Oct. 27 - Attention, parents of pint-sized readers who torment younger brothers and sisters by chanting "Barney drools; Goosebumps rules." Brace yourselves for a new mantra.

"Animorphs" are hot. "Goosebumps," not.

The most popular children's book series is K.A. Applegate's tale about five kids who can turn themselves into animals to fight the parasitic aliens about to take over the Earth.

Plus, turn in their homework on time.

From "The Forgotten":

"We are the only humans resisting the Yeerks. We may be the only hope that Earth has. We have a lot on our shoulders. Which is why, I really, really, REALLY, did not see why I had to have more suffering piled on. Wasn't I under enough stress? Life wasn't bad enough? We had to have . . . square dancing?"

Since the series' debut last year, Applegate has written 13 "Animorphs" books. Each features the same cast - Cassie, Jake, Rachel, Tobias and Marco - guided by a friendly alien named Ax in their ongoing battle against the evil Yeerks.

Their ability to morph, to change into creatures, is a gift from Ax's older brother. They morph into flies, gorillas, crocodiles, birds and other things to surreptitiously investigate and thwart the Yeerks.

Scholastic Books, which publishes both "Animorphs" and "Goosebumps," has printed 10 million "Animorphs." Since No. 6 ("The Capture"), more than half of them have made the USA Today top-50 best-selling list.

"The Alien" and two others made it onto USA Today's Top 10 best-selling books list, putting children's books alongside adult novels by Michael Crichton, Stephen King and John Grisham. Earlier this year, Publisher's Weekly reported that "Animorphs" is the best- selling children's book series in the United States.

"They're very popular, clearly the rage," says Jacqueline Blaise, who compiles the USA Today list.

What makes "Animorphs" work, children's booksellers say, is the series' characteristic combination of likable characters, entertaining plot twists and chapters that end with cliffhangers that leave young readers pausing to anticipate what might happen next.

Except for their ability to morph, something Applegate writes about plausibly and eerily, the Animorphs are average kids. They play video games, hang out at the Gap and gripe about their creepy vice principal. Who happens to be a Yeerk.

"Animorphs" plays on the same national skepticism that made last summer's "Men in Black" a blockbuster. Add the perennial popularity of underdog stories, the morphing device, and you've got a winning formula for a book that's especially appealing to a reader teetering between childhood and adulthood.

"We didn't set out to do it consciously, but the morphs really are, in some way, about the fact that, in this age group, your body's changing in ways beyond your control," said Jean Feiwell, the Scholastics editor who helped Applegate develop the "Animorphs" books.

"Katherine Applegate really is steeped in what this age group is going through. She knows that, at this age, kids feel misunderstood. They're becoming individuals from the adults in their world, but they also want to remain close.

"They need to have a huge villain, other than a parental one, to rail against and fight. And they need the power to fight, because it's a true evil. And the fact that they win, that they overcome, and they get out OK is important."

Applegate originally proposed calling the series "The Changelings" when, in 1995, she sent her idea for a children's book to Scholastic. Feiwell, who helped develop the phenomenally popular "Babysitters' Club" and "Goosebump" series, immediately liked Feiwell's proposal. When she presented it at an editorial meeting, the other editors loved everything but the name.

"Call it Animorphs," suggested one editor. That sealed the deal.

The first "Animorphs" books came out about a year and a half ago, and soon Applegate was a household name - in households that included the 9- to 13-year-old readers "Animorphs" targets. Before "Animorphs," Applegate had written dozens of books, the American Library Award-winner "Sharing Sam," several novelizations of movies, a number of Disney books and many books in the "Sweet Valley Twins," "Girl Talk" and other series books.

Today, Applegate writes about one "Animorph" book each month. The past six enjoyed a couple of weeks on the best-selling books list. (Don't ask how she manages this, plus a baby less than a year old. Applegate gave one interview to USA Today, and then decided to withdraw from the public eye. She doesn't do interviews any more.) It almost goes without saying that there's an Animorphs Web site - http://scholastic.com/animorphs - that gets about 1,000 hits and hundreds of questions and comments each day.

"They tell us what they want the kids to morph into next, tell us the kind of adventures they'd like the kids to have and ask all sorts of things," Feiwell said.

"They want to know what's going to happen to Tobias, who's trapped in hawk morph. They ask what's going to happen to Marco's mother, who's Visser One. And are there really Yeerks out there? Is there really a Yeerk pool under The Gap? The thing that's interesting to us, at Scholastic, is that we find a lot of families are reading "Animorphs." The kids are involved, but a lot of parents are, too."

Sue Schafer, who used to work for Scholastic's book series division, liked selling the "Animorphs" books because she knew, from personal experience, that fast-paced series books attract children who otherwise are reluctant readers.

"With "Animorphs," they took what they learned from "Goosebumps," and brought in some science," she said.

"They tried to answer people's concerns about "Goosebumps" just being brain candy, and I think they succeeded. They produced something that gets kids to read, and anything that gets kids to read is good. I have a 12-year-old son who's ADD - attention deficit disorder - and wouldn't read anything till I started bringing "Goosebumps" home. It got him reading, and he branched out from there. "Animorphs" is a good next step, and you see a lot of strong female AND male characters. It's hard to find that in an ongoing series."

It's tough to save the world and still get your homework done. But that's the order of the day for the Animorphs, a group of teen-age superheroes starring in a kids' book series of the same name.

Besides shopping and science projects, the Animorphs change ("morph") into animals to fight the evil Yeerks, a parasitic species from a distant planet who enter human bodies, wrap around their brains and turn people into robotic "Controllers."

That may sound like a bad 1950s horror movie. But author K.A. Applegate, 40, has turned the premise into the hottest thing in children's publishing since Bobbsey first met her twin.

Launched in June 1996, Animorphs have become so popular with their target readers, ages 9-12, that they're giving the megaselling Goosebumps a run for the money.

Publishers Weekly named Animorphs the best new children's book series last January. In June, the books broke into the top 10 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list. Currently on the list: The Forgotten (No. 18), The Android (No. 132) and The Secret (No. 190).

Applegate didn't start out writing kids' fiction. She has written short stories and magazine pieces, and "I have a dark secret, I've written Harlequin romances."

But with kids' books she has found her niche. She peppers the books with teen-speak phrases such as "way cool" and "you know." "Kids are a much more open-minded audience. I have room to really experiment," she says.

The secret of Animorphs' popularity is their focus on nature, Applegate says. "The aim is to allow kids to experience what it's like to be a host of different animals. I get letters from kids talking about what it's like to be a shark or a tarantula. It really captures their imagination."

Applegate was a fan of animal books when she was young. Favorites included Charlotte's Web, The Yearling and Old Yeller.

Some parents have criticized the violence depicted in the books. But Applegate says it comes with the animal territory. "The action is derived from the natural world, and that can be pretty brutal. One of the most violent scenes I ever wrote was about two ant colonies going after each other. Ants are not nice people."

None of the scenes are gratuitously violent, Applegate says. And she believes parents must decide which books are right for their kids. "It's the parents' ultimate responsibility to be sure the books are age appropriate."

The popular Animorphs now rank with books by authors such as Stephen King, Michael Crichton and Goosebumps' R.L. Stine on best-seller lists. In fact, Applegate says she owes a debt to Stine. "He paved the way for kids' series. To the extent that Goosebumps was the 400-pound gorilla, now they're the 375-pound gorilla."

Although she's not a science fiction reader, Applegate says the sci-fi elements that infuse the Animorphs series are a vehicle for exploring big issues such as freedom and responsibility.

"These are stories about ordinary kids trying to save the Earth. They're dealing with complex issues like morality, freedom, even death. I'm not saying these books are like reading Hegel, but they can be a launching point for kids to discuss these issues. Kids want to know what's right in the world."

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