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Series · middle-grade comedy
Rotten School
The Rotten School series by R. L. Stine has 16 known books (16 published) and 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
- Shelved under
- Children's & Middle Grade, Humour
- Last checked
Start here: The Big Blueberry Barf-Off! (2005) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Big Blueberry Barf-Off!
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Big Blueberry Barf-Off! - Book 2:
The Great Smelling Bee
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Great Smelling Bee - Book 3:
The Good, the Bad and the Very Slimy
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Good, the Bad and the Very Slimy - Book 4:
Lose, Team, Lose!
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lose, Team, Lose! - Book 5:
Shake, Rattle and Hurl!
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Shake, Rattle and Hurl! - Book 6:
The Heinie Prize
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Heinie Prize - Book 7:
Dudes, the School Is Haunted!
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dudes, the School Is Haunted! - Book 8:
The Teacher from Heck
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Teacher from Heck - Book 9:
Party Poopers
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Party Poopers - Book 10:
The Rottenest Angel
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Rottenest Angel - Book 11:
Punk'd and Skunked
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Punk'd and Skunked - Book 12:
Battle of the Dum Diddys
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Battle of the Dum Diddys - Book 13:
Got Cake?
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Got Cake? - Book 14:
Night of the Creepy Things
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Night of the Creepy Things - Book 15:
Calling All Birdbrains
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Calling All Birdbrains - Book 16:
Dumb Clucks
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.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dumb Clucks
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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Reading order last verified .