The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade

A strange shrieking. Disappearing Zombies. New monsters appearing. Jack and his three friends keep hearing an eerie shrieking that summons the zombies. They are determined to discover where the zombies are going. Along the way, they encounter a giant Wormungulous, a pizza parlor monster hideout, an ancient evil who destroys worlds, and a stereo system that is totally the bomb.

The mystery of the strange shrieking isn’t the only problem Jack is facing. As a foster kid, Jack never had the chance to make friends. The monster apocalypse changed that. Now that he has a family, he wonders if he can trust them to stay alive on their own. He worries about all of the what-ifs—what if they get hurt? Or eaten? Or chopped up? Or zombified? Can Jack learn to trust his friends and allow them to help him stay safe?

In the end, Jack realizes that “Friends are important. Family is important. . . But even a post-apocalyptic action hero can’t keep them safe all the time.” He also learns that not all monsters are wicked and that battling together is the only way to defeat evil.

The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade is told in the same humorous tone as the first book in the series. Each of the kids is given unique talents and is shown to be strong in different ways. The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade will be a hit with readers of all ages.

Sexual Content

• None

Violence

• A Wormungulous lives in the mall and chases the kids. Jack hits the monster with a boomerang. “There’s a BLAST as smoke bombs and bang snaps and sparklers explode. The monster jerks to the left, veers band to the right. . . “ Jack and Quint are able to escape.
• Later the Womungulous finds the kids and gives chase. Jack sticks the monster with a blade. “The monster shrieks in pain and its thick tail whips into me . . . I slam into the side of PacSun.” A man-monster pushes the kids out of the way.
• A Hairy-Eyeball Monster attacks the Jack and Quint. The monster fires quills at the kids. One of the quills pins Quill to a headstone.
• Zombies follow a strange shrieking noise. The kids follow, trying to figure out where the zombies are going, they see “undead bodies soar through the air like they’ve been launched from a catapult . . . We watch as limp zombie bodies pound the cement like mortar shells.” The zombie’s brains had been sucked out.
• A Winged Wretch attacks. “The monster’s razor-sharp talons grab the zombie by the shoulders . . . the Winged Wretch beats its wing and thrust upward, into the sky.”
• The kids find strange insects that combine to make a huge creature.  “. . . The insects begin to gather themselves. Amassing, assembling, joining together to form something nightmarish . . . I try to run, but the horror in front of me is too much . . .” Dirk saves Jack.
• The zombies follow a strange shrieking sound. “As each zombie stumbles into the clearing, the tree’s branches move and shift. The branches snap and reach down in a series of chilling, herky-jerky movements. . . The branches open at the end, like ferocious wooden mouths—and they inhale the zombies.”
• The Wormungulous chases Jack into a cage. “It’s wrapping around the cage like an oversized, ultra-awful anaconda . . . I feel like I’m in the trash compactor in Star Wars.” The monster’s energy runs out and Jack realizes that the Wormungulous has a festering wound and needs help.
• Thrull, a giant monster, grabs Jack and throws him through the treehouse wall. “Wood splinters and shatters. A second later I crash-land into a pile of leaves.” When Dirk tries to help Jack, “Thrull backhands him—a slap that sends Dirk sprawling into Rover so that they both land in a heap.” Thrull puts the kids in a cage and takes them to the Tree of Entry. When Thrull is eaten by the tree, he turns into a monster.
• The kids unite with monsters to defeat Thrull the Tree Beast. The battle is described over several pages. Jack is swallowed by Thrull the Tree Beast. “Thrull the Tree Beast shrieks! Wood snaps and cracks around me. At my feet, jutting out of the barrel, the bottle rocket burns . . . The trunk of the tree shatters completely. . . My body is rocked—a title wave of explosive energy rips through me, hurling me from the inside of the tree.” In the end, Jack is saved when the kids defeat Thrull the Tree Beast with weed killer and bottle rockets.

Drugs and Alcohol

• None

Language

• None

Supernatural

• The children are tricked into completing a bestiary. “I have filled the bestiary with magical energy. When the bestiary is full, the essence of the creatures inside will transform the book into a key.” The key will be used to let an ancient monster into the world, which wants to feed on others.
• Thrull plants vines that turn into a Tree of Entry. The tree feeds an ancient monster. Trull must complete an incantation in order to bring the ancient monster to this world.
• Thrull sacrifices himself to the tree. “He cackles like a mad, giggling demon and gives me a final look before his eyes shut and her roars, ‘TAKE ME.’” The Viney-Thinks eat Thrull.

Spiritual Content

• None