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Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes

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Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes is the thirty-fourth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1995.

The original 1995 cover illustration shows Hap and Chip posing in a garden.

The 2011 Classic Goosebumps cover has two gnomes, one of them grinning evilly.

Blurb[]

SOMEONE'S BEEN STALKING IN MY GARDEN!

Two pink flamingos. A whole family of plaster skunks. Joe Burton's dad loves those tacky lawn ornaments. But then he brings home two ugly lawn gnomes. And that's when the trouble starts. Late at night. When everyone's asleep. Someone's creeping in the garden. Whispering nasty things. Smashing melons. Squashing tomatoes. No way two dumb old lawn ornaments could be causing all the trouble. Is there?

Plot[]

Joe Burton and his sister, Mindy are playing a game of ping pong in their basement. The game halts when Moose McCall, Joe's neighbor and best friend, stops by for a visit. Joe and Moose share something in common: their fathers are both obsessed with gardening. The two men are in a constant rivalry over whose garden looks better. Now that Summer has arrived, Mr. McCall has been growing casaba melons, which Joe's dad scoffs at, claiming the growing season in Minnesota is too short to develop them sufficiently. He himself is growing tomatoes. With the annual garden show right around the corner, the two men are locked in a heated battle for first place, especially after Joe's father won the previous year.

The kids head outside, and Mindy sees their dog, Buster, digging in Mr. McCall's garden. Unfortunately, this is far from the first time he's done this; the dog seems to love digging holes and helping himself to the garden's many vegetables. Joe and his sister successfully lure Buster from the garden, but not before Mr. McCall steps out and sees Buster with dirt on his paws. Joe is terrified of Mr. McCall; the man is large and used to barking orders from his time in the army. Joe is able to make a quick excuse, and Mindy promises Buster won't come near his garden again. This seems to please Mr. McCall, who threatens to send Buster to the pound if he catches him digging around again. He then orders Moose to go water his casabas

Joe and Mindy head back home when they are stopped by their father. He's upset because he saw a fruit fly on his prized tomato, and he has the two kids help him spray the garden. To celebrate saving the tomatoes, Joe's father drags Joe and Mindy along on a trip to Lawn Lovely, a nearby store specializing in lawn ornaments. Joe's dad loves decorating his garden, with lawn ornaments, which decorate the Burton's the whole front yard. There are plastic flamingos and a plastic deer. There's plaster skunks and kissing swans. In addition to owning and buying them, Joe's father dresses the lawn ornaments up on holidays, and their yard once appeared in the paper, at Christmas when he dressed all the ornaments as Santa's helpers, much to Mindy's embarrassment. As the three arrive at the store, Joe's father tells the Ms. Anderson, the hard-of-hearing store owner, he's seeking something new. Immediately, a pair of lawn gnomes catch his eye. Mindy is repulsed at the sight of them; there's something unfriendly about their smiles, and their eyes seem cold. However, despite her protests, their father buys the two gnomes and names them Hap and Chip, one for his happy expression, and the other for a chip on his tooth.

The three struggle homeward carrying the heavy Lawn Gnomes, and Joe's father places Hap and Chip in the garden. Buster begins to examine the gnomes, licking their face and forcing Joe to lure him away with a dog whistle. To his surprise, Joe sees the expression of the gnome change from a grin to an open-mouthed expression of fear. Joe shouts and tells everyone what he's seen, but by the time they look at the gnome, the expression is back to the same smile.

The next morning, Joe wakes up to an angry Mr. McCall. He reveals to Joe and his father that one of his casaba melons was smashed into pieces during the night; the blame immediately falls on Buster, who is then tied up in the backyard to prevent him from entering Mr. McCall's garden again, which Buster hates. Initially thinking raccoons must be responsible for the smashed casaba melon, Joe knows Buster must be innocent and grows angry at Mr. McCall. Later, Moose comes over, and the two play ring toss using the gnome's pointy hats. As they play, Joe notices an orange seed sticking out of Chip's mouth, and struggles to find a proper explanation for it.

In the morning, the Burton family are once again called out by Mr. McCall, who shows them that the rest of his casaba melons have been vandalized — sloppy smiley faces are drawn on the melons in black marker, which Joe realizes a raccoon isn't responsible for. Mindy reveals that she caught Joe sneaking out the previous night and he told her he planned to destroy the rest of Mr. McCall's melons. Joe swears he is innocent and that he actually went outside to calm Buster down as Buster was howling; he adds that he was actually joking when he told Mindy he wanted to wreck the casabas, and says he'd never really do anything like that. However, his father doesn't believe him, and grounds him for two weeks: one for vandalizing the melons, and another for lying about it.

With nothing to do, Joe takes Buster for a walk. When he arrives home, Joe notices black paint on the gnome's fingers. He once again witnesses the gnome's expressions change and comes to the conclusion that the gnomes must be alive. As Joe lies down on the grass he thinks he hears the gnomes whispering to him. He tries to tell his family about what he saw and heard, but they disregard his story as an unfunny joke.

After dinner, Joe's father finds his tomatoes have been squashed all over the yard and he grows enraged. Joe tells him the gnomes are to blame, and drags his Dad to them to prove it, only to discover absolutely no signs of tomato on the gnomes. Joe's father blames Mr. McCall for wrecking his tomatoes, and the two get in a heated argument. Later that night, Joe is restless thinking about the gnomes. He looks out his window and discovers the two of them are gone. He tries to wake up his parents and Mindy, but they seem fed up with his constant gnome talk. He goes outside to investigate further, but Moose catches him. Before they can look further, both of their fathers see them and demand they come inside. Joe insists the gnomes are missing, and his father grudgingly agrees to look. To Joe's relief, his father agrees that they're missing. A moment later, the lawn gnomes appear, having been hidden in the late-night fog, ending the matter.

Strange, mischievous things continue to happen, as the next morning, Mr. McCall's jeep has been vandalized with white paint. Moose informs Joe that his father is pressing charges, and Joe knows that once the police investigate, the blame will fall on him. As Joe then notices a trail of paint leading to where the gnomes stand, Joe is determined to catch them in action. He convinces Moose to help him set a trap for them. Hours pass spying on them, and the gnomes remain as still as statues. At the last second, the gnomes start to move and begin causing mischief. Joe and Moose slowly follow the gnomes, but all the noise wakes up Buster. The dog barks and alerts the gnomes of their presence. They start to chase after Joe and Moose until the two reach the porch. They are stopped by Mindy, who is then grabbed by the gnomes and carried into the street.

Joe and Moose chase after the gnomes until they are eventually face to face with Hap and Chip. The gnomes tell the children they mean no harm, and only wanted to get their attention. They explain that they are Mischief Elves, and that causing mischief is simply in their nature. They reveal that they were kidnapped from their native home and forced to work as lawn ornaments. They beg the children to help them free six other gnomes, who are trapped in the basement of Lawn Lovely — if they do, the gnomes promise they will cease their mischief forever. Joe and his sister agree, and they follow the gnomes back to the store.

They make their way into the basement and discover the gnomes were lying to them. A horde of over 600 gnomes is waiting for them. The mob moves in on the three, promising that they are going to have so much fun.

The gnomes chant over what they should do with their new prisoners. Joe initially thinks he can shout out for Mrs. Anderson to rescue them, but the gnomes scoff at this, because of her hearing loss. The kids hear barking and realize Buster has followed them. The dog peeks his head in, but quickly trots away, seemingly disinterested. Joe grabs his dog whistle to get him back, but the gnomes grab it off of him. After a brief but intense struggle, Joe claims it back, and blows it, to make Buster come back. He then discovers the gnomes freezing up in terror, and concludes the gnomes were scared of the sound of the dog whistle, and not of Buster; hoping the gnomes are permanently frozen, the three escape the shop.

The next morning, their father is saddened at the apparent theft of the gnomes. Their replacement is a large plaster gorilla which Joe's mother finds hideous. Joe and Mindy decide anything's better than the gnomes and tell their Dad they love it. Joe looks up at the gorilla and tells it to be a good gorilla, and not be like the Gnomes; in response, the gorilla winks at him.

Reprints and rereleases[]

Book Release date Type Media

2003 - 2007 reprint series

 June 2004 Standalone Paperback

Classic Goosebumps

 April 2011 Standalone Paperback

Target Reprints

 2015 Standalone Target Paperback


International releases[]

Classic Goosebumps


Differences[]

  • The UK releases usually use the American titles. However, for this book, it was retitled to Revenge of the Garden Gnomes. This change was later undone with the Classic Goosebumps reprint.
  • In Portugal, this is the thirty-fifth book in the original series.
  • In the Portuguese adaptation of the story there are some notable differences:
    • Joe and Mindy Burton are called "Joel and Renata Brito."
    • "Moose" McCall is called "Morsa" Mendonça."
  • The Classic Goosebumps reprint changes two instances of "carpet" to "floor".
    • "They were carved in Europe" is changed "They were made in Europe".
    • "Buy a deer" is changed to "Buy another deer".
    • Buster hanging his tail low between his legs when he is blamed for the damage is removed.
    • "They scraped across the yard" becomes "they scurried across the yard".
    • On page 53, "I screamed" is turned into "I shrieked".
    • "Fingertips" is changed to "hands" when describing smudge on the gnomes. In a similar vain, "stubby toes" is changed to "stubby feet".
    • One stance of "garden", on page 79, is changed to "yard".
    • The doghouse goes from being in the center of the yard, to the corner.
    • The gnomes claiming to be Mischief Elves is changed to Mischief Gnomes.
    • Joe climbing onto the gnomes' caps is changed to climbing onto their shoulders.
  • In Israel, this is the twenty-eighth book in the original series.

Merchandise[]

Adaptations[]

TV series[]

Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes was adapted into an episode of the Goosebumps TV series. It is the eighth episode of season two, and the twenty-seventh episode overall.

Audiobooks[]

Audiobook Release date Length Narrated by Published by

November 1996 60 minutes Justin Shenkarow Walt Disney Records
► Play in Spotify
 December 2015 2 hours, 43 minutes Maxwell Glick Scholastic Inc.

Goosebumps Graphix[]

Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes was adapted into a Goosebumps Graphix story in July 2007, as the first story in Scary Summer. It was illustrated by Dean Haspiel.

Artwork[]

Conceptual[]

Tear-outs[]

The original printing of this book included a Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost Beach light switch plate cover tear-out.

Trivia[]

Gnome revision

The gnome picking his nose as he would've been in the original artwork; originally shared to The Bumps.

  • The cover art by Tim Jacobus originally featured the gnome on the left picking his nose. Unhappy with the hand gesture, Scholastic asked Jacobus to adjust the gnome's hand and face. On Jacobus' website, you can purchase a sketch of this cover with the nose picking intact.
  • When asked which Goosebumps books could've been better, R.L. Stine brought up Go Eat Worms! and this book, stating he wasn't happy with the writing.[1]
  • Joe and Mindy's parents are Jeffrey and Marion Burton in the book and Moose's father is Bill McCall.
    • Marion Burton was also the first mother to be mentioned by name in the books.
  • The 1996 audiobook adaptation features voice work from Justin Shenkarow and Charlie Adler.
  • This book references the Minnesota Vikings and MTV.
  • For a limited time in 1996, KFC in Canada offered this book for $2.29 with the purchase of a meal. Copies of this version featured a giant YTV logo on the cover.
  • Despite the novel's title, the titular gnomes aren't really getting revenge on anything or anyone. They even mention in the book that they just cause mischief for fun.

References in other Goosebumps media[]

Errors[]

  • The Classic Goosebumps reprint contains a possible error on page 28. Mrs. Anderson says "Right, Jeffery?" while in the reprint, there is an exclamation point instead of a question mark.
    • On page 47, "It'll just a take a few minutes" is accidentally changed to "It's just take a few minutes".
  • There is an error where Joe sees black paint on the gnomes, even though they used black markers to vandalize the casabas. The initial scene is not fixed in the reprint, but it is when Joe tells Moose about his finding.

References[]

  1. ↑ "The Bumps" — "Ask R.L. Stine!" August 12 (archived)
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