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After several years of getting zombie chapter books and middle grade books to review and ignoring them all, I finally decided to tryand read all the books about the undead — or at least a lot. Surprisingly, some of these books were quite good. Really good. (And those that weren’t, I won’t bother telling you about. You’re welcome.)
I found that the zombie books for kids ages 6 – 13 were funny, even kooky, and not gross (which is what I expected) or scary (which is what I feared), or oriented towards voodoo (which just creeps me out.) Predictably, the YA books got more scary and creepy, and nightmare-inducing. (I’m a big baby because of my nightmares! Now you know my level of scaredy-cat-ness.)
So, if you have a kiddo who thinks zombies are cool and he or she is looking for book recommendations, well, here’s my list of good zombie children’s books.
A Horde of Zombie Books for Kids
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie Book 1: A Scare of a DarebyHerobrine Books(SERIES) (ages 6 – 10)
Short sentences with witty observations on life from the perspective of a Minecraft zombie that will crack you up. I was surprised, to say the least, that this was such an entertaining, funny read. Nothing scary. Just fun. Especially for Minecraft enthusiasts. (These are FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers!)
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish byMo O’HaraandMarek Jagucki (SERIES) (ages 6 – 8)
Yes, even goldfish can become zombified. Who knew? And that goldfish can control your mind. (Which isn’t typical of a zombie and is more vampire-like, but whatever.) This is a funny, easy-to-read chapter book series that is fun for reluctant readers.
The Zombie ChasersbyJohn KloepferandSteve Wolfhard (SERIES) (ages 8 – 12)
Filled with cartoon illustrations, this early chapter book series highlights the bravery of a group of friends (and siblings) who will save the world from zombies. A fun adventure of kid-power.
Haru Zombie Dog Heroby Ellen Oh(SERIES) (ages 8 – 12)
Edge-of-your-seat writing and action, the bond between a dog and boy (and family)grounds this paranormal adventure, even though it’s also about evil scientists and zombies!Luke is devastated when their family’s mean landlord gets his dog Haru taken away by the pound. But instead of going to the pound, Haru is sent to a sinister laboratory where scientists experiment on dogs. (This part is hard to read for us animal lovers — but hang in there, Haru will be okay.) Instead of dying like the other dogs, Haru wakes up changed. Violent. A zombie! When other violent zombie dogs escape the lab, Haru knows he must protect his people no matter what!
Plants vs. Zombies by Paul Tobin and Ron Chan (SERIES) (ages 6 – 10)
I wasn’t expecting these books to be so funny in an ironic way that you don’t see in children’s books. Yes, there are zombies and kids with plants trying to kill the zombies (just like in the video game) but you’ll be surprised (as I was) to read comic panels like these: a man calling the police saying, “This is a mysterious call” or a woman reading her notebook with the words “no choice” and remarking, “This leaves me no choice,” HA. If your child likes these graphic novels, there are TONS of books in the series.
The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Colgate (SERIES) (ages 8 – 12)
In this exciting book, the zombie apocalypse seems a bit fun. At least, that’s how Jack approaches life and zombie fighting. He and his best friend, Quint, live in an upgraded, well-defended treehouse where they plan to rescue his crush June (she doesn’t need rescuing, being quite capable) and fight zombies. Illustrations throughout make this even more appealing to read and imagine. Delightful. Who would have thought?!
Monstrous Stories #1: Night of the Zombie GoldfishbyDr. Roach (SERIES) (ages 7 – 10)
Don’t you hate it when you feed your neighbor’s fish the wrong food, and it turns into a giant zombie?
Goosebumps Hall of Horrors #4: Why I Quit Zombie SchoolbyR.L. Stone (SERIES) (ages 8 – 12)
I haven’t read this book, but I’ve read other Goosebumps books which are enticing for reluctant readers. In this book, Matt’s parents enroll him in zombie school, and he has to decide if he’ll try to save the people in his city from the zombies.
Dead CitybyJames Ponti (ages 10 – 13)(SERIES)
Molly’s recruited to hunt zombies in New York City, just like her mother, who is dead. But is momactually a zombie? And why is she trying to contact Molly? This is a great action-adventure storywith a mystery and moral dilemma.
Zombie Season #1 by Justin Weinberger (SERIES) (ages 8 – 12)
This zombie story zips along with intrigue, adventure, and humor. Narrated from the perspective of three kids from the same town: one who is out after the DUSK ALERT searching for her missing dad, the other who is trying to atone for her failed zombie experiment and the last one whose parents force him to flee. When their stories converge, it’s after one meets a sentient zombie and one sees a mutated gigantic zombie who seems unstoppable. The hoard is growing and attacking with planning– and it’s not looking good for humans.
Jack Templar Monster Hunter: The Templar Chronicles: Book OnebyJeff Guns(SERIES) (ages 10 – 15)
I liked this first book of the series — when he’s attacked by monsters more than once, Jack learns he’s a Monster Hunter who is now fair game to be hunted. It’s not as scary as it sounds but is more of an adventure with monsters which happens to include zombies. (The first book is free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.)
Undertakers: The Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago (SERIES) (ages 10 – 13)
Agreat kids-must-save-the-world book with a unique zombie/alien twist. Aliens are taking over corpses and reanimating them. Only some kids can see the real zombie beneath the alien “masks” — our hero gets the zombie sight and is rescued by a group of zombie fighters called Undertakers. He convinces the Undertakers group to stop being defensive but to be more aggressive and determine how to kill the corpses. I liked this book a lot!! (Free on Kindle Unlimited.) Also on Scary Chapter Books for Kids
Infinity: Chronicles of Nick (Chronicles of Nick Book 1)bySherrilyn Kenyon(SERIES) (YA ages 13+)
Yes, there are zombies in this first novel. However, the Chronicles of Nick series includes many magical, mythical and paranormall landscape. It’s a fast-paced, action-packed adventure about a teenager who possesses powerful magic that could destroy humanity. Of course, he doesn’t know it quite yet. But he will. 🙂
Rot & RuinbyJonathan Mayberry (SERIES) (YA / teen ages 13+)
It’s a creepy, scary, and somewhat bittersweet world of humanity who must survive in enclaves while the hoards of zombies roam the land — zombies who might have been family or friends. Mayberry does an amazing job at making the zombies pitiful and the zombie hunters’ job (so to speak) heartbreaking but necessary.At age 15,Benny must either fight zombies like his brother Tom or find a different job, or else his rations will be halved. So many of the “zoms” are people he once knew – and loved – and soon Benny learns there are people in the world who are worse than the zombies.Also on: Scary Chapter Books for Kids
Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles)byGena Showalter (SERIES) (YA ages 13+)
A YA chapter book about Alice and zombies — that Irecommend? Crazy but true! Alice’s father has embarrassed her all her life with his paranoia, refusal to go out after dark, even to a high school performance, and excessive drinking, but it turns out he is right! And now he, her mother, and her sister are dead. Alice learns the hard way that the world is zombie infested. Adventure and a little romance make this quite a page-turner.
The Forest of Hands and TeethbyCarrie Ryan (SERIES) (YA ages 13+)
Her life is controlled carefully by the Sisterhood until the fence is breached. Mary’s forced to survive in this end-of-times post apocalyptic adventureand romance. I liked this story a lot, but my 13-year-old’s friends didn’t like it at all.
The Passage by Justin Cronin (SERIES) (ages 17+)
This is an adult chapter book that scared the cr*p out of me– but it was such a page-turner. The twist is the scary zombie dudes aren’t really zombies but are killing as if they were zombies with one mind and lots of smarts after an infection the government gives prisoners goes wrong. It’s so well written that I kept reading. ONLY read at your own risk. Seriously. Freaky.
The Walking DeadbyRobert Kirkman, illustrated byCharlie Allard and others (SERIES)(ages 17+)
I haven’t read these graphic novels about the zombie apocalpyse — they look too scary and gory for my tastes. But I’m sharing because a zombie round-up is hardly complete without the quintessential comic book zombie series. The Walking Dead is also a tv series.
KEEP READING:
Scary Stories for Kids (Chapter and Middle Grade Books)
Dystopian Books for Tweens
The Best Halloween Books for Kids
