I have an irrational fear of zombies. It's irrational because they don't exist. After reading this I now have a rational fear of zombies. Why did I read this! Whhhhhhhhy! ( )

Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead by Rebecca L. Johnson is a wickedly cool, zombie nature book for kids! The book describes the scenario and the action of what happens between the creatures involved first. Second, the science part of how the creature is controlled! Fun book. I got the Audible version and its only about a 45 minutes and it seemed to fly by! Great voice. Kids will like this book, middle grade I am guessing but some younger and some older probably would like it too, I sure did and I already knew about these things. ( )

For Juvenile audience but this old guy enjoyed the book; found it interesting and informative. Was not aware of nature's Zombie makers. ( )

Stomach-turning nonfiction about parasites, worms, and viruses that cause zombie-like reactions in their hosts. Sure to be very popular with middle grade readers who love to be grossed out. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-7

Summary: Each chapter starts with a zombie trait and then shares a real life example. Each animal has a photo and quick facts, including the scientific name, nickname, zombie victim, and location. Most chapters include a section called "The Science Behind the Story."

Setting: location mentioned in quick facts box

Facts:
Fungus eats the housefly from the inside.
A fungus makes the ant climb a tree and bite a leaf so that it can spread the spores.
A worm eats the cricket from the inside and makes it jump into water even though the cricket can't swim.
Worms are in the water that people drink.
Wasp uses a cockroach's body to feed their young.
Wasp uses a caterpillars body to protect the wasp cocoons.
Rabies makes the animal want to bite anything.
Parasites could be found in the poop of animals, such as birds and cats. If the poop is eaten, it can infect the animal that ate it.
Eating infected poop makes an ant's abdomen swell and turn red to look like a berry.

Main idea: There are things that control animals.
Additional ideas found in a close reading: Goal of parasites is to reproduce and spread. Scientists study animals by observing them and dissecting them. Life cycles of animals vary.

Chapters:
Intro - Are they real?
Ch 1 - A Fungus Among Us: Zombie trait - Staring vacantly, moving slowly and mechanically, odd behavior; fungus (Entomophthora muscae, Camponotus leonardi) housefly and carpenter ants
Ch 2 - The Worms crawl in, the worms crawl out: Zombie trait - obeys commands including suicide; worms (Paragordius tricuspidatus, Dracunculus medinensis) cricket, humans
Ch 3 - Can we eat the babysitter? Zombie trait - ignores injuries and pain; sting (Ampulex compressa, Glyptapanteles) cockroaches, caterpillar
Ch 4 - Going Viral: Zombie trait - insanity; bites (rabies) mammals
Ch 5 - Try me, you'll like me: Zombie trait - trickery for spreading; worms (Myrmeconema neotropicum, Leucochloridium paradoxum, toxoplasma gondii) giant gliding ants, amber snails, rats and humans
Afterword - Zombie Makers: Why and How

Includes authors note, glossary, source notes, bibliography, recommend resources, and index

Recurring Themes: disgusting, zombies, fungus, animals, parasites, science, survival, spreading, chemicals, senses, life cycle, protection, circle of life, scientists

Controversial Issues: grossness, suicide crickets

Personal Thoughts: This book would be great for a close reading for 4th or 5th grade. The teacher could read a few chapters then talk about all of the different things the author is trying to teach us. Overall, this book is decent introduction to the topic. As I read I was brainstorming many questions and there was only a little bit of information on each parasite. I liked that the author included the pronunciations of species names. It's written in a very appealing way because of the narrative text and gross factor. Watch out for the picture on page 20 of a worm coming out of a person's leg.

Genre: Informational text; science non-fiction

Pacing: fast, 48 pages, written in an appealing way because of narrative text and gross factor
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity:

Would be great for a close reading!!!!! ( )