Return of ZomBert

by Kara LaReau, Ryan Andrews (Illustrator)

Overview

A second meaty serving of the ZomBert Chronicles offers a suspenseful treat for animal lovers and fans of spooky mysteries.

ZomBert is back in book two of a wry new mystery series by award-winning creators Kara LaReau and Ryan Andrews. A stray cat who escaped the YummCo Laboratories on the outskirts of Lambert, Bert has now been officially adopted by nine-year-old Mellie Gore. He spends his days dozing in Mellie’s room and his nights hunting . . . and devouring fresh prey. Bert’s health and memory have returned, and his newfound strength and smarts are off the charts. Mellie, meanwhile, is busy working odd jobs to fund her cat’s visit to the vet, convinced that Bert can win the Best Pet contest at the upcoming YummCo-sponsored Harvest Festival. But is Bert really the best pet in Lambert—or just the weirdest? And could he be plotting revenge? Clever illustrated fare for fans of Bunnicula and other humorous forays into the macabre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536226072
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/19/2022
Series:	The Zombert Chronicles , #2
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	1,096,121
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.47(d)
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kara LaReau is the author of several books for young readers, including Rise of ZomBert and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book The Infamous Ratsos and its sequels. She is also the author of the middle-grade series The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters. Kara LaReau lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Ryan Andrews is a comics artist and illustrator. He is the illustrator of Rise of ZomBert by Kara LaReau, The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobsen, and the author-illustrator of the graphic novel This Was Our Pact. Two of his web comics have been nominated for Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Ryan Andrews lives in Fukuoka, Japan.

Editorial Reviews

Bert, the cat Mellie adopted in series opener Rise of ZomBert (2020), may not be a zombie…but she’s sure he’s special. . . . Perspectives alternate chapter by chapter among Mellie (related in the first person) and Bert (in a third-person cat voice) and the Yumms (third-person bad guy), and the story moves at a nice clip.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-06-02
Bert, the cat Mellie adopted in series opener Rise of ZomBert (2020), may not be a zombie…but she’s sure he’s special.

Former stray Bert has put on weight, and his fur’s filled in in the month that fourth grader Mellie has been taking care of him. With him, she hopes to win the Best Pet Contest at the Lambert Harvest Festival (sponsored by omnipresent YummCo) so she can pay her parents back for Bert’s vet bill. Her friend Danny’s (kind of) helping with Bert’s training while filming the rough-looking feline for a trilogy of ZomBert movies on social media. Bert has his own plan: to rescue all of his former test-subject companions from YummCo’s labs. Meanwhile, the Big Boss and lab techs Kari and Greg scheme to get Bert (or Y-91, as they call him) back into the lab for more tests. Whose plans will succeed? Perspectives alternate chapter by chapter among Mellie (related in the first person) and Bert (in a third-person cat voice) and the Yumms (third-person bad guy), and the story moves at a nice clip. However, it’s less spooky and mysterious than the first installment and has a truncated feel; it’s definitely a middle chapter in a longer work, leaving little resolved. As seen in the illustrations, Mellie’s family is interracial (she and her mom have brown skin and textured hair, and her dad and younger siblings present White); her friends are racially diverse. Entertaining enough, but young readers might want to wait until the final volume is out before picking up the first.

As a stand-alone work, less than satisfying. (Science fiction. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews