The Horn Book » zombies http://www.hbook.com Publications about books for children and young adults Tue, 14 May 2013 13:27:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 Deck Z http://www.hbook.com/2012/10/blogs/out-of-the-box/deck-z/ http://www.hbook.com/2012/10/blogs/out-of-the-box/deck-z/#comments Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:12:40 +0000 Katie Bircher http://www.hbook.com/?p=19400 Chris Pauls and Matt Solomon’s adult novel Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable. Undead. (Chronicle, September 2012) begins in early April, 1912, when German pathologist Theodor Weiss is summoned to Manchuria to investigate what appears to be a particularly virulent strain of plague. Weiss takes a recently infected victim to a laboratory to study the disease, [...]

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]]> deck z Deck ZChris Pauls and Matt Solomon’s adult novel Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable. Undead. (Chronicle, September 2012) begins in early April, 1912, when German pathologist Theodor Weiss is summoned to Manchuria to investigate what appears to be a particularly virulent strain of plague. Weiss takes a recently infected victim to a laboratory to study the disease, which quickly progresses from flu-like symptoms to a “total loss of higher functions” and “unbridled aggression.” After Weiss realizes the German government plans to seize his findings — and a vial of the infectious fluid he calls “the Toxic” — for military use, he flees for America on the Titanic.

A German agent with his own violent agenda assaults Weiss and unleashes the virus onboard. Within hours the massive ship is infested with zombies, which the crew attempts to quarantine from the rest of the passengers. Then the Titanic collides with an iceberg, and all hell really breaks loose.

Be warned: this is no campy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies–style mash-up but a serious, gory horror story. History buffs will appreciate details about the Titanic’s construction and the appearance of historical figures like Captain E. J. Smith (portrayed as a man of honor and a badass), designer Thomas Andrews, “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, and White Star Line manager J. Bruce Ismay. But with all the bloody zombie action, zombie fans are the real intended audience here. This quick, creepy read is perfect for Halloween.

Read more about the Titanic here; more zombies are here.

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]]> http://www.hbook.com/2012/10/blogs/out-of-the-box/deck-z/feed/ 1 Need braaains… and nimble fingers http://www.hbook.com/2011/10/choosing-books/reviews/need-braaains-and-nimble-fingers/ http://www.hbook.com/2011/10/choosing-books/reviews/need-braaains-and-nimble-fingers/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:26:32 +0000 Katie Bircher http://www.hbook.com/?p=6786 In high Halloween spirits, Cindy, interns Melissa and Caitlyn, and I tried Duy Nguyen’s activity book ZombiGami: Paper Folding for the Living Dead (Sterling, October). After perusing the thirteen zombie-centric projects, we settled on the paper-folding tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller“—who doesn’t love an undead dance scene? And, believe it or not, the two-sheet, forty-plus–step [...]

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]]> Zombigami Need braaains... and nimble fingersIn high Halloween spirits, Cindy, interns Melissa and Caitlyn, and I tried Duy Nguyen’s activity book ZombiGami: Paper Folding for the Living Dead (Sterling, October).

After perusing the thirteen zombie-centric projects, we settled on the paper-folding tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller“—who doesn’t love an undead dance scene? And, believe it or not, the two-sheet, forty-plus–step project actually seemed like one of the less complicated of the bunch. We selected our paper (options include burlap, gore, and goop patterns along with standard black and gray) and got folding.

zombigami paper Need braaains... and nimble fingers

About an hour later, we finally had our zombies. Each one had a distinct personality, but all looked like the sample… more or less. (“Mine’s not as crooked as theirs!” “Mine looks like a ballet dancer!”)

zombigami zombies1 Need braaains... and nimble fingers

Our single project exhausted our fingers and our attention spans. Since our group consisted of origami novices, we often had to look up specific folds, which was frustrating and time-consuming. Interpreting each step’s cryptic directions required team effort. Some advice: try one project per sitting and work with a partner.

zombigami teamwork Need braaains... and nimble fingers

Only 27 more steps to go!

zombigami final product2 Need braaains... and nimble fingers

Success! (sorta)

Between the subject matter (check out “Seymour Guts” and “Phineas Gouge”) and the daunting projects, ZombiGami is not for the faint of heart. But if you have a strong stomach and, more importantly, lots of patience, put on some mood music—may I suggest “Thriller”?—and put your paper-folding to the test.

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]]> http://www.hbook.com/2011/10/choosing-books/reviews/need-braaains-and-nimble-fingers/feed/ 3 They don’t call ‘em “graphic novels” for nothing. http://www.hbook.com/2011/02/blogs/out-of-the-box/they-dont-call-em-graphic-novels-for-nothing/ http://www.hbook.com/2011/02/blogs/out-of-the-box/they-dont-call-em-graphic-novels-for-nothing/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:29:00 +0000 Katie Bircher http://nyad1/wp-thb/?p=3778 Publisher BOOM! Studios usually sends review copies of their entire frontlist—kids’ and grown-ups’ comics alike—which means we get everything from Wall-E and Cars to Pale Horse and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Cindy snatched up The Muppet Show, a series she remembers fondly from childhood, but as a zombie fan I’m excited for the [...]

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]]> 28%2Bdays%2Blater They dont call em graphic novels for nothing.Publisher BOOM! Studios usually sends review copies of their entire frontlist—kids’ and grown-ups’ comics alike—which means we get everything from Wall-E and Cars to Pale Horse and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Cindy snatched up The Muppet Show, a series she remembers fondly from childhood, but as a zombie fan I’m excited for the adult-geared 28 Days Later: The Hot Zone. (Who hunts zombies in a Catholic schoolgirl skirt? I’m just sayin’.)

cold%2Bspace They dont call em graphic novels for nothing.What I’m really looking forward to is the Samuel L. Jackson–authored Cold Space. Starring Samuel L. Jackson Mulberry, “a wisecracking, butt-kicking, on-the-run-outlaw [who] crash lands on a hostile planet,” looks like it’ll be either awful or awesome. Knowing Samuel L. Jackson (of Snakes on a Plane fame/infamy), it’ll likely be a bit of both.

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]]> http://www.hbook.com/2011/02/blogs/out-of-the-box/they-dont-call-em-graphic-novels-for-nothing/feed/ 0 Freaks and Zombies http://www.hbook.com/2010/12/blogs/out-of-the-box/freaks-and-zombies/ http://www.hbook.com/2010/12/blogs/out-of-the-box/freaks-and-zombies/#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000 Kitty Flynn http://nyad1/wp-thb/?p=3754 Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Enter If You Dare! is the seventh compendium of all things bizarre, freakish, and grotesque from around the world. You know the stuff: a sculpture of an Australian actress made with 24,000 peaches, an eighteen-inch-long fingernail, mice kebabs, a turtle with two heads and six legs, a man with 240 [...]

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]]> Freaks and ZombiesRipley’s Believe It or Not!: Enter If You Dare! is the seventh compendium of all things bizarre, freakish, and grotesque from around the world. You know the stuff: a sculpture of an Australian actress made with 24,000 peaches, an eighteen-inch-long fingernail, mice kebabs, a turtle with two heads and six legs, a man with 240 body piercings (he’s a retired bank manager, believe it or not). As silly as it all is, I have trouble putting the damn thing down every time I look at it, and I can think of a few ten-year-olds right off the bat who would spend hours soaking up the “information.”

zombie%2Bhuman%2Bbody Freaks and ZombiesIn the same vein (pun intended) is A Zombie’s Guide to the Human Body: Tasty Tidbits from Head to Toe published by Scholastic. Professor Zombie adds his own editorial comments and zombie-centric visuals to basic information about body systems (skeletal, digestive, urinary, muscular, cardiovascular, etc.). Every page is littered with blood splatter, unidentifiable splotches of pus-like gore, drool stains, and zombie photos taped over images of living people. It’s gimmicky and distracting and not at all an essential purchase for libraries, but for a zombie-phile reluctant reader, it might be the perfect match of book and reader. The professor offers such nuggets as “SKULLS HARD! COVER UP BRAIN! SKULLS BAD!” and “BRAIN COMES IN 2 SERVINGS” and “FOR QUICK ENERGY TRY LIVER.” Bon appétit!

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