maybe the theme of regional books is ghost stories? It will be interesting to see if other folks have similarly spooky series to share.
Just down the road from you, I have mature, good-reading, first graders that love James Preller’s Scary Tales. He has to be from some region of our country–although I have heard rumors that he is an alien.
(and I have one first grader that thinks he is too scary)
I’ve heard those rumors too. Those books have been very popular at my school.
James Preller is from New York’s Capital Region and his books are extremely popular here. Kids in upstate NY also love the Adirondack Kids mystery series by Gary and Justin VanRiper. They have constant circulation at the public library!
We love American Chillers and Michigan Chillers in Minnesota too!
American/Michigan Chillers are big hits in Cincinnati, too!
Greetings from Kalamazoo! The Michigan Chillers were the most checked-out books in my library- and the most beat-up!
Funny, the public library here in Bellingham, WA, has a ton of these Michigan/American Chillers. My son checked one out one day. The librarian said a kid who moved from Michigan had donated the whole set.
I’m sure there are Pacific Northwest series, but I can’t think of any at the moment.
Remember them. Ever since my uncle brought me one of from the States the Michigan books as a child: The Great Lakes Ghost Ship or something. Loved it!