I have a little sister who is a huge fan of the Goosebumps books. They were small paperback books for children with quirky or scary stories, and she practically swallowed them whole. The books were imaginative and easy to digest, and they introduced her to hobby reading. Not only were they fun but I believe they were valuable to help her learn to love reading and improve her basic reading skills. So the mention of R.L. Stine’s books got me looking at this kickstarter for Camp Myth. It’s a series of monthly serial novels for kids based around a summer camp for fantasy creatures. The premise sounds incredibly fun, the description is killer and I love the underlying message at the end:
Together with his cabin-mates, Argee – the world’s only nerdy Cyclops – and Moxie – an orphaned Kitsune unable to control her shape-shifting powers, Felix will meet learn about mythological creatures, what it really means to grow up, and how friendship can transcend race and culture.
This is the kind of kid’s fantasy we need more of in the world in my opinion, and I hope that within the 12 days remaining, Chris can get the last $700 or so to go ahead, and possibly more. The backer rewards include personalized softcover copies of the book with character art bookmarks at $35 dollars, some more goodies between, and adding a camper of a mythical race of your choice at the $100+ dollar level. The minimum pledge will get you the digital copy of the first book, supported in the usual formats. It’s great to see digital delivery put to use!
In addition, the Kickstarter has a Refer A Friend reward system:
If you convince another person to match or exceed your donation, you’ll be moved up one reward tier at no additional cost to you.
Chris Lewis Carter, author of the books, is a big fan of RPGs, with his favorites being FATE-based games like Spirit of the Century, as well as board and video games. He’s made mention to me of a Camp Myth RPG system in the works if this all goes smoothly, which I think would be an excellent companion for the books, especially with kids. Roleplaying is a great imaginative exercise, and I’ve always thought it really compliments reading and writing as hobbies and artforms. It’d be nice to see it come to fruition. Overall, Camp Myth looks like the start of something really solid. If this is something you’d like to enjoy, whether by yourself or with your kids, take a gander!
I remember the Goosebumps series. I remembered reading a crapton of them as a child while watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? as a child. They inspired a lot of my first time adventures when I started GMing.