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Series · middle-grade comedy

Rotten School

by R. L. Stine

The Rotten School series by R. L. Stine has 16 known books (16 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with The Big Blueberry Barf-Off! (2005).

Books
16 known books (16 novels)
Published
16
First published
2005
Status
completed
Start here: The Big Blueberry Barf-Off! (2005) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of The Big Blueberry Barf-Off!
The Big Blueberry Barf-Off! (2005)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Big Blueberry Barf-Off!

    Novel
    The Big Blueberry Barf-Off! opened R. L. Stine's 16-book Rotten School series in June 2005, kicking off narrator Bernie Bridges' run of money-making schemes and pranks with one of the gross-out set pieces the series became known for, illustrated throughout by Trip Park. It runs 110 pages.
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  2. The Great Smelling Bee

    Novel
    The Great Smelling Bee followed the same month, June 2005, pitting self-appointed hustler Bernie Bridges against a smelling contest -- one of the gross-out set pieces at the heart of Stine's Rotten School comedy series. It's the second entry, illustrated by Trip Park, running 128 pages.
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  3. The Good, the Bad and the Very Slimy

    Novel
    The Good, the Bad and the Very Slimy came out in September 2005 as the third Rotten School book, continuing Bernie Bridges' string of scheme-of-the-week plans against his nemesis Sherman Oaks and the girls of the neighboring dorm he can't help but try to impress. It runs 110 pages, illustrated by Trip Park.
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  4. Lose, Team, Lose!

    Novel
    Lose, Team, Lose! closed out 2005 in December as the fourth entry in Bernie Bridges' run of boarding-school schemes, part of R. L. Stine's rare foray into pure comedy rather than horror. It runs 108 pages.
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  5. Shake, Rattle and Hurl!

    Novel
    Shake, Rattle and Hurl! opened 2006 in February, the shortest Rotten School entry so far at 96 pages, with Bernie Bridges cooking up another of his gross-out schemes against nemesis Sherman Oaks and the rest of the Rotten School cast.
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  6. The Heinie Prize

    Novel
    The Heinie Prize followed in April 2006 as the sixth book, keeping to the series' formula of one Bernie Bridges plan going hilariously wrong, illustrated in black-and-white by Trip Park throughout. It runs 110 pages.
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  7. Dudes, the School Is Haunted!

    Novel
    Dudes, the School Is Haunted! arrived in June 2006 with Bernie Bridges staging one of the series' signature elaborate pranks -- a haunted-house scheme -- as the seventh entry in R. L. Stine's Rotten School comedy line. It runs 126 pages.
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  8. The Teacher from Heck

    Novel
    The Teacher from Heck followed in August 2006, the eighth book at 105 pages, with Bernie Bridges facing down a new authority figure in his usual boastful, self-deluding first-person voice.
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  9. Party Poopers

    Novel
    Party Poopers closed out 2006 in November as the ninth Rotten School entry, another scheme-of-the-week outing for narrator Bernie Bridges and his rivalry with Sherman Oaks. It runs 126 pages.
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  10. The Rottenest Angel

    Novel
    The Rottenest Angel opened 2007 in January, the tenth book in the series, continuing Bernie Bridges' run of money-making schemes and pranks at the illustrated, gross-out-comedy pace R. L. Stine set from book one. It runs 112 pages.
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  11. Punk'd and Skunked

    Novel
    Punk'd and Skunked followed in March 2007 as the eleventh entry, part of the same run of Bernie Bridges schemes and rivalries with Sherman Oaks that defines the series. It runs 108 pages, illustrated by Trip Park.
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  12. Battle of the Dum Diddys

    Novel
    Battle of the Dum Diddys came out the following month, April 2007, the twelfth book at 117 pages, with Bernie Bridges' latest plan providing the usual gross-out set piece and comic peril.
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  13. Got Cake?

    Novel
    Got Cake? followed in June 2007 as the thirteenth entry, another self-contained Bernie Bridges scheme in R. L. Stine's illustrated, chapter-book comedy series. It runs 105 pages.
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  14. Night of the Creepy Things

    Novel
    Night of the Creepy Things arrived in August 2007, the longest entry in the series at 128 pages, with Bernie Bridges' latest scheme running into trouble in his trademark boastful, self-deluding narration.
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  15. Calling All Birdbrains

    Novel
    Calling All Birdbrains followed in October 2007, matching the previous book's 128-page length as the fifteenth entry, still built around one of Bernie Bridges' plans going hilariously wrong.
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  16. Dumb Clucks

    Novel
    Dumb Clucks closed out the Rotten School series in January 2008, the sixteenth and final entry at 116 pages, giving narrator Bernie Bridges and his running rivalry with Sherman Oaks a last outing before R. L. Stine wrapped the series.
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Key facts about the Rotten School series

Our list has 16 books in the Rotten School series. Since all 16 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with The Big Blueberry Barf-Off!, since it opens the publication order in 2005. The Great Smelling Bee is book 2, from 2005. The Good, the Bad and the Very Slimy is book 3, from 2005.

Lose, Team, Lose! is book 4, from 2005. Shake, Rattle and Hurl! is book 5, from 2006. The Heinie Prize is book 6, from 2006.

Dudes, the School Is Haunted! is book 7, from 2006, while The Teacher from Heck is book 8, from 2006. Party Poopers is book 9, from 2006.

The Rottenest Angel is book 10, from 2007, while Punk'd and Skunked is book 11, from 2007. Battle of the Dum Diddys is book 12, from 2007. Since the list above shows all 16, you can find the rest there.

The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2005 and 2008, while their length runs from 96 to 128 pages. That is a run of 3 years.

R. L. Stine has 236 books on our list. Additionally, they write Fear Street, Goosebumps and Goosebumps Series 2000, plus 8 more series. We shelve the books under middle-grade comedy.

About the Rotten School series

Rotten School is R.L. Stine's answer to a pure comedy series, trading Goosebumps' scares for the gross-out humor and social scheming of a boarding school for spoiled rich kids. Narrator Bernie Bridges is the school's self-appointed con artist and hustler, forever cooking up money-making schemes, elaborate pranks, and revenge plots against his nemesis Sherman Oaks, all while trying (and usually failing) to impress the girls of neighboring Rotten School dorm.

Each book is a short, illustrated chapter book built around one of Bernie's plans going hilariously wrong -- entering a smelling contest, running a barf-inducing snack stand, staging a haunted-house prank -- narrated in Bernie's boastful, self-deluding first-person voice with black-and-white illustrations by Trip Park throughout. It's a lighter, sillier register than anything else in Stine's catalogue, aimed at younger middle-grade readers who want jokes and gross-out set pieces rather than horror.

Running 16 books from 2005 to 2008, Rotten School gave Stine -- best known almost exclusively as a horror writer by that point -- a rare chance to publish a straightforwardly comic series, and it remains one of his most purely funny, least-referenced works outside the Goosebumps and Fear Street brands that define his reputation.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Rotten School series?

16 books, published from The Big Blueberry Barf-Off! (2005) through Dumb Clucks (2008).

What order should I read Rotten School in?

Publication order, used here, though each book is a self-contained story built around narrator Bernie Bridges' latest scheme, so you can start anywhere.

Is Rotten School a horror series like Goosebumps?

No -- it's a comedy series about a boarding-school con artist's pranks and money-making schemes, a rare non-horror project from R.L. Stine.

Who illustrates Rotten School?

Trip Park illustrated all 16 books.

Is Rotten School finished?

Yes, it concluded with Dumb Clucks in January 2008 and has not continued since.

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