Zombiekins

June 1, 2010
Grades 4-6 All is well in Dementedyville, U.S.A. That angry mob wielding pitchforks and torches? Why, theyre just going over to the yard sale at the spooky house owned by Widow Imavitch! Thats just where fourth-grader Stanley is headed, too, and he leaves with Zombiekinsa Frankensteinian stuffed animal that is part bear, part bunny, part lizard . . . and ALL EVIL! At school the next day, Zombiekins bite turns the class tattletale into an undead monster. (In some ways its an improvement, admits Stanley.) When the plush terror escapes, no realm is safenot music class, the playground, or the teachers' lounge. Even the little kids have been transformed into kinderzombies. Humorous zombie books for middle-grade readers are piling up faster than severed limbs these days, and though Bolgers entry doesnt add much that's new to the canon, its a fast and funny read helped along by Blechas art, which provides some G-rated goo and gore. This will have readers shouting such zombie catchphrases as hrnrgrghnrr and yaarghhh. Well, maybe not, but theyll have fun anyway.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
From the creator of Sir Fartsalot comes this goofy tale of a teddy/bunny/zombie-doll come to life. Stanley first buys the thing at a creepy yard sale, then he must save his classmates from the rampaging dolly. Relying heavily on the current popularity of all-things-zombie, Bolger creates an unsurprising but entertaining story that will amuse readers looking for something only slightly scary.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)