YMMV / Bailey School Kids

• Alternative Character Interpretation: All of the "monsters" that appear are subject to this. The story can seem entirely different depending on whether you believe a character is supernatural or just quirky.
  • Are the kids really encountering supernatural monsters or are they just a bunch of paranoid sociopaths who enjoy tormenting people?
  • On occasion, if they are monsters, the supernatural creatures come off as just guys trying to cause as little trouble as possible. The plot of "Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball" has the kids save Ms. Jeepers from a vengeful leprechaun. She even shows a little appreciation for it.
  • Due to their flamboyant character designs and secretiveness, one of the sillier interpretations is that what the kids are missing is that the adults are actually all gay.
    alternate title: young children gawk at flaming homosexuals
• Applicability: A big part of the series' appeal. The kids' regular encounters with "monsters" can be easily viewed as a metaphor for a child's feelings of befuddlement about the adult world, particularly since most of the monsters are adult authority figures.
• Genius Bonus: There are a few subtle references that might go over the heads of some kids in the target age group. For example: the titular pirate in Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses is named "Captain Teach" after Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard). And in Frankenstein Doesn't Slam Hockey Pucks, the kids speculate that Frank learned to ice-skate at the North Pole—referencing the ending of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, where the Creature flees to the North Pole.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Scout from "Ghouls Don't Scoop Ice Cream" bears a notable resemblance◊ to L from Death Note.
  • "Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball"? Yeah, about that...
• Narm Charm: The original cover artwork was a large part of why many people read the series when it was first released, similar to how people first noticed Goosebumps due to the cover art by Tim Jacobus. The biggest reason why the original covers are considered so memorable's due to how frequently scandalized and over the top the four kids will appear in reaction to whomever they'll be investigating, alongside the expressions of the title character being just as flamboyant. Their expressions are both ridiculous and at the same time iconic.

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