Brain Eaters for Tweens
Written by Nanette Hamilton, BCLS Technical Services Librarian. List compiled by Tom Burns from Brightly.com
Who knew the scary brain-eating monsters of yesteryear would be one of today’s favorite fiends for kids and adults? For my Walking Dead and iZombie fans, you know what I am talking about. If you know a child in the 8 – 13 years old range who is dying to watch with you, maybe you could recommend a few kid-friendly zombie books to stave their brain-eating appetite. Thanks to the help from Tom Burns who composed a list of such books for Brightly.com, BCLS may have just the book for you:
The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Holgate
A New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, with one million copies in print!
“Terrifyingly fun! Delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs.”–Jeff Kinney, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Ever since the monster apocalypse hit town, average thirteen-year-old Jack Sullivan has been living in his tree house, which he’s armed to the teeth with catapults and a moat, not to mention video games and an endless supply of Oreos and Mountain Dew scavenged from abandoned stores. But Jack alone is no match for the hordes of Zombies and Winged Wretches and (…read more)
The Zombie Chasers by John Kloepfer
The first book in the heavily illustrated Zombie Chasers series by John Kloepfer. This fan-favorite is perfect for reluctant readers as well as fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries.
A sudden zombie epidemic has turned a sleepover at Zack Clarke’s house into a level three creep-over! Zack’s sister is now a zombie; his living dead, flesh-eating neighbors have wrecked his house; and he’s been left to fend them off with his sister’s snotty BFF, Madison. Luckily Zack’s nerdy pal Rice has a plan to defeat the undead…if these three zombie chasers can make it out alive.
Featuring (…read more)
Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi (audiobook available from Jasmine Digital Library)
In this inventive, fast-paced novel, New York Times bestselling and Printz Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi takes on hard-hitting themes–from food safety to racism and immigration–and creates a zany, grand-slam adventure that will get kids thinking about where their food comes from.
The zombie apocalypse begins on the day Rabi, Miguel, and Joe are practicing baseball near their town’s local meatpacking plant and nearly get knocked out by a really big stink. Little do they know the plant’s toxic cattle feed is turning cows into flesh-craving monsters! The boys decide to launch (…read more)
Minecraft: the Island by Max Brooks
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The first official Minecraft novel! In the tradition of iconic adventures like Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, the author of World War Z tells the story of a hero–stranded in the world of Minecraft–who must unravel the secrets of a mysterious island in order to survive.
Washed up on a beach, the lone castaway looks around the shore. Where am I? Who am I? And why is everything made of blocks?But there isn’t much time to soak up the sun. It’s getting dark, and there’s a strange new world to explore! The top priority is finding food. The next is (…read more)
My Rotten Life by David Lubar
Ten-year-old Nathan Abercrombie is having a really bad day. First, Shawna Lanchester, the prettiest girl in his class, doesn’t invite him to her party. Then he gets picked last in gym class. Things couldn’t get any worse…until he gets doused with an experimental serum that turns him into a half-dead zombie Nathan soon discovers that being half dead isn’t all bad. He doesn’t need any sleep, so he can stay up all night and play games online. He doesn’t feel any pain, so there’s no need to worry about Rodney the bully anymore. Still, Nathan would rather be human. Will he find a cure? (…read more)
My big fat zombie goldfish: fins of fury by Mo O’Hara
When Tom zapped Frankie the goldfish back to life with a battery, he certainly didn’t expect him to become a BIG FAT ZOMBIE GOLDFISH with incredible hypnotic powers. But it turns out that a zombie goldfish is a great pet to have on your side when your big brother is an evil scientist whose plans need to be thwarted. There’s something fishy going on in the woods, as Tom and his best friend Pradeep take Frankie on a camping adventure. Could the Beast of Burdock Woods be real?
Then, something weird is going on with Mark. He’s actually being . . . nice! Meanwhile, paranormal pets (including (…read more)
Night of the Zombie Goldfish by Paul Harrison
Funny, light-hearted monster stories that are perfect for young readers, brought to us by the esteemed Dr. Roach.
Judd Crank and his friend Zak are two ordinary boys, in an ordinary town, with some very ordinary goldfish. Judd never thought much about his pet fish, besides sometimes needing to feed them.
But when a science experiment accidentally gets mixed in with their food, these regular pets start becoming a lot more interesting. With a series of bubbles and pops, the slimy fish start growing and changing. Then they step right out of their tank – and begin marching towards town. (…read more)
Revenge of the Zombie Monks by Cara Stevens (ebook available on hoopla digital)
Behind the walls of the monastery, the monks of Xenos grow enchanted golden apples for the villagers who live in their border world. The golden apples have magical healing powers that keep the villagers from harm. The monks also guard the knowledge that binds Xenos to her sister worlds and that keeps Xenos and its citizens safe. But now the monks have been zombified! What will the people of Xenos do now that they have no protection?
The only ones who can save Xenos’s monks are Phoenix–a miner girl who loves adventure–and her new friends: a hermit and Wolfie the wolf pup. But Phoenix (…read more)
Zombie Invasion by Winter Morgan (ebook available on hoopla digital)
One fateful day, Lucy is invited to study at the prestigious Overworld Academy. The Academy offers her the opportunity to learn all of the secrets of the Overworld–and it’s an opportunity she can’t miss. She’s sad to leave behind her friends Henry and Max, but it’s time for her to have an adventure on her own. At Overworld Academy, she meets two new friends, Jane and Phoebe. Jane is an expert fighter, and Phoebe is a talented alchemist. With Lucy’s own knack for treasure hunting, the trio makes an incredible team. And when the school is attacked by zombies, the three girls are (…read more)
The Great Zombie Invasion: An Unofficial Minecrafter’s Adventure by Mark Cheverton (ebook available on hoopla digital)
Can Gameknight999 survive a Minecraft journey one hundred years into the past?
A freak thunderstorm strikes just as Gameknight999 is activating his father’s digitizer to re-enter Minecraft. Sparks flash across his vision as he is sucked into the game… and when the smoke clears he’s arrived safely. But it doesn’t take long to realize that things in the Overworld are very different.
Gameknight sees the same blocky terrain and square clouds as usual, but almost everything else has changed. His friends are nowhere to be found. His castle has disappeared and the village he calls home (…read more)
The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade! by Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Holgate
A New York Times and USA Today bestelling series, with one million copies in print!
“Terrifyingly fun! Delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs.”–Jeff Kinney, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The zombies are disappearing. This might seem like a good thing, since zombies eat your brains, but normal human kid Jack Sullivan is suspicious. He keeps hearing an eerie shrieking noise that seems to be almost summoning the zombies–but to where, and for what (probably) foul purpose?
Jack, his three best friends (maybe the only people left on Earth), and (…read more)
