The Adventures of Shrinkman

by R.L. Stine

When Danny Marin isn’t playing basketball, he spends hours drawing Shrinkman, his favorite comic-book superhero, or watching Shrinkman movies. His hero can shrink to the size of a bug. But, whoa—wait. Suddenly, Danny finds himself shrinking, too! His parents are horrified, his friend Megan thinks it’s funny, and his doctor is baffled. With each passing hour, Danny gets smaller and smaller—until he’s the size of a sparrow. Soon he’s fighting for his life against a grasshopper, a colony of ants, and even his own dog. He isn't safe anywhere. He has to find a cure—before he shrinks away forever.

Funny and terrifying and filled with BIG surprisesThe Adventures of Shrinkman proves that it takes more than size to overcome impossible hurdles.

Genres: Horror, Childrens, Fantasy

ebook

First published April 13, 2012

About the author

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. 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.

R. L. 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. 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. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

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. He lives in New York, NY.

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Reviews

[Jason Harlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admittedly am ready to stop reading sci-fi stuff, but this was a ton of fun actually. R.L. Stine has a foreword explaining that this was inspired by The Incredible Shrinking Man and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which I enjoyed. Add a fun little twist to those prior works in the shape of our main character being a star basketball player, and you can imagine how fun this is. I enjoyed this from start to finish, and I will say that the ending of this wasn't nearly as predictable as a ton of R.L.'s other stuff. This is definitely (so far) my favorite of the standalone books he did when he was in between Goosebumps projects in the year 2000, and I look forward to checking out the ones I haven't yet read. This gets a 4/5 from me.

[Austin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While most of Stine's other standalone novellas (Zombie Town, My Alien Parents, etc.) are pretty formulaic and derivative, I found this one to have a couple unique twists to it that made it slightly more enjoyable.
Our main character Danny is obsessed with Shrinkman movies and writing his own Shrinkman comic strips until one day he begins shrinking. Unsure of the cause, he and his parents are faced with this terrifying development and stumped on what to do about it.
Instead of the story going through the motions of being small and abandoned and facing the challenges that go along with that, we get to see the characters reactions to the situation and the parents try to help Danny, providing a tad bit of sadness to the story. It's not often that parents play much of a role in Stine's stories.
After a failed attempt at helping Danny, he is unwittingly left behind in his own backyard where he is faced with the threats of dogs, a grasshopper, and ants.
It was all pretty okay - typical fare for this subgenre - but then we get to a unique twist about 3/4 of the way through which I really enjoyed. It wasn't, or rather, shouldn't have been all that surprising of a twist. There were clues and hints earlier on in the story alluding to it, but for whatever reason it still caught me a bit off guard.
After this reveal, Danny is then taken to the science-fair at his school and becomes an object of curiosity which manages to call upon the themes (if ever so briefly) of displaying sideshow "freaks" for fame and fortune. The aforementioned twist is loosely tied into this and I wished it would have gone further with it, but instead, the story takes yet another left turn, abandoning this darker, more unique idea.
Danny and his (kinda)friend, Megan, think they have figured out the cause and the cure to Danny's shrinkage, and set out to reverse the issue. The solution doesn't make complete sense and I think Stine should have stuck to the single-twist in the story, but either way this book was fine; decent enough for what it is. Like the other novellas, this one reads like a short story that is padded out a little, but some of the scenes and twists in here made it a bit more engaging.
The end, the "final twist", is in the same nature as the other 5 books in this series - taking the crux of Danny's problem in the opposite direction and leaving off on a rather bland, predictable note.

Overall this was decent. Probably my favorite of the 6 novellas but still nothing that really stands out.
2.5 rounded up to 3⭐

[Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Rated by my daughter***

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stine-y I shrink the kid

https://spongey444.wordpress.com/2021...

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Adventures Of Shrinkman begins with our main character Danny, hanging out with his best friend Megan. He is drawing his favorite comic book Shrinkman .A man who has the ability to shirink .Think Ant-Man . Megan is working on her science project ,but she doesn't tell him what it is.Danny's teacher overhears him calling him by his nickname and Danny accidentally swallows his gum, prompting Megan to give him something to drink. Danny and Megan end up going to see the newest movie starring Shrinkman afterwards. His dad works at this movie theater,but Danny still has to pay to get in. he ends up buying a soda with shrinkman's name on it from a vending machine .He drinks it and says it tastes very bitter. He also knocks over a roll of the tape thing used to project the movie and accidentally walks in front of the light . The next day at basketball practice, Danny notices the ball is kind of heavy to bounce and the steps seem a little higher. It doesn't take long for him to realize that he's actually shrinking and when the shrinking starts it's actually weird, because the parents are fully involved in this story and it actually gets kind of sad. He keeps shrinking thinking he is going to disapear forever. His parents actually carry him to a doctor and everything, so this story reads a little differently then most of the typical Stine books. I always enjoy books in the Goosebumps series where the protagonist either grows big and is running away from a certain threat,or shrinking and having to fight off everyday things and this book is no acception .Danny fights off two dogs, a grasshopper that spits black stuff (not sure if they really do that or not) and even a mouse which made me especially happy, because this story was intitinally The Incredible Shrinking Fifth Grader, a book in the Series 2000 series.That cover depicted a kid fighting off a giant mouse with a pencil ,so we definitely have that story here and that's great. The negative for this book has to be the ending it was a very rushed climax ,with the reason for the shrinking not really being elaborated ,but I still had a little fun with this book. I give The Adventures Of Shrinkman a three out of five stars.

[Vishnu Chevli · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kid enjoyed it. So that's good measure for me.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Danny is obsessed with his favorite comic book hero: Shrinkman. Danny just wants to be like the comic book hero author and he is working on his craft. Practicing his drawing skills, he takes his talent for his science fair project. His friend Megan is creating hers finding his lame. Danny is shrinking down to give an explanation of the human brain.

Then Danny finds a vending machine with cola of his favorite hero before he decides to re-see a Shrinkman movie. He drinks it and is later bathed in the light of the projection as his favorite hero plays on the screen.

Soon enough he is shrinking, which alert his parents to take him to the doctor's office. The tests are run but Danny is still shrinking.

Eventually Danny is just the size of a parkette and is caged up for his protection where he gets the news from the doctor after having to make his way to the office after falling out of the parent's car. There is no cure And Danny keeps shrinking. Then it is revealed that the little fact of Megan's great-grandma being a witch comes to light that it was her causing to cause him to shrink. But then he gets to think that maybe it was the combination of cola, projection light flashing over him- which did make him feel odd-, and witch's brew that caused the shrinking. So Danny tries to drink the cola, after managing to get a can since the vending machine was removed, growing potion and passing through the light of the 50-foot tall woman movie. Danny grows but now the issue is that he can't stop growing. But at least he is tall again, and now at an advantage for his basketball game. The game that everyone wants Danny's help in.

The plot is something is not the newest one in the book. But adding that Danny continues to shrink or that Danny doesn't immediately shrink is something I have not seen. This is a Stine book that takes back from his earliest ideas as he says so in the introduction-when Stine himself is a kid. So that is interesting to learn about.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty typical "shrinking" story so normally I would give it three stars. However, my son loved it, so I am giving it four.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it… I simply loved this book… people who think Shrinking stories are bad need to read this book. This book was REALLY GOOD.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I'm not really a big fan of shrinking or growing people
You know they always fight insects, rats and other animals and they want to reach somewhere and they usually make a climb for it
Though we had all of these in this book, I thing it was good.
The thing about Megan was perfect and I didn't see it coming, but through the whole book I was just thinking about the Shrinkman Cola and the fact that he doesn't notice that in his last-day-being-normal-size
I think the thing about Megan was the reason I liked the book
P.S: My God, finally a Stine book where the parents believe the character. Which they should have because their child was the size of a mouse! But still it was good to see his parents with him

[Sandra Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superhero that shrinks to the size of a bug sounded kind of dumb. Not if you’re a fan like Danny. Soon, Danny stars to have his own Shrink-Man adventure. And what an adventure it becomes! He becomes a dog chew toy, gets into a fight with a grasshopper, and rides a sneaker like a Bronco. A good read!

[Eric Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, if predictable, story. Danny is shrinking and doesn’t know why, which leads to some genuinely frightening and hilarious moments.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

a funny book for children

thrilling, interesting and surprising ending.
If you would.like to.have a scaring and happy story for kids, it is a good choice

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing twists, turns, and gotchas - definitely one of Stine's best! I'm surprised it isn't more iconic.

[C.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Stephanie Dickinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as goosebumps book but I believe it originally was supposed to be. It definitely reads like one. This was a quick and fun read.

[WayBackWhen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. A fun idea done a million times. It feels a bit mill-y.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun! And my first RL Stine read. I plan to read more of them and see some of the DVD's.

[Fatima Weasley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yo a la Megan no la perdonaría nunca, por eso el prota es hombre. Una mujer planearía venganza.

[sanchit varma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly one of the most enjoyable RL Stine books I have read.
Equal parts goofy and intense - the balance is just right on this one.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
Danny Martin is obsessed with Shrinkman, an itty bitty superhero. Shrinkman shrinks to help fight crime. When watching a Shrinkman movie, Danny drinks some weird flavored drink that he found. Soon after, he begins to shrink. His parents and doctors cannot figure out what is wrong with him. Was that drink to blame? Will Danny ever get back to full size? What happens if he never stops shrinking? Will he disappear forever?

My thoughts:
For those of us that have grown up with the Honey, I shrunk the... series, this fits the genre. It is a lot of fun with several laugh out loud moments. Danny is beginning to live his dream of being like his superhero idol; however, what happens when his own dog's drool can drown him? He never believed he would be fighting for his life against ants! As with all excellent R.L. Stine books, there is a good amount of tension and a lot of adventure. Somehow he manages to make the ridiculous into a topic you just can't get enough of. Readers of all ages will love The Adventures of Shrinkman and wait with abated breath for R.L. Stine's next book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for 6-8th grade reading levels.

In an attempt to read children's books to help my very busy friends find books for their kids, I am reading books for younger reading levels.

If you child scares easily this is an easier book to read, pretty much it is about a kid shrinking and then trying to resolve that issue. It is not overly scary and a good book for kids trying to read a book to help sharpen their reading skills. Vocab is in line with a 6-8th grade reading level, probably more 6th than 8th.

This is a cute book, and if you are an adult a very very fast read

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha ha, this was GREAT!

What a fun read. I'm new to Mr. Stine's work, but really enjoyed The Adventures of Shrinkman! I'll definitely be reading more from his catalog of creepy tales.

[M. Cadena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know what the fuck was this. At first it remembered me to “Monster blood at breakfast”, but kinda bad.
And the end was as random as all R. L. Stine’s endings, but this book was really boring and so bad.

[Drucilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

For as short as it is, this book is really good. Normally I dislike R.L. Stine's red herrings, but I enjoyed them here. I wished the reason why Danny shrunk had been explained more, but, oh well.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun story to read with the kids. My 7 year old boy especially enjoyed it.

[stephanie davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi

I love dis book.

[Lanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I prefer the goosebumps books to this random Stand alone thing. /:

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very confusing at first, but it gets better.

[Andrew kutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 4 1/2