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Give Yourself Goosebumps #6
Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter
Talk about Snack Attack!
Your aunt and uncle told you to stay out of their basement. So, of course, you check it out. That's where you find the dusty old refrigerator.
In the fridge there are two containers. One is filled with purple goop. It smells just like a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. The other holds a piece of chocolate cake. Your stomach is growling.
If you eat the purple goop, you start shrinking. Pretty soon you're battling it out with a gigantic monster - a mouse! If you choose the cake, you grow into a tall giant. Now you're trying to escape the police, who are convinced you're a mutant alien!
The choice is yours in this scary Goosebumps adventure that's packed with over 20 super-spooky endings!
Reader beware - you choose the scare!
[from the back cover]
Your aunt and uncle told you to stay out of their basement. So, of course, you check it out. That's where you find the dusty old refrigerator.
In the fridge there are two containers. One is filled with purple goop. It smells just like a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. The other holds a piece of chocolate cake. Your stomach is growling.
If you eat the purple goop, you start shrinking. Pretty soon you're battling it out with a gigantic monster - a mouse! If you choose the cake, you grow into a tall giant. Now you're trying to escape the police, who are convinced you're a mutant alien!
The choice is yours in this scary Goosebumps adventure that's packed with over 20 super-spooky endings!
Reader beware - you choose the scare!
[from the back cover]
135 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1996
66 people are currently reading
1377 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,679 books18.6k followersRobert 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.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
April 19, 2025
It is time for another Give Yourself Goosebumps book review ! This time I want to talk about Beware Of The Purple Peanut Butter.I've actually read alot of this book as a kid,so I did remember a little bit of it.I remembered the chocolate cake making you bigger and cops running after you and really enjoying it.The story begins with you having to go to your aunt and uncles house while your parents are away on buisness.You dislike your cousins Barney and Dora, because they are pretty much bullies.As soon as you get there your cousins want you to play hide and seek.The aunt and uncle leave to go do something, but before they do they have one rule.Stay out of the basement.They claim there is dangerous stuff down there that they still didnt clean up that the previous owners of the house left.You get ready to hide and your first choice is to either go I to the basement or not.I chose not to because I feel like I am a law abiding citizen.But if you do you get mocked so you have to go down to the basement.You begin to hide when you get really hungry.You open the fridge and you see a jar of purple goop and a old chocolate cake and you get to pick which to eat.Honestly, if this was real life I'd choose neither because there is no telling how long each one stayed in the fridge.I ended up going with the purple peanut butter because it is in a jar and I feel like it would last longer then a cake.If this was real life and I knew both were safe to eat trust me though I'd go with the cake.I ended up going with the peanut butter though and you slowly begin shrinking.At first your cousin notices your watch is bigger on you and you get a little shorter.You end up so small the sink is gigantic and your sisters shoelaces are like jump ropes.You end up.getting flushed down the sink mistake for a bug and you end up in the sewer system.With the help of a popsicle stick as a boat and a toothpic as an oar you float.You must now find the refrigerator that had the purple stuff in it and it's at the junkyard.You end up getting a ride from a stink bug and befriending a lizard.If you end up looking for the fridge you get stuck inside the house with your bully cousin and run away from him either inside or outside.Inside you run into a mouse and outside you run away from puff the pet cat.This storyline was ok but had some really fun endings.Two of the highlights are making a lizard grow big and the best one had to deal with dolls.The other storyline is the cake story line.Basically you do the opposite of the peanut butter.You get really big.I remember loving this as a kid and this time it was about the same.After you eat the cake,you begin to grow.You grow so big you escape out the window and Barney is scared of you.You end up either throwing a roof at him or just picking him up.You can go play baseball and end up getting attention after accidently breaking a window and this is where it gets good.Cops end up chasing you and the whole town thinks your some kind of alien.You end up running away to a circus where you fit in with some misfits or a lion tamer.You have to try to find out why the cake made you this way.And belive it or not you actually get a reveal of why this is happening.Most of these books so far gave you zero explanation of the origin of what is happening.This one gets alot of props from me for that alone.This book also gets a prop for me from the refrences of the Monster Blood refrences.There is a scene where you find a can of the substance in the sewer.It ends up being empty but it's there.The second refrence I read was alot better.It refrenced Monster Blood three.It asks about Kermit's color liquid to shrink somebody which I actually didn't remember.It makes me think Stine or whoever wrote this actually knew the Monster Blood books.As far as negatives I have a few.We don't know anything about the purple peanut butter.In fact I still don't know where it got the name from.There is also some illogical scenes like your cousin thinking your a bug and your other cousin thinking your an alien and not knowing who you are even thought your face dosn't change at all.The shrinking storyline was okay not bad,but the endings were pretty memorable.The giant storyline was really fun and engaging but the endings weren't memorable in my opinion.I give Beware Of The Purple Peanut Butter a three out of five stars
January 25, 2016
This is my partner's favourite GYG, or at least it was when viewed through the rose tinted glasses of childhood. We had a lot of fun doing it in bed together, but the actual choices, at least compared to CYOA, are sparse. The inconsistency of the main character's size, and the general story, gave us a lot of giggles, so I would still recommend this as the laziest date night possible.
May 31, 2019
Just as fun as I remembered
September 17, 2023
I really liked this one, a lot more than I thought I would. Most characters suck and the Circus segment is bad, but everything else is pretty solid.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2010
As far as adventures go, Beware of the Purple Peanut butter has it all! You can shrink to a size where a water bug is as big as a horse (and you get to ride it) or you can grow so big that the FBI and CIA start trying to shoot you down on suspicion you are a gigantic alien invader. It all depends on whether or not you eat the purple peanut butter or the stale and innocous looking piece of chocolate cake. Lots of interesting choices abound this choose your own adventure book.
August 8, 2011
I loved how you could pick different endings it was a really cool idea
October 19, 2024
this was so much fun to read!!
December 13, 2024
All of the people in this book were pissants
December 18, 2011
I loved these books as a kid. I was more of an Animorphs fan than a Goosebumps fan (there was a clear divide at the schools I went to which one you were- sort of a Beatles vs Elvis type thing), but I really got into these books.
This is one I owned as a child (though this copy belongs to my partner, who also had as a kid). I remember always bookmarking or dogtagging the pages where you could make a choice, and then quickly reading ahead to see if one decision would lead you to an early finish. This book wasn't my favourite, but it wasn't my least favourite, either.
A fun book, and a type that I miss as an adult.
This is one I owned as a child (though this copy belongs to my partner, who also had as a kid). I remember always bookmarking or dogtagging the pages where you could make a choice, and then quickly reading ahead to see if one decision would lead you to an early finish. This book wasn't my favourite, but it wasn't my least favourite, either.
A fun book, and a type that I miss as an adult.
July 3, 2012
This is a great book about a boy who has two cousins. His girl cousin is very annoying and his boy cousin is a bully. Very annoying, I tell you. In a hide-and-seek game, he goes to the basement where his uncles told him not to go. That is where the adventure starts. I love this book because it contains very funny endings. It's strange that a goosebumps would have a funny ending, but I'm a child, so I find specific things funny. If I could ever talk to you I would tell you about how this book has so many endings, but now, I would just generally say this book is like "Choose your own adventure" when you have options to pick how the story goes.
February 28, 2013
This may sound crazy, goosebumps were made for a much younger generation and I don't care, I love them! This story is so creative and the fact that I can pick my own death adds to the suspense. If you are looking for a easy read that holds your attention then definitely pick this one up.
July 25, 2019
I lasted a really long time with this little adventure. Of course, I ate the purple peanut butter, I think next time I'll try the cake.
For now, though, page 82 is the end for me, apparently having no problem becoming a doll to do nothing but housework!
For now, though, page 82 is the end for me, apparently having no problem becoming a doll to do nothing but housework!
January 10, 2012
This book is fun and exiting with all of the advetures and how any times you could have died.
March 10, 2021
Great book! Just read this with my kid! I will go back and read other endings!
July 10, 2021
my childhood memories
February 1, 2023
Interesting
August 26, 2018
Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter
Because your parents decide to go on a trip to Europe and not take you (which I say is crappy on their part), they leave you at your aunt and uncle's house. Which would be cool EXCEPT you have to annoying cousins. One is a whiner (Dora) and one is a bully (Bully). The first day their they want you to play hide and seek. Your aunt warns you to stay out of the basement. (No, this doesn't follow the one I Live In The Basement). There's nothing down there but some old furniture and a refridgator. And we're mighty hungry. Shall we take a peek?
GIVE ME THE CHOCOLATE CAKE
Go down to the basement
Get Hungry and see a refridgator
Chose the Chocolate Cake
Hear my aunt calling and escape out the window so she won't find out I was in the basement
My cousins finds me but I now have size and pound him instead.
(He flees).
I rip my sneakers but find my uncles
Scare off my other cousin who threatens to tell on me.
Stand up to Barney and join the baseball game being played.
You now have strength also and your second hit gives you a home run and goes through someone's window.
You hear the police come and your outta there.
(Deciding to run and hide).
But as you look at yourself you worry that you'll continue to grow.
You see an advertisement on a bus that instructs you to go to Arnold's.
We decide to try the steam room over the reduction machine.
The Steam shrinks us down to the size of a raisin
THE END
IM FEELING ADVENTUROUS LETS GO WITH THE PURPLE GOOP
So I tried the purple goop. Here's how that worked out.
Dora catches you and threatens to tell if you don't play dolls with her.
So you play dolls, but pink and purple dots appear before your eyes.
You quickly notice when your watch is lose on your arm, the table seems larger, and your pj bottoms fall off that the goop made you shrink.
When you finally figure it out you race downstairs to find it empty.
Your aunt had everything sent to the dump.
Since Adults in this series are pretty useless we head to the dump and don't go to the Dr.
Barneys pretty useless too and pissing him off when he's trying to watch tv was the wrong move, so it's time to hide before he decks us.
We decide to head outside and hide under the poarch which works.
Barney doesn't find us, gets bored, and heads back inside.
We shrink some more, and then UH OH!
Before we can make it back to the house Puff (the cat) appears looking for lunch.
We make it to the poarch and escape inside Dora's doll house.
Dora shoos off Puff but mistakes you for a new doll. It's tea time!
But surprise (Surprise) the other Dolls can talk.
One wants you locked up and thinks you’re a burglar.
The other wants you as a housekeeper.
The housekeeper vote wins out.
NOT GO TO THE BASEMENT
Say you don't even want to go to the basement. This book won't even let you choose it. (Which is why I didn't attempt it the first time). For a choose your own adventure book (books) they usually stir you right back to the direction he wants you to pick.
RATING: 7 I think between the two directions I tried, I liked the second ending better. The Cake story line was just too short and didn't have a chance to go anywhere. The Goop ending was a little more interesting because I used to like (and collect) dolls and I had a big doll house. So it's kind of interesting to consider that when I wasn't playing with my dolls and I went to sleep they were moving around inside the house and having conversations on their own. I just hope I wasn't *too* rough on them and they weren't talking about me horribly behind my back. This one also gave me a Alice and Wonderland feel, which the food that makes you shrink and the food that makes you grow. I think there's even a reference to it somewhere. I didn't get to the direction it mentioned it but I saw it flipping through the pages.
Because your parents decide to go on a trip to Europe and not take you (which I say is crappy on their part), they leave you at your aunt and uncle's house. Which would be cool EXCEPT you have to annoying cousins. One is a whiner (Dora) and one is a bully (Bully). The first day their they want you to play hide and seek. Your aunt warns you to stay out of the basement. (No, this doesn't follow the one I Live In The Basement). There's nothing down there but some old furniture and a refridgator. And we're mighty hungry. Shall we take a peek?
GIVE ME THE CHOCOLATE CAKE
Go down to the basement
Get Hungry and see a refridgator
Chose the Chocolate Cake
Hear my aunt calling and escape out the window so she won't find out I was in the basement
My cousins finds me but I now have size and pound him instead.
(He flees).
I rip my sneakers but find my uncles
Scare off my other cousin who threatens to tell on me.
Stand up to Barney and join the baseball game being played.
You now have strength also and your second hit gives you a home run and goes through someone's window.
You hear the police come and your outta there.
(Deciding to run and hide).
But as you look at yourself you worry that you'll continue to grow.
You see an advertisement on a bus that instructs you to go to Arnold's.
We decide to try the steam room over the reduction machine.
The Steam shrinks us down to the size of a raisin
THE END
IM FEELING ADVENTUROUS LETS GO WITH THE PURPLE GOOP
So I tried the purple goop. Here's how that worked out.
Dora catches you and threatens to tell if you don't play dolls with her.
So you play dolls, but pink and purple dots appear before your eyes.
You quickly notice when your watch is lose on your arm, the table seems larger, and your pj bottoms fall off that the goop made you shrink.
When you finally figure it out you race downstairs to find it empty.
Your aunt had everything sent to the dump.
Since Adults in this series are pretty useless we head to the dump and don't go to the Dr.
Barneys pretty useless too and pissing him off when he's trying to watch tv was the wrong move, so it's time to hide before he decks us.
We decide to head outside and hide under the poarch which works.
Barney doesn't find us, gets bored, and heads back inside.
We shrink some more, and then UH OH!
Before we can make it back to the house Puff (the cat) appears looking for lunch.
We make it to the poarch and escape inside Dora's doll house.
Dora shoos off Puff but mistakes you for a new doll. It's tea time!
But surprise (Surprise) the other Dolls can talk.
One wants you locked up and thinks you’re a burglar.
The other wants you as a housekeeper.
The housekeeper vote wins out.
NOT GO TO THE BASEMENT
Say you don't even want to go to the basement. This book won't even let you choose it. (Which is why I didn't attempt it the first time). For a choose your own adventure book (books) they usually stir you right back to the direction he wants you to pick.
RATING: 7 I think between the two directions I tried, I liked the second ending better. The Cake story line was just too short and didn't have a chance to go anywhere. The Goop ending was a little more interesting because I used to like (and collect) dolls and I had a big doll house. So it's kind of interesting to consider that when I wasn't playing with my dolls and I went to sleep they were moving around inside the house and having conversations on their own. I just hope I wasn't *too* rough on them and they weren't talking about me horribly behind my back. This one also gave me a Alice and Wonderland feel, which the food that makes you shrink and the food that makes you grow. I think there's even a reference to it somewhere. I didn't get to the direction it mentioned it but I saw it flipping through the pages.
Read
January 31, 2023Note: As these are Choose Your Own Adventure books, they will be left unrated.
I got more page time with this Give Yourself Goosebumps entry more than the first one. Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter isn't as straightforward. There were more storylines at my disposal here, and it was trickier to get the narrator back to their normal size because of that. The tone was also more sinister. I was mentally bracing myself for some of my choices to be correct (in some cases, they weren't). There wasn't a "true" ending in what I found, yet I did like how they addressed one of your gripes in the premise. The previous book references (I caught both Monster Blood and Monster Blood III here) are still a little much. Outside of this and Book 1, Book 12 is where I'm heading next. We'll see what happens after. I'm not opposed to doing more depending on where I find them.
I got more page time with this Give Yourself Goosebumps entry more than the first one. Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter isn't as straightforward. There were more storylines at my disposal here, and it was trickier to get the narrator back to their normal size because of that. The tone was also more sinister. I was mentally bracing myself for some of my choices to be correct (in some cases, they weren't). There wasn't a "true" ending in what I found, yet I did like how they addressed one of your gripes in the premise. The previous book references (I caught both Monster Blood and Monster Blood III here) are still a little much. Outside of this and Book 1, Book 12 is where I'm heading next. We'll see what happens after. I'm not opposed to doing more depending on where I find them.
May 19, 2025
This is a Goosebumps edition of "choose your own adventure." The adventures begin with you trying to avoid your annoying cousins, and choosing to eat some weird purple peanut butter, which makes you shrink, or chocolate cake, which makes you grow. Hilarity ensues.
What was very odd about this book was the fact that every single page makes you flip around the book to continue the story, whether or not you had a choice to make on that page. Which made for difficult reading, because if you wanted to go back and see what happens with other choices, there was no clear point to flip back to as these types of stories are typically laid out with the main story happening sequentially, with choices being later in the book. Not really one of the better GB books.
What was very odd about this book was the fact that every single page makes you flip around the book to continue the story, whether or not you had a choice to make on that page. Which made for difficult reading, because if you wanted to go back and see what happens with other choices, there was no clear point to flip back to as these types of stories are typically laid out with the main story happening sequentially, with choices being later in the book. Not really one of the better GB books.
December 20, 2023
I didn’t remember Goosebumps doing choose your own adventure books so when I saw this in a half price books I had to get it. I tried to get all the different endings before saying I was done with if. Good cheesy fun. Surprised they killed the main kid so many times in a kid book. And the best ending was the book pretty much telling you how lame you are for not obviously starting the adventure. I know I’m lame, kid book! I’m about to turn 40 with a dead end job and I don’t remember the last time I had a successful date. I don’t need you to remind me 😭😭😭
October 16, 2024
I had this one as a kid and didn't remember much past the initial fridge choice. I don't think I read more than a handful of endings. Reading it now, I see why. There are 30+ different story routes, but only 25 endings. A few of the early 'choices' aren't really choices as it leads you back round the same route.
The plot itself is... not there. I'd say the chocolate cake one is better because at least the chocolate cake has an explanation behind it, unlike the purple peanut butter. This got naff and tired quite quickly.
The plot itself is... not there. I'd say the chocolate cake one is better because at least the chocolate cake has an explanation behind it, unlike the purple peanut butter. This got naff and tired quite quickly.
August 22, 2025
This one was another dud or did I just pick the one choice?? hmm. Either way I'm good with not finding out and continuing on with the series.
Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter follows a boy staying with his aunt and uncle. His cousins are the worst. Barney especially... He always gets picked on for his size. Upon getting to his aunt and uncle's his cousin instigates hide and seek and he's got only a short amount of time to choose his hiding spot. Does he go into the basement that his aunt and uncle warned him not to go down or choose another spot. I think you can guess what I chose...
Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter follows a boy staying with his aunt and uncle. His cousins are the worst. Barney especially... He always gets picked on for his size. Upon getting to his aunt and uncle's his cousin instigates hide and seek and he's got only a short amount of time to choose his hiding spot. Does he go into the basement that his aunt and uncle warned him not to go down or choose another spot. I think you can guess what I chose...
April 19, 2023
It was OK! It was a strange book because it was like a game. It was sort of interactive. There were parts of the story where you made a choice and went to a different part of the book. The story kept jumping around. They said there are 20 different endings. But I got tired of it after two. It's a fun idea but I'd rather read a book from page 1 until the end. The story was a little like Alice in Wonderland. And I was like Alice growing big and small.
August 27, 2023
Adding this to my list of "Choose Your Own Story" books that did NOT go the way I thought they would go at all. As usual, R.L. Stine's writing is tongue-in-cheek but since this is a gamebook, it is dialed up to a ten. It's ridiculous. But that's how these gamebooks go. I had a bit of a fun and that's all that matters.
December 28, 2021
Hardly the most inventive or creative of the Goosebumps legacy, but still a fun read to share with the children in my life. They were especially excited by the choose your adventure concept, which I hope encourages more reading!
October 24, 2022
The sixth book in the Give Yourself Goosebumps series has a strange name and strange core concept, but trust me: this one is great!
Offering up plenty of kooky scenarios and endings to choose from, Beware Of The Purple Peanut Butter is a size-altering story of epic proportions!
Offering up plenty of kooky scenarios and endings to choose from, Beware Of The Purple Peanut Butter is a size-altering story of epic proportions!
Read
November 12, 2024Read to my students for “spooky” season. They loved the interaction of choosing and voting for our path from beginning to end (and yes we went back and changed some of our answers to make the story longer 🤣)
October 6, 2017
I gave it a four star rating because you get to choose the ending and thiers twety diffrent ending. my favrote part is when he shrinks too small and shrinks till hes not in the world
December 18, 2018
Not the best I've ever read.
May 1, 2020
Who knew so many different endings could come of purple peanut butter.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews