Sunday, April 20, 2014

Down, Zombie, Down! (series Zombie Zappers).

Higgins, Nadia.  Down, Zombie, Down! (series Zombie Zappers).  Enslow/Speeding Star 2014  64p   $11.95  ISBN 978-1-62285-015-0  elem  Science fiction  G          

For elementary students who like zombies, this fourth installment in the Zombie Zappers series will entertain.  In this title, Leo’s pet dog Tina acts weird, then goes missing.  When other animals in their hometown of Rotfield start acting bizarre, Leo realizes that the animals have become zombies.  When Leo learns of his friend Roger’s secret of being half-zombie, he asks him questions relating to how the zombie outbreak years ago ended and how life returned to normal.  With the help of his friends, the Zombie Zappers, the group jumps back into action to resolve the animal zombie crisis.  The crew of Zombie Zappers uses Chad’s Zombot robot to help lure the animals to a new location and then use Roger’s Z-ray maser to cure the zombie pets with the right Z-wave frequency. 

The author uses short chapters and easy-to-understand text to tell the story.  Since the title is geared toward elementary students, the title could have included some black-and-white illustrations to help readers visualize the story.

The story could be read as a stand-alone and does not require students to have read the other titles in this series.  Leo, Chad, and Roger are the Zombie Zappers.
 With the help of friends, family, pets, and previous zombie research, the boys are always looking to thwart a zombie outbreak! At the same time, they learn valuable life lessons.  These fictional narratives are low-level chapter books that are humorous, fast-paced, and kind of scary.      

Summary: "The Zombie Zappers jump back into action when a unique zombie outbreak spreads to their hometown.  Leo will have to join forces with Chad's new best friend if they want to stop Rotfield from being overrun by a new breed of zombie.”

Zombies-Fiction                                       --Charleen Forba-Mayer

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