Zombies--Just Like Us?!

Check out this feature on Zap2it-- "Zombies, They're Just Like Us" feature that is really fun.

I am super excited about The Walking Dead on Halloween. I doubt that I will have time to watch and I am thinking it might be the kind of show that I need to watch in the daylight, if you know what I mean.

I hope you've enjoyed Zombie Week on my blog. You have another week to enter my giveaway (check the sidebar for the giveaways).

Have a great Halloween!!

EDIT: Look at these DARLING zombie-ish cupcakes!

Zombie Books: Sound Off

Here is a list of my favorite ZOMBIE books:

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. Without a doubt this one has jumped to the front of my list. (check out Jonathan Maberry's wonderful Big Scary Blog here. I particularyily loved this interview post with interviews by Carrie Ryan, Alden Bell and Jonathan himself).

The Forest of Teeth and Hands and The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan. Loved both of these. It was interesting to see how society evolved after the zombie apocalypse.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. I listend to the audio of this one and really loved it. It was done in two voices, one for the mom and one for the son. Very well done.

I did read and liked the first Generation Dead book by Daniel Waters but it's not a typical Zombie book, so it wasn't one of my favorites.

Here's another list of a good zombie books.

What are some of your favorite zombie books and why?

Zombify!

These are my sons. I wanted to show you how the Zombie feature on Picnik works. Pretty cool huh?! You can do all colors eyes and a few different shade of green and gray for the skin. You can also do vampires eyes. It is so fun!!

Zombie Tween Tuesday: Zombiekins by Kevin Bolger

3.5 yummy peanut butter sandwich cookies with peanut butter filling!

Cover Love: Well, this summer when I bought this book my 10 year old son Max saw the cover and asked right away if he could read it!

Why I Wanted to Read This Book: I got the book for my boys to read this summer and wanted to read it because Max liked it so much. Synopsis from GoodReads:
Fourth-grader Stanley Nudelman is about as wimpy as they come—he’s cowardly, shy, and spends most of his time hiding from the school bully, Knuckles Bruzkowski! Then Stanley stumbles upon the yard sale of his neighbor, Old Lady Imavitch, where he buys a mysterious stuffed animal. But this isn’t any old toy . . . it’s Zombiekins! He’s a little bit teddy, a little bit bunny, and a whole lotta ZOMBIE! And he’s coming this way!

Stump!—scri-i-i-i-itch . . .

Stump!—scri-i-i-i-itch . . .

Stanley brings Zombiekins to school and unleashes the worst zombie plague in fourth grade history! Can Stanley find the courage to save the day before his teachers notice the class is full of zombies? Or will he soon join the ranks of the snuggily UNDEAD?

I Kept Reading Because: It was funny and I loved the illustrations!

What I Liked (& Didn't): Over all this was a fun book that gets the humor of it's audience. I loved the picture of the girl germs that is shown when Stanley goes into the girls bathroom.

Speaking of pictures...the illustrations were a lot of fun!

There is certainly a gross out factor in this book, but I doubt it is anything that would turn off the scores of little boys reading this book. Especially when it is the "goody-goody," tattletale girl who turns into a zombie first and ends up eating every gross thing in sight.

I liked how even though the kids are zombies they still follow the rules of the school.

And my favorite part...the "antidote" for changing the kids back into regular kids.

I also asked Max what he liked best about the book (he read it very quickly so it was a good level for him--a distractable fourth grader who likes to read, but just has never truly gotten "into" a book). He said it was just fun and he liked all the gross parts also. He liked how Stanley finally figured out how to fix the zombie problem.

What I Would Like To See:
This ended looking like it might be a series, maybe with stuffed animals coming to life and becoming zombie stuffed animals. Nothing like truly giving kids nightmares! I would like to see more of the widow who sold Stanley Zombiekins in the first place. She seemed like she would be an interesting character.

To Sum Up: A very fast moving read with lots of action and humor. Perfect for upper elementary readers and one that I think would be appealing for reluctant readers as well!

Zombie Week Book Review: Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

5 amazing iced ginger cookies!

Cover Love: YES! This is such a unique cover! And the eye is shiny so when it is laying just right it looks pretty spooky.

Why I Wanted to Read This: Well, it's a zombie book and I needed one for zombie week. I couldn't finish The Enemy and this one was getting good ratings on good reads. Here's the summary from Good Reads:

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

I Kept Reading Because: It was so engrossing! Well written, fast paced, great character and relationships. Wow. That's just about all I can say...wow.

Romance?: A smidge, but the main characters are pretty young so it is just the beginnings of one. The bigger part that I loved is the relationship between Benny and his brother Tom.

What I Liked (& Didn't): (this is a real time review--I kept adding comments as I was reading so the early thoughts are what I was thinking as I when I read certain parts).

At this moment, just a few pages in, Benny is very unlikable. Whenever I am faced with a unlikable main character I always worry that the author will not realize how blech their character is, especially when I don't know the author. I already am expecting a lot of redemption for little Benny!

Do you ever get to a point, a few pages into a book and think to yourself, "I am really going to like this book?" That's where I am at right now. If I could I would just be reading, but I have to go make dinner.

Wow, who would've thought that a zombie book could be so emotional? I found myself crying last night when Benny finally saw what Tom really does. Also, (and this is from someone who is only 110 pages in, so it is just a feeling) I am already really worried about Tom, I really hope he doesn't die!!

I love this line that Benny says: "It's just that I'm fifteen, and I have this crazy idea I might actually have a life in front of me. I don't see how it's going to do me much good to believe that this world is over and this is just an epilogue."

Okay, I am a little over half the way through. Last night I had an episode of Sons of Anarchy recorded and instead of watching that I read this book. Sons of Anarchy, people. JAX. And I chose the book. What does that tell you?

My new literary crush: Tom Imura. I kind of love him. Really a lot. A lot, a lot.

I wonder if I had had only girls if I would like "girly" books better. I will never know but I do know I love these kind of books--young male protagonist coming of age story. This one was awesome. On par with The Knife of Never Letting Go.

Since this book has been hard to put down I have been reading snippets here and there in my car while waiting for my son to get down with his football practice. It was hard to really get too heavily in the plot because of that. This turned out to be a good thing because I read one major scene that had I been really deep into the book at the time would have had me bawling.

And as to the early thought about Benny being unlikable--that is totally gone. I LOVE Benny! Major redemption.

What I Would Like to See Happen: It's sad that when a book ends and it just came out, you immediately hope that it will be a series and the next one will come out very soon.

I would like for Tom to find some happiness and I would like to see Benny rally a group of young people to start taking back bits of the land.

I would like to see book two come out ASAP!

To Sum Up: Can I be any clearer? I LOVED this book. Recommend it for middle school through high school--boys and girls and to all of us adults who love YA. Go get a copy, now!

Book bought from bookstore.

Check out this interview/book trailer about Rot & Ruin:

Happy ZOMBIE week! My Favorite Zombie Stuff & Giveaway

Movie: Shaun of the Dead. Zombies, Romance, British, Simon Pegg. What more do you need to know?


Although Zombieland is pretty good as well, I still have to put Shaun in first!

Book: Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry (review to come soon) I LOVED this book. However, The Forest of Teeth and Hands by Carrie Ryan is the only zombie book to actually invade my dreams. There was just something about the constant moaning that disturbed me.

Zombie Hunter: Tom Imura (from Rot & Ruin). He is my favorite and new literary crush. Bonus, he is around my age so I don't feel quite so pervy crushing on him!

Game: Plants vs. Zombies, so much fun!

TV: I am really excited about The Walking Dead and I think this is really the first TV series about zombies (someone tell me if I am wrong). Supernatural did a zombie episode and it was pretty good. Also, I started reading the graphic novel of The Walking Dead to prep for the show--it's really good.
*EDIT: There was a British show called Dead Set that was about a Zombie invasion. It will be airing on IFC all this week. Check out the blurb about it here.

Zombify: Picnik.com is my favorite picture software on line. It is super easy to use and not expensive at all. And they always have really col features during holidays and special events. During Halloween you can upload a picture add ghoul eyes, green skin and blood spatters. It is awesome!

As you can see I have included some of my favorite Zombie things in the my Zombie Week Giveaway!

You can enter to win TWO different Zombie packs:

My favorite things pack:

Plants vs. Zombies game (for computer), Shaun of the Dead DVD, Rot & Ruin hardback book and a box of ghost Dots.

HarperCollins pack:

The ZombieChasers by John Kloepfer and Z by Michael Thomas Ford

Contest open to US only and will close on November 5. You don't have to be a follower to enter, but I would love it if you were!! To enter fill out this form:

Zombie Week: Giveaway Sneak Peek

I am having two very fun giveaways during Zombie Week...

One is my Zombie Favorites pack and the other has been graciously donated by HarperCollins (thanks TJ). Check out the merchandise below and be sure to come back on Monday to enter to win!!

HarperCollins Pack:

Favorite Zombies Pack:

Zombie Week: Feel the Anticipation

Last year I discovered this little game called Plants vs. Zombies. I bought it and it quickly became my favorite game (and both of my sons as well). I cross my fingers that they are developing a version 2! After you finish the game you are rewarded to this music video...it's darling and very catchy. Enjoy!


Remember Zombie Week is October 25-29. So far I have two great giveaways set up! I am super excited. Are you?

Zombie Week Invitation

I have decided to have a ZOMBIE WEEK (Oct. 25-29) here on my blog. I am reading a few new zombie books and will have an awesome giveaway (Rot & Ruin, Shaun of the Dead, Forest of Teeth and Hands, and a few other surprises). This is all in anticipation of the premiere of the TV series The Walking Dead on AMC. I am so excited for this show!

Would you like to join me in celebrating Zombie week? Maybe a review on a zombie book or a zombie giveaway? Let me know with either an email (janawarnell (at) hotmail (dot) com) or a comment below. I would love to have lots of bloggers join me!

Meanwhile, to whet your appetite for zombies, check out the trailer for The Walking Dead: