History Creator / BruceCoville

* ''Space Station Ice-3'' (1987 as ''Murder in Orbit''; reissued in 1996)[[note]]Originally part of the ''Omni Odysseys'' series, a package series of three unrelated science fiction stories.[[/note]]

* ''Fortune's Journey'' (1994) - historical fiction.

* ''Sarah and the Dragon'' (1987)

* ''Bruce Coville's Shapeshifters'' (1999)
* ''Bruce Coville's Alien Visitors'' (1999)
* ''Bruce Coville's Strange Worlds'' (2000)
* ''Bruce Coville's [=UFO=]s'' (2000)

* ''Herds of Thunder, Manes of Gold'' (1989)
* ''A Glory of Unicorns'' (1998)[[labelnote:Contents]]''The Guardian of Memory'' (1998), by Bruce Coville; ''Tearing Down the Unicorns'' (1998), by Janni Lee Simner; ''Beyond the Fringe'' (1998), by Gregory Maguire; ''Stealing Dreams'' (1998), by Ruth O'Neill; ''The Dream-Child'' (1998), by Nancy Varian Berberick; ''The Ugly Unicorn'' (1991), by Jessica Amanda Salmonson; ''Story Hour'' (1998), by Katherine Coville; ''The Unicorns of Kabustan'' (1998), by Alethea Eason; ''A Song for Croaker Nordge'' (1998), by Nancy Varian Berberick and Greg LaBarbera; ''The Healing Truth'' (1998), by Kathryn Lay; ''Child of Faerie'' (1998), by Gail Kimberly; ''The New Girl'' (1998), by Sean Stewart. [[/labelnote]]

* TheVerse: Many of Coville's fantasy books take place in the same universe, or at least the same [[TheMultiverse multiverse]].
** The wizard Bellenmore and his apprentice Aaron link multiple series: they appear in person in Coville's short story ''Wizard's Boy'' (from ''[[Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Bruce Coville's Book of Magic]]''), and are mentioned in ''Goblins on the Prowl'', ''[[Literature/MagicShop Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher]]'' and ''Literature/TheUnicornChronicles''. All three include mentions of how Bellenmore had sent the majority of Earth's dragons away from their birth world for their own safety, and the latter two feature dragons who were directly affected by Bellenmore's actions.
** Per the author's notes in ''Goblins on the Prowl'' and the guestbook of Coville's official website, ''The Foolish Giant'' and ''The Dragonslayers'' are set in the same universe as (and sometime prior to the events of) ''Goblins in the Castle'' and ''Goblins on the Prowl''.
** The short story ''The Boy With Silver Eyes'' features both Nilbog (from the Goblins duology) and Luster (from ''The Unicorn Chronicles'').

When young preteens stumble into S.H. Elives' magic shop, each winds up taking home a special item that will change their lives forever.

William has lived in Toad-in-a-Cage Castle his entire life. But one night, he discovers the strange secret in the north tower, leading him into a dangerous quest to rescue a friend from the land of the goblins. Book 2 continues the story from the point of view of William's friend Fauna, and reveals both their origins, as well as that of the enormous stone toad that gave the castle its name.

Young Cara finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure when she enters the magical land of Luster, home of the unicorns and other beings, and encounters the Hunters seeking to destroy them.

* ''I Was a Sixth Grade Alien'' (1999)
* ''The Attack of the Two-Inch Teacher'' (1999)
* ''I Lost My Grandfather's Brain'' (1999)
* ''Peanut Butter Lover Boy'' (2000)
* ''Zombies of the Science Fair'' (2000)
* ''Don't Fry My Veeblax!'' (2000)
* ''Too Many Aliens'' (2000)
* ''Snatched From Earth'' (2000)
* ''There's an Alien in My Backpack'' (2000)
* ''The Revolt of the Miniature Mutants'' (2001)
* ''There's an Alien in My Underwear'' (2001)
* ''Farewell to Earth'' (2001)

* ''Space Station Ice-3'' (1987 as ''Murder in Orbit''; reissued in 1996)

* ''The Dragonslayers'' (1994)
* ''Fortune's Journey'' (1994)

* ''The Monsters of Morley Manor'' (2001)

* ''Always October'' (2012) - his 100th book published.

* ''The Foolish Giant'' (1978) - Coville's very first book to be published.

Themed anthologies with introductions and an opening story by Bruce Coville, and occasionally one or two more of his snuck in among the other entries. Books 7-11 include the five-part story ''The Monsters of Morley Manor'', which would be expanded and revised into the book of the same name.

* ''The Unicorn Treasury'' (1988)

* ''A Glory of Unicorns'' (1998)
* ''Half Human'' (2001)
* ''The One Right Thing'' (2008)[[note]]Released in hardcover only.[[/note]]
* ''Bruce Coville's Book of Fear'' (2012; e-book only release)

* ''The Ghost Let Go'' (1995, short story[[note]]Collected in ''Bruce Coville's Book of Ghosts'' and ''Oddest of All''[[/note]])

** Per the author's notes in ''Goblins on the Prowl'' and the guestbook of Coville's official website, ''The Foolish Giant'' and ''The Dragonslayers'' are set in the same universe as ''Goblins in the Castle'' and its direct sequel ''Goblins on the Prowl''.
** Mentions of the wizards Bellenmore and his apprentice Aaron further link that world with the worlds of ''Elives' Magic Shop'', ''The Unicorn Chronicles'' and some of Coville's short stories (such as ''Wizard's Boy'' from ''Bruce Coville's Book of Magic'', which features Aaron and Bellenmore directly).

* TheVerse: Many of Coville's fantasy books take place in the same universe, or at least the same multiverse. Mentions of the wizards Bellenmore and his apprentice Aaron link the worlds of ''Elives' Magic Shop'', ''The Unicorn Chronicles'', the ''Goblins'' duology and some of Coville's short stories (such as ''Wizard's Boy'' from ''Bruce Coville's Book of Magic''). In addition, the Author's notes in ''Goblins on the Prowl'' confirm that his picture book ''The Foolish Giant'' is set in the same universe, while lines from the book mentioning that their land is ruled by "Queen Wilhelmina", who had a bear for a friend many years ago, suggest that the series takes place in the same world as ''The Dragonslayers'' (a connection later confirmed via the guestbook of Coville's official website).

* TheBully: Lucius Colton in the first two books. Flash Milligan, the camp lighting specialist, is a grown-up version who's even worse.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: ''Camp Haunted Hills'' features famous director Gregory Stevens (who founded the camp in its current form), who is essentially a combination of George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg. His films include the ''Battle For the Galaxy'' trilogy (a reference to ''Star Wars''), ''White Death'' (referencing ''Jaws''), ''Temple of the Golden Arches'', and ''Boogeymen'' (which was said to be making money so fast that the government would have to open a new printing plant to make enough dollars to pay his earnings).

* SawStarWarsTwentySevenTimes: In ''Camp Haunted Hills'', Stuart Glassman admits to having seen ''Battle For the Galaxy'' fifteen times the first week it was open.

* TimeSkip: Between books 2 and 3. Book 2 ends partway through Stuart's first year at Camp Haunted Hills, while book 3 picks up right before he goes back for his second year.

* MultitaskedConversation: ''How I Survived My Summer Vacation'' has a rather puckish ghost that only the protagonist can see, who at one point congratulates the protagonist on being able to do this.

!!''[[Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Bruce Coville's Book of...]]''

Anthology series containing a mix of previously published and brand new stories exclusively by Coville.

* ''Oddly Enough'' (1994)
* ''Odder Than Ever'' (1999)

* ''Oddest of All'' (2008)

%%[[folder: Short stories]]
%%[[/folder]]

!!''Nina Tanleven''

* DevelopmentHell: Coville has a number of books he'd LIKE to write, including further installments in ''The Unicorn Chronicles'', the ''Literature/MagicShop'' series, the ''Nina Tanleven'' series and others. Unfortunately, publishers don't seem interested, leaving these plans unfulfilled for now. The truly curious can find references to many of these works and others in his replies on the guestbook of his official website.

[[folder: Nina Tanleven]]

* AnArmAndALeg: ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'' features Cornelius Fletcher, who sustained major leg injuries in World War I. A few years later, his wounded legs were further damaged to the point of no return from frostbite, and subsequently amputated.
* BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts: In "The Ghost Let Go", Nina "Nine" Tanleven, her friend Chris Gurley, and Nine's father get in an accident because of what they initially suspect might be a hitchhiking ghost, with Nine and Chris theorizing that she caused them to crash rather than ask for a lift because the driver wasn't alone. The "ghost" later turns out to be the very much alive Dolores Smiley. Her mother is a ghost, who was accidentally struck and killed by a car almost identical to the Tanleven's (Dolores mistook their car for the one from long ago, which is why she ran out in front of them and caused their accident), and Dolores goes out every year on the anniversary of Mrs. Smiley's death, hoping she'll find her spirit wandering the road where she died so that she can finally apologize for the last, hateful words she ever said to her mother.
* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Referenced in ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'', in which Nine's father, who restores old buildings for a living, decides that after years of being too busy, it's time for him to restore their own house, starting by stripping the old (and ugly) wallpaper from their stairwell and replacing it.
* DeathOfAChild: The titular character of ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'' is a young girl who died of influenza a few years after World War I.
* DrivenToSuicide: In the backstory of ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'', the titular ghost died after her father Cornelius Fletcher was beaten and left to die outside the wall of their home, unable to get inside and bring her the medicine that would have saved her life. The ringleader of the group that did the beating was Hiram Potter, and afterward discovered that not only had an innocent child died because of him, Potter's ''own'' first-born owed his life to Fletcher, who'd been badly injured while saving the young man during a battle in World War I. These two discoveries led Hiram to hang himself in his barn.
* EvilLawyerJoke: Downplayed version in ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'', where Chris once remarks that her father says "You shouldn't believe anything you hear from a lawyer."
-->'''Nine''': "I thought your uncle was a lawyer."
-->'''Chris''' (laughing): "He's the reason my dad says that!"
* GrassIsGreener: Discussed in the first book, as while she's happy at home, Nine thinks that she also kind of likes things at Chris's house, since it's always occupied and nobody's ever lonely (in stark contrast to Nine's own home where it's just she and her Dad). However, after some consideration, she decides she'd probably go crazy if she had to live there for real.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: The elderly Arnie and Meg Coleman in ''The Ghost Wore Gray''; Arnie is six-foot-five, and Meg is about Nine's height (four-foot-ten).
* IfICantHaveYou: In ''The Ghost in the Third Row'', the ghost was killed by a jealous lover after she chooses his rival over him.
* ImpossiblyDeliciousFood: Mentioned, jokingly, in ''The Ghost Wore Gray'': Nine suggests that Captain Jonathan Gray is hanging around as a ghost because he'd had one of the cook's pastries and decided he'd already made it to heaven.
* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Nina's friend Chris Gurley is the only girl in a family of seven children, which doesn't amuse her - she complains that it's "like living with a football team".
* MissingMom: Nine's mother left (though without divorcing her husband) about two years before the series started in order to "find herself".
* NarrativeProfanityFilter:
** In ''The Ghost in the Third Row'', Nine and Chris are trapped in a very small, very dark room, and don't know what to do. Chris points out that "being picky won't get them anywhere." Nine tells the reader that "actually, that was the meaning of what she said. Her actual words would probably burn the page."
** ''The Ghost Wore Gray'' has Nine recall that Edgar Lonis, director of the play from the first book, once commented to her that one of the great secrets of acting was planting a seed in the audience's mind and then letting it grow. He then told her: "Your problem, Nine, is that once you plant the seed, you go overboard with the fertilizer." Except, Nine recalls, "He didn't say fertilizer".
* NotInFrontOfTheParrot: Inverted in "The Ghost Let Go" - as a ghost, Mrs. Smiley taught her parrot a phrase that she ''wanted'' to get out, but nobody understood it for the longest time. [[spoiler:The phrase is "Go to Jeremiah", which ultimately leads Nine to the Book of Jeremiah in Mrs. Smiley's old bible, where she'd left the letter to her daughter that she'd written as she was dying.]]
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Pop", the old man who keeps the Grand Theater in shape and does prop work for the plays in ''The Ghost in the Third Row''. [[spoiler:His real name isn't given until after he dies saving Nine, when it's revealed that he's Edward Parker, who'd vowed to stay in the theater until he could be reunited with his dead love Lily Larkin, the titular ghost of the book.]]
* PartingWordsRegret: "The Ghost Let Go" has a young woman whose last words to her mother were "I HATE YOU!", before [[spoiler:the mother and the girl's boyfriend (the cause of the argument) were killed in a car crash, while the girl was horribly disfigured]]. The regret at those words, and the fact that ghosts can't communicate with the living (except the protagonists), is what is causing them to stay, hence the title.
* PunnyName: Nina "Nine" Tanleven, who has to explain it to at least one person in just about every book.
* RelativeError: Unusual variant in ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'' - Nine goes to Phoebe Watson's home to feed her cat while Phoebe is in the hospital, and while she's upstairs, a man also unexpectedly enters the house. Nine avoids being seen by him, but does hear his voice and, afraid that he's a burglar, manages to sneak out in time to meet up with her father, get home and call the police. The next day, while she and Chris are in the hospital visiting Phoebe, the "prowler" also turns up to visit and turns out to be Phoebe's cousin Byron, whom Phoebe didn't expect to arrive until that morning. Fortunately, Byron is somewhat amused by the misunderstanding after Nine explains herself, and accepts her apology; it helps that Phoebe keeps his picture on her dresser, which he was able to use as proof that he really did belong there when the police came by.
* StarvingArtist: In ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'', Byron Fletcher is specifically referred to as one, and identified as "following in the family tradition" because of it.
* WomanInWhite: ''The Ghost in the Third Row'' features a ghost called the Woman in White, an actress who had been murdered in the theater fifty years ago. The fact that the protagonists in the book were putting on the play of her origin story gets her attention...

[[/folder]]

* ''The Ghost Let Go'' (1995, short story)

* PunnyName: Nina "Nine" Tanleven.
* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Referenced in ''The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed'', in which Nine's father, who restores old buildings for a living, decides that after years of being too busy, it's time for him to restore their own house, starting by stripping the old (and ugly) wallpaper from their stairwell and replacing it.

* EvilLawyerJoke: Downplayed version in the ''Nina Tanleven'' series, where Chris once remarks that her father says "You shouldn't believe anything you hear from a lawyer."

* MassiveNumberedSiblings: In the ''Nina Tanleven'' series, Nina's friend Chris Gurley is the only girl in a family of seven children, which doesn't amuse her - she complains that it's "like living with a football team".

* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Referenced in book 3 of the ''Nina Tanleven'' series, in which Nine's father, who restores old buildings for a living, decides that after years of being too busy, it's time for him to restore their own house, starting by stripping the old (and ugly) wallpaper from their stairwell and replacing it.

[[folder: Short stories]]

* AdaptationExpansion: Three of Coville's short stories have been expanded into full books by Coville himself.
** ''My Little Brother Is a Monster'' (published in 1993 in ''Bruce Coville's Book of Monsters'') was expanded and adapted into ''Always October'' in 2012.
** ''Clean As a Whistle'' (first published in the 1994 anthology ''Oddly Enough'') was expanded and adapted into ''Diary of a Mad Brownie'' (2015).
** The five-part ''The Monsters of Morley Manor'' was expanded into ''Literature/TheMonstersOfMorleyManor''.
* DeadAllAlong: The protagonist of "The Thing in Auntie Alma's Pond" is terrified of her aunt's pond, but doesn't know why. Eventually she remembers that she was in a boating accident on the pond -- which she died in. Having at last faced up to the truth, she moves on into the afterlife.
* DiscoveringYourOwnDeadBody: The protagonist of Coville's short story "The Thing in Auntie Alma's Pond" does this.
* HasTwoMommies: The short story ''Duffy's Jacket'' has the title character and his cousins Andrew and Marie, whose mothers are sisters and raise the trio together, with no fathers in sight.
* ImpossiblyDeliciousFood: "Biscuits of Glory" features biscuits that are "heavenly" in a near-literal sense. In a normal person, this causes levitation. [[spoiler:When given to a ghost, it "feels like it went to heaven," and is exorcised.]] This is ultimately a negative effect, because nothing else can compare to the taste of the biscuits.

[[/folder]]

!!''Bruce Coville's Book of...''

!!!''Bruce Coville's Chamber of Horrors''

!!!''The A. I. Gang''

!!!''Nina Tanleven''

!!!''Camp Haunted Hills''

!!!''Literature/MagicShop''

!!!''Literature/MyTeacherIsAnAlien''

!!!''Literature/SpaceBrat''

!!!''Goblins'' duology

!!!''Rod Allbright Alien Adventures''

!!!''The Unicorn Chronicles''

!!!Shakespeare retellings

!!!''I Was a Sixth Grade Alien'' (''My Best Friend Is an Alien'' in some countries)

!!!''Moongobble and Me''

!!!''Amber Brown''

!!!''The Enchanted Files''

!!!''Bruce Coville's Book of...''

!!!''Bruce Coville's...''

!!!''Oddities''

!!!Other anthologies

[[http://www.brucecoville.com/home.asp His official website is here.]]

An American author of the baby boomer generation known for his YoungAdult and ChildrensLiterature. He tends to write in the SpeculativeFiction genre, occasionally dipping into horror, although generally of the [[DefangedHorrors kid-friendly variety]].

[[folder: The A.I. Gang]]

* BagOfHolding: Non-fantastic example, but the gang is still amazed by how much stuff Ray can store in his pants pockets.
* BigBad: Black Glove, the top agent of G.H.O.S.T., is this for the whole series.
* BigEater: Wendy. It's said that hunger is almost a permanent condition with her.
* BizarreTasteInFood: Wendy's appetite is described as "remarkable at its best", and is said to have taken a turn for the bizarre in ''Robot Trouble'', though details (such as the contents of her "Megaburger") are not given.
* BubblePipe: Dr. Mercury uses one.
* CassandraTruth: Despite the gang's repeated attempts to convince the adults on the island, especially Dr. Hwa, that there's a dangerous threat, most of the adults (except for Dr. Remov, who's the one who actually told them about G.H.O.S.T. and Black Glove in the first place) just ignore them. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted when it turns out Dr. Hwa knew they were telling the truth the whole time, but covered it up because he ''was'' Black Glove!]]
* CompanionCube: Ray and his ever-present basketball.
* CreatingLifeIsBad: [[spoiler: Dr. Standish]] firmly believes in this and is fueled by outrage at the idea that humans would try to create a computer that can think.
* DeusEstMachina: The title characters are the children of superscientist working to create an Artificial Intelligence named ADAM. In the finale, ADAM wakes up. [[spoiler: "He" starts talking to the protagonists and the villain and, by the end of the conversation, he's figured out how to create force-fields, disable all the nuclear weapons in the world, and the Unified Field Theory. He then sinks beneath the ocean, because he's not sure if humanity is ready for him.]]
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Wendy disappears during the battle with the robo-shark, but turns up alive and well later. It turns out the shark knocked her out during the fight and she was rescued and taken back to land by the gang's mysterious and, at that point, unidentified ally.]]
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: Ramon Korbuscek, main antagonist of ''The A.I. Gang #2: Robot Trouble''. It's revealed early on that in his time training under Dr. Stanley Remov, the older man had implanted a post-hypnotic suggestion that only he could use, causing a crippling wave of fear in the subject. Later, when Ramon is on a catwalk, struggling with Hap and Roger, Dr. Remov speaks Ramon's key word over the intercom, causing the spy to jump away from them into open air and fall to his death.]]
* DoesNotLikeSpam: Wendy ''hates'' tofu and other "healthy foods" that her parents try to foist off on her.
* FeedItABomb: [[spoiler: The robo-shark in ''Forever Begins Tomorrow'' attacks Trip and he hurriedly gets out of the way, leaving Black Glove's latest transmitter, which is about to self-destruct in a ''very'' big way, in his place... so the shark swallows the bomb just before it goes off.]]
* FunWithAcronyms: G.H.O.S.T., said to be an acronym for "General Headquarters for Organized Strategic Terrorism". [[spoiler: It's really "General Headquarters for ''Oppose'' Strategic Terrorism".]]
* GadgeteerGenius: Somewhat downplayed version with Hap. He's a superb "nuts-and-bolts" type with a talent for putting things together, but none of his creations are ''too'' far out of the norm.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Sgt. Brody's security robots have these.
* HairTriggerTemper: Wendy is described as a "four-foot stick of dynamite with a two-inch fuse".
* HeightAngst: Ray Gammand is once mentioned as having "never forgiven his body for choosing his mother's genes for height instead of his father's" (Hugh Gammand is over seven feet tall). It doesn't help that he believes he needs to be taller in order to play basketball, which is his favorite sport.
* IWarnedYou: Dr. Remov has believed in G.H.O.S.T. and Black Glove all along, but his friend Dr. Mercury always thought the idea was nonsense. [[spoiler: In ''Forever Begins Tomorrow'', Remov gets to say he was right when Black Glove formally reveals himself.]]
* MadBomber: The main antagonist of ''The A.I. Gang #1: Operation Sherlock'' is one, seeking to destroy the island and everyone on it to stop them from building a truly self-aware computer, considering the idea to be horrific. The trope name is even included on the back of the book.
* MeaningfulName: Dr. Mercury's surname is regarded as fitting by the narration, due to his being the smallest and roundest of the scientists.
* MechanicalMonster: Sgt. Brody's security robots are big, tough and terrifying.
* MessOnAPlate: Wendy thinks of her mother's preferred meal of tofu and bean sprouts as this.
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: Wendy's specialty is microrobotics, which includes three talking dolls she's programmed as a three-part alarm clock. She's also programmed them to curse like sailors when they fall down, but the exact word is never used, instead being identified as "a word their owner's parents would prefer she not even knew" and similar things.
* NoodleImplements: Among the junk in his pockets, Ray apparently carries around a large rubber lizard for "emergencies".
* PoliceAreUseless: Sgt. Brody and his security team are more obstructive than helpful when the gang is trying to crack the spy case on the island, interfering in their efforts to stop the mad bomber in ''Operation Sherlock'' and get needed parts or save their friends in ''Robot Trouble''. It gets worse in ''Forever Begins Tomorrow'' when Brody has the security robots reprogrammed so the gang can't control them anymore - despite the fact that their doing so had saved several lives in the previous book. [[spoiler: There's also the fact that he fell for two frame-up jobs, one by Ramon Korbuscek to frame his roommate for treason in ''Robot Trouble'', and one by Black Glove himself that targeted Bridget [=McGrory=] in ''Forever Begins Tomorrow'', making it look like ''she'' was Black Glove! Averted with [=McGrory=] herself, who turns out to be a member of the National Security Task Force and thus outranks Brody.]]
* PungeonMaster: Paracelsus, the talking bronze head made by Roger and Rachel Phillips. He includes "one of the best Conversation Simulators in the country", and Roger has a habit of sneaking new puns into his collection of pre-programmed responses. It gets to the point where one of their friends outright asks if they used old joke books to program him.
* RoboticReveal: [[spoiler: The robo-shark in ''Forever Begins Tomorrow'' is revealed as a robot after it's blown to bits and they get a chance to examine the remains - specifically, Ray shows the others a piece of its skin, which turns out to have springs clinging to it and thread running through the backing. This is foreshadowed earlier in the event when the robo-shark passes by Wendy, who feels that it has ''smooth'' skin. As she knows, real shark skin is ''rough''.]]
* RobotDog: Rin Tin Stainless Steel, a "mechanical mutt" the gang built as a test project, who first appeared in ''The Cutlass Clue'' and makes return appearances in ''Robot Trouble'' and ''Forever Begins Tomorrow''.
* RobotMaid: Housekeeping robots appear throughout the books, though they're usually designed for specialty chores. For instance, the Wendell-Watson home has a robot designed to clean rooms (though it's no match for the disaster area that is Wendy's bedroom), the Phillips family owns a robot that cleans up after meals and washes the dishes and silverware inside itself, and the Gang itself keeps a primitive butler-bot to greet people at their headquarters.
* RummageFail: Ray stores so much junk in his pockets, this inevitably happens - in ''Operation Sherlock'', he pulls out a dead worm while trying to find some cash (his only remark about it is "I've ''got'' to give up fishing."), and in ''Forever Begins Tomorrow'', he pulls out coins embedded in a caramel, a large rubber lizard and other items before finding what he's looking for.
* TheShortGuyWithGlasses: Ray Gammand, who wears glasses and isn't even five feet tall. He is highly annoyed by both traits.
* SlipperySkid: During book 2, Sgt. Brody finds himself slipping and falling more than once after Ray dumps out an open container of ball bearings into his path.
* TerrorHero: Sgt. Brody's security robots. Brody himself, in one of his smarter moments, explains that they're designed to scare an enemy out of their wits with their intimidating appearance.
* ThreateningShark: One turns up when the gang is out at sea in ''Forever Begins Tomorrow'', looking for Black Glove's latest transmitter. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a robot made to look like a shark, sent to guard the transmitter.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Wendy loves burgers.
* TrashOfTheTitans: Wendy's room is a disaster area, which even her parents' household cleaning robot can't do a thing about.
* WeaponizedExhaust: Attempted in ''Robot Trouble''. The gang have built a rocket and are preparing to launch it; however, two separate spies break into it for their own reasons. One is discovered by two of the kids, whom he knocks out, ties up and leaves to be incinerated by the rocket's exhaust. The other is discovered by a third member of the gang, who is knocked out and left inside the rocket; her efforts to signal for help lead to the launch being aborted by the rest of the gang, saving all three lives.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: G.H.O.S.T., the organization which seeks to seize power from the world governments that have filled the skies with military hardware, including nuclear missiles in space, can be considered this. So can their agent Black Glove, who actually succeeds in taking control of those weapons and intends to demand mankind's surrender, even if he has to blow up a city or two to prove he means business.]]
* YouMakeMeSic: Variant - When Dr. Weiskopf comments on how "Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast", Rachel surprises him by stating that the actual quote (from William Congreve's "The Mourning Bride", act 1, scene 1) is "Music has charms to soothe a savage breast", and that most people misquote it. When he gives her an odd look, she blushes and admits that she has something of an overactive memory.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Monster of the Year]]

* CulturePolice: Myrna Smud's idea of censorship involves trying to wipe out anything creative (such as outdoor advertising, monsters and ''fairy tales''), which she claims will stimulate the imagination and lead to crime.
* FreudianExcuse: Discussed at one point, shortly before the book's ThisMeansWar moment, when the characters are watching Myrna Smud on TV and wonder if one of these (such as her having seen a monster movie as a child and being terrified by it) is why she hates monsters so much.
* TheIgor: He's even ''named'' Igor, and accompanies Sigmund Fred to the contest, but isn't planning to be a contestant himself.
* IHaveManyNames: The cast includes a Frankenstein monster with at least four names. According to Igor, the man who made the monster named him Sigmund, but used a brain from a man named Fred. So sometimes they call him Sigmund (or "Siggie" for short), sometimes they call him Fred, and sometimes they call him Sigmund Fred. But usually Igor doesn't call him anything, since it just upsets him (and indeed, he's starting to growl at this point in the conversation).
-->'''Sigmund Fred''' (in response to the last part): "Just make sure you call me for dinner."
* MadScientist: "The doctor" who created Sigmund Fred and whom Igor mentions having previously worked for.
* TheMaidenNameDebate: Protagonist Michael [=McGraw=] reveals through narration that his mother (Elsa Adams) changed her name to her husband's when she got married, changed back after they divorced, and said she'd stay with her maiden name for the rest of her life. Michael, on the other hand, had his name changed to match his stepfather's. As he puts it, "This confuses outsiders, since they can't figure out who I really belong to, but it suits the three of us just fine."
* MonsterMash: The cast includes a Frankenstein's monster, a vampire, a gill man, a wolfman, a mummy, two hunchbacks (Quasimodo and Igor), a miniature Godzilla expy, and a Phantom of the Opera in a "Blink-And-You'll-Miss-It" cameo.
* MoralGuardians: Myrna Smud, who serves as the antagonist.
* PungeonMaster: Kevver Smith makes puns all the time. His friend Michael [=McGraw=] has learned to tune him out when he does so.
* PunnyName: Sigmund Fred, an obvious take on UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud. Kevver, naturally, makes a remark about the name and how "That's what happens when you let some psycho analyze things."
* ThisMeansWar: The Count is the one to say it after Myrna Smud's motivations are revealed while they're in Michael's living room, watching her on TV:
-->'''TV interviewer''': "Just what is it about the monsters that bothers you so much, Mrs. Smud?
-->'''Myrna Smud''': [[spoiler: "They overstimulate children's imaginations. This causes them to think too much, which is not healthy at a young age."]]
-->''Everyone in the room looks at one another in astonishment, except for...''
-->'''The Count''' (rises, trembling with anger): "This, means var!"
* VampireVords: The Count always replaces his Ws with Vs.
* VegetarianVampire: Literal example with The Count, who drinks only "the elixir of life": V8 juice. Through a straw. He says it feels more natural if he can suck it.
* WouldHurtAChild: During the big riot the night of the contest, Myrna Smud whacks young Lulu Toomaloo, who's been leading a cheer in support of the monsters, over the head with her "Ban all monsters" sign. That's what triggers the crowd to go ''completely'' nuts and turns them all in favor of Lulu.

[[/folder]]

* ''Monster of the Year'' (1990)

* MarsWantsChocolate: The aliens visiting Earth want to find a reason to establish friendly relations with us, but we don't have anything they actually particularly want. Until, that is, they discover peanut butter. Not because it's so delicious, but because it supercharges their romantic and sexual drives.

* IHaveManyNames: In ''Monster of the Year'', the Frankenstein monster has at least four names. According to Igor, the man who made the monster named him Sigmund, but used a brain from a man named Fred. So sometimes they call him Sigmund (or "Siggie" for short), sometimes they call him Fred, and sometimes they call him Sigmund Fred. But usually Igor doesn't call him anything, since it just upsets him.

* TheMaidenNameDebate: ''Monster of the Year'' has Michael [=McGraw=], whose mother (Elsa Adams) changed her name to her husband's when she got married, changed back after they divorced, and said she'd stay with her maiden name for the rest of her life. Michael, on the other hand, had his name changed to match his stepfather's. As he puts it, "This confuses outsiders, since they can't figure out who I really belong to, but it suits the three of us just fine."
* MonsterMash: ''Monster of the Year'' includes a Frankenstein's monster, a vampire, a gill man, a wolfman, a mummy, two hunchbacks (Quasimodo and Igor), a Godzilla expy, and a Phantom of the Opera in a "Blink-And-You'll-Miss-It" cameo.
* MoralGuardians: Myrna Smud, the antagonist of ''Monster of the Year''.

* VampireVords: Used by the Count in ''Monster of the Year''.
* VegetarianVampire: ''Monster of the Year'' features The Count, who drinks only "the elixir of life": V8 juice. Through a straw. He says it feels more natural if he can suck it.

* MarsWantsChocolate: In ''I Was a Sixth Grade Alien'', the aliens visiting Earth want to find a reason to establish friendly relations with us, but we don't have anything they actually particularly want. Until, that is, they discover peanut butter. Not because it's so delicious, but because it supercharges their romantic and sexual drives.
* SquareCubeLaw: In one of the ''I Was a Sixth Grade Alien'' books the characters are shrunk to about seven inches and quickly discover that this has not affected their strength or mass; after trying to get off a desk they attempt jumping down onto a open drawer and snap right through it.
* StayWithTheAliens: In the ''Sixth Grade Alien'' series, Linnsy chooses not to return to Earth after undergoing MentalFusion with an alien symbiont, deciding instead to travel the galaxy.