Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead

4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 · rating details · 93 ratings · 46 reviews

Are zombies real? Scientists know this for sure: dead people do not come back to live and start walking around, looking for trouble. But there are things that can take over the bodies and brains of innocent creatures, turning them into senseless slaves. Meet natures zombie makers--including a fly-enslaving fungus, a suicide worm, and a cockroach-taming waspand their victim...more

Hardcover, 48 pages

Published October 1st 2012 by Millbrook Press

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 244)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 09, 2012 Greg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-for-kids, animals, i-walked-with-a-zombie-rawr

I can see giving this to the right kid and scaring the ~~shit~~ bejesus out of him so badly that he'll be in therapy until he's forty just to be able to go into nature ever again. There are funguses and viruses and creepy worms out there just waiting to parasite it up inside of a hosts body and some of these things can even hijack control of the brain and get the host to do some destructive and very out of character actions.

We don't necessarily think of a cricket as being really high on the scale o...more I can see giving this to the right kid and scaring the ~~shit~~ bejesus out of him so badly that he'll be in therapy until he's forty just to be able to go into nature ever again. There are funguses and viruses and creepy worms out there just waiting to parasite it up inside of a hosts body and some of these things can even hijack control of the brain and get the host to do some destructive and very out of character actions.

We don't necessarily think of a cricket as being really high on the scale of cognitive volition, they are insects and they do insect things, which from out apex of mammal-dom doesn't look all that sophisticated. (Ok, maybe it does some complex things, but did you ever think of a cricket as sitting around and wondering what it should do, being sad in the face of contemplating all it's 'free-will', or just unable to leap from one leaf to another because it can't think of what it wants to eat tonight. Yeah maybe these aren't the most sophisticated thoughts, but they are thoughts about thoughts, the basis of what we think of as our own cognitive free-will) But with the introduction of the hairworm, Paragordius Tricuspidatus the cricket's sole purpose becomes to jump in water, never mind that crickets can't swim and they instinctively avoid water. What does something like this mean for the concepts of free will? Obviously a cricket that can't swim isn't going to intentionally throw itself in water, that kind of behavior would have been easily bred out of the gene pool by evolution a long time ago. But Paragordius Tricuspidatus doesn't infect us, and make us want to drown ourselves in order for the little hairworm (well not really that little in comparison to the size of a cricket, the little (opps I almost said a dirty word, and this is a kid's book review, I'm going to be good) worm is actually three feet long!

But what about the single cell parasite Toxoplasma Gondii that lowers the fear instinct in rats to such a degree that they actually seek out and want to be around their natural predator, the house cat? Apparently 25% of all people are infected with this little zombie-maker, and it does little to humans, but isn't in conceivable that with some good old evolution T. gondii could find a use for us, all it would take is some strain of it to have a marked success at doing something that would increase it's chances of survival and we could be throwing ourselves into lion cages or something, right? Ok, that is facetious. But still it's a little chilling what a tiny microbe can do to so called free-will.

Karen wrote a review with some great visuals of some of the different zombie parasites out there just waiting to take control of unsuspecting hosts. You can read her review here if you haven't already, of just go back and read it again and be creeped out by the picture of the mice hanging out on a cat's face.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

If you've read The Book of Dangerous Animals this book will give you even more reasons to never venture outside again, and maybe even not want to let things into your house (T. gondii is out to get you! You are possibly already infected from eating undercooked meat, eating unwashed vegetables or changing your cat's litter box). If you haven't read the other book you should just so you can realize the full extent of the dangers nature has waiting for you. And then read this childrens book when it is released this fall.

Shameless plug (I mean, reference for this review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)(less)

23 likes · like · see review

Feb 16, 2013 Lily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

Review originally featured on Bookluvrs Haven.

I sometimes joke that I am a 6 year old boy living in an adult woman's body. And it could not be more true than when I started reading this book.

Absolutely loved it! It was icky. It was gross. It was graphic and fascinating. And it had A TON of pictures!

At about 60 pages long, this book gives you an insight into the weird and really fascinating world of real life zombie makers. From fungi, to insects, to parasitic worms, this book will leave your ve...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Sharon Tyler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead Rebecca L. Johnson is a non fiction book for children, around age 9 and older) scheduled for release on October 1 2012. The book is all about some of the fungi and parasites that can turn their hosts into zombies, not the zombie people that one might think about from popular culture, but still following the bidding of the creatures invading their body. Nature's zombie makers cannot raise creatures from the dead, but instead use their hosts for food...more

like · see review

Feb 06, 2013 Becky B rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Reluctant readers, Science teachers

Shelves: juvenile-non-fiction, picture-books

If you are having trouble keeping the attention of students during science class or having trouble motivating a reluctant reader, you might want to try out this informative picture book. It is sure to have kids (and adults) covering their faces with their hands but too curious not to peak through their fingers. Johnson gives short 1-2 page descriptions of these fungi, nematodes, protozoans, insects, and viruses that take over the brains and bodies of other living creatures. Not only will this ke...more

like · see review

Jul 05, 2012 karen added it

Shelves: thank-you-bea-or-ala, nonfictions, kiddiwinx

oh my god.

zombies are real, and they are mostly insects. i am not leaving my house, ever. although every summer, there are these tiny little beetles that come and live in my apartment, and i am always really nice to them and set them free out the window, and if they are zombies, i hope to all the higher powers that they will see me as a servant and not a potential zombie-host.

this book is amazing. it is all about the ways in which parasites TAKE OVER the brains of their hosts. which is totally r...more

57 likes · like · see review

Jun 18, 2013 Marsha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, non-fiction, outdoors-nature, science

Zombies are the new vampires. While bloodsuckers still loom large in the public mind, other people are turning their interests towards the shambling dead.

But human zombies don't exist anymore than human vampires do. However, they exist in nature and this slim book is devoted to outlining, in glorious color, the horror, the horror that lies closer than you think.

The photographs are wonderfully explicit, the prose easy to digest and the science is clear cut without being too overwhelming. Yes, t...more

like · see review

Aug 14, 2012 Melissa Mcavoy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-books, non-fiction, tweens

Reviewed from an ARC. Rebecca Johnson follows on her award winning Journey into the Deep: Discovering New Ocean Creatures (Millbrook, 2011) with an even more compelling non-fiction book, sure to fly off the shelves: Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead. The five chapters are organized by transmission vectors and begin with zombie-traits victims evince. Fact boxes for each ‘Zombie Maker’, electrifyingly gruesome photographs, and frequent ‘Science Behind the Story’ headings break up the...more

like · see review

Nov 15, 2012 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: juv-nonfiction, insects, parasites, zombies

A look at insects and animals who display zombie-like traits after becoming infected by different parasites and fungi. Each chapter begins with a zombie trait and then the creature is introduced that suffers from the trait and then the science behind the activity is explained. Great photographs lets readers get a close up view of parasites and the damage they cause to the creatures they infect.

Hands down the writing style and tone is tops in this book. The author sets a creepy tone and maintains...more

like · see review

Dec 12, 2012 Nathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love children's non-fiction, and frequently some come through that I cannot keep myself from reading as I catalog them for the library. This book is a perfect case in point. I picked it up thinking that the natural world was being exploited by writers dying to latch onto a pop culture fad. Now that I have read it, I know that is not really the case. Some organisms have evolved some incredibly elaborate adaptations as part of a parasite/host relationship.

Such a fascinating subject, all wonderfu...more

like · see review

Dec 05, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: grades-3-5, grades-6-8, nonfiction

Appeal Characteristics: zombie bugs, visualizations, layout, information structure

OMG. I threw up a bit in my mouth. I could barely finish this book, and I had to flip really fast through some of the pictures. UGH, this book was sooo out of my element, I was completely grossed out. In saying this...kids will gobble this stuff up. Especially since they might not be allowed to watch a lot of zombie shows/movies this book is great for connecting those zombie shows with what happens in nature. Stil...more

like · see review

Jul 15, 2012 Audrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012_publish, arc, netgalley, nonfiction, science, zombie, for-christine, audrey-s-2012-books

What first drew me to Zombie Makers was the promise of reading about one of my favorite subjects: parasites! I was also really excited at the prospect of reading something that was obviously going to be creepy and disgusting. What made the book even better, though, were the gorgeous color illustrations that appear on each page. Even though I was reading a digital galley, I saw some sample pages of the finished book at ALA, and this thing is going to look really slick as a physical book.

Johnson’s...more What first drew me to Zombie Makers was the promise of reading about one of my favorite subjects: parasites! I was also really excited at the prospect of reading something that was obviously going to be creepy and disgusting. What made the book even better, though, were the gorgeous color illustrations that appear on each page. Even though I was reading a digital galley, I saw some sample pages of the finished book at ALA, and this thing is going to look really slick as a physical book.

Johnson’s cleverly structured the chapters thematically by “zombie traits,” such as the need to bite or acting mindlessly. Nature is cruel, and parasites turn some of our greatest fears into realities, like being paralyzed while an infant slowly eats you from the inside out. That’s dang scary, and actually happens to cockroaches that have been taken over by the jewel wasp. The parasites in this book aren’t limited to those that attack insects, though. Johnson includes the guinea worm, which grows inside of a person’s body, then bursts out when the person plunges the aching limb into water. Before that, you can see the worm squirming subcutaneously! And yes, there’s a photograph of a guinea worm emerging from a leg. It’s gruesome stuff. Rabies, aka canine madness aka hydrophobia, is also discussed, and we all know that rabies can turn man’s best friend into a drooling, snarling monster, as evidenced by Old Yeller.

This book is chock full of fun subject matter that will fascinate kids. It’s the kind of book I would have carried around with me as a kid and read over and over, and then recounted to anybody who would listen. Heck, I still might do that as an adult. Johnson writes in clear language that a kid can understand, but you don’t get the feeling that it has been dumbed down, either. Also, after a gruesome initial descriptions, she gives the history of how the scientists figured this stuff out. If a kid needs somebody to idolize, I think the researchers described in this book could fit the bill.

The one caveat about this book is that it is probably not a good book for people who are squeamish about bugs; however, it is great for people who love to look at images of insects in detail. This is a terrific book to give kids to get them interested in science and biology, all while stimulating their imaginations.(less)

like · see review

Sep 14, 2012 Betsy rated it 5 of 5 stars

There's this podcast I like to listen to called RadioLab, which is essentially just a show for people who like kooky science but are still a little foggy on what exactly Einstein's Theory of Relativity actually means or why the sun is hot. Science for the English majors, let's call it. Often the show will come up with really original stories, like the guy who purposefully gave himself tapeworms to cure his asthma (it worked). That story came from a show about parasites and it was accompanied by...more There's this podcast I like to listen to called RadioLab, which is essentially just a show for people who like kooky science but are still a little foggy on what exactly Einstein's Theory of Relativity actually means or why the sun is hot. Science for the English majors, let's call it. Often the show will come up with really original stories, like the guy who purposefully gave himself tapeworms to cure his asthma (it worked). That story came from a show about parasites and it was accompanied by these strange unnerving stories about insects and viruses and worms that could turn their hosts into . . . well . . . zombies, basically. And though I am a children's librarian, the thought never occurred to me that these stories could, combined with others of the same ilk, create the world's most awesome work of nonfiction. Fortunately for all of us, Rebecca L. Johnson has not my shortsightedness. In Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead you will meet a whole range of horrifying creatures. It is, without a doubt, probably the grossest book for kids I've ever read. And boy howdy let me tell you I have read a LOT Of gross books in my day.

What do you think of when you think of zombies? Do you think of lurching undead ready to feast on your braaaaaains? Or do you think of something a little more insidious like the REASON those zombies don't seem to have a lot of will of their own? As it happens, zombies are real. Not in the corpse-walker sense, necessarily, but in nature there are plenty of creatures willing to make others into their mindless slaves. Meet the hairworm Paragordius Triscuspidatus, which can convince a perfectly healthy cricket to drown itself. Or Toxoplasma Gondii which, aside from being the reason you're not supposed to let pregnant women near cat poop, turns rats into suicidal kitty lovers. Page by page author Rebecca Johnson presents us with examples of evolution gone amuck. Zombie makers exist, it's true, and as their hosts we'd better learn as much as we can about them before they get to us next!

Zombies actually get a lot of play in children's literature these days. Insofar as I can tell there are two ways to play them. They can't be romantic like vampires or other members of the monster family so they must either be funny or horrifying. Funny is the route that I'd say 85% of kids' books about zombies go. Whether you're talking about Zombiekins or The Zombie Chasers or Undead Ed or any of the other books out there, funny is usually the way to go. I say that, but a lot of what kids want when they enter a library is to be scared. And if you can scare them with real stuff, and maybe even gross them out a little, you are gold, my friend. That's why this book works as well as it does.

Johnson cleverly sets up the book so that readers can compare and contrast what they know about zombies, zombie talking points let's say, with these zombie-esque diseases, parasites, and insects. I'd never really thought about Old Yeller as a zombie story, but that's what it is, isn't it? A beloved member of the family is bitten by something evil and suddenly the boy who loves it most must put it down before something worse happens. That's a zombie plot, but it's Johnson who makes you realize that rabies is just another form of zombie fun. By couching her nonfiction tale within popular zombie fiction tropes, she has an easy in with the child readership.

The writing is superb in and of itself, no doubt, but I wonder if interest in this book would be quite so high if it were not for the accompanying disquieting photographs. The book as an object is beautifully designed from start to finish, which only helps to highlight the photographs found inside.
What I really liked about the photos was that they had two different ways of freaking the average reader out. On the one hand you have the photos that go for the immediate ARGGGG! reaction. I am thinking specifically of the worm. The worm that infects human beings. That makes them want to plunge themselves into the water where it breaks out of the skin and leaves the body. Alien much? The image of someone slowly and painfully removing the worm without water is enough to make you lose your lunch. But even better are the photos that elicit a slow dawning sense of horror. The fungus O. unilateralis is a clever beastie, and its greatest trick is in forcing ants to clamp onto leafs and die (but only where the temperature is just right). There's a shot of a dead ant with a long horrible reproductive stalk emerging out of its head, spreading its spores to other innocent ants. It's a quiet photo and lacks the urgency and pain of the leg worm shot, but it's worse somehow. It has this brooding malice to it. You actually do not want to touch the page in the book for fear of somehow touching the fungus. That's how effective it is.

Children's librarians often try to lure kids into reading nonfiction by doing what we call booktalks. If you're a good booktalker you can get your audience to fight over even the dullest looking book. Some books, however, sell themselves. Hold up this book and there's not a child alive who won't be instantly fascinated. Describe even one of the stories inside and you might have at last found the book they want even more than the latest edition of Guinness World Records. Informative even as it makes you want to go hide in a clean, sanitized hole somewhere, Johnson has created a clever little book that is bound to keep adult and child readers who find it, enthralled. Ick. Bleach. Awesome.

For ages 9 and up. (less)

like · see review

Aug 26, 2012 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th I learned so much reading this book, and I consider myself to be a nature info junkie. The pictures and text has a lot of gross-out factor that many kids will like, probably more than some of the adults that read it! Not for the faint of heart! The other day I found a dead fly on my window sill and I got down for a closer look. I had to see if it spent its final hours as a zombie...aren't you curious to read this book?!

like · see review

Jul 05, 2012 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Zombies aren't real...as far as we know...but there are things in nature that can take over innocent creatures' bodies & brians. This non-fiction book looks at these "zombie making" parasites in excellent depth. In each chapter, the author shares about several different species, ending with the "science behind the story". Includes lots of photographs and detailed biblography, websites, and book lists for further reading.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 08, 2013 Brenda Kahn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, parasites

Yikes! I'm glad I didn't read this book after lunch, or I might have lost it. As it was, I pretty much lost my appetite for lunch and have crossed several travel destinations off my list and am feeling leery about water...

Eye-catching from it's title through its design and containing lots of full-color photographs of the parasites and their host victims in action, this one will be irresistible.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 13, 2013 Leslie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, wonder, picturebooks

It totally grossed me out, and I might have nightmares tonight, but I could not put this book down! The idea of fungus, worms and larvae controlling insects and animals is fascinating. Each section has a "science behind the story" section which connects the engaging stories with the real scientists studying in the field. Excellent back matter round it out.

like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Abby Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

A very successful pairing of form and function results in a supremely awesome nonfiction book for kids. This book oozes kid appeal with huge, disgusting photographs and a layout that invokes oh-so-trendy zombies, AND it also packs a punch with information and back matter. Here's hoping the Sibert committee will give this one careful consideration!

like · see review

Dec 12, 2012 Autumn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: boys, death, horror, survival, zombies

Extremely scientific and extremely nasty! It was a mistake to try to read this one on my lunch hour. Perfect for budding biologists, bug lovers or kids who love things that are GROSS. Plus, well-researched, professional and full of further resources. Now, if could only unsee that fungus growing out of that carpenter ant's head...

like · see review

Dec 20, 2012 Peggy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, j

This book is fascinating - gross, true stories of parasites that zombify their hosts. The pictures are great, the fact boxes are helpful and the text is just enough with great information, not too wordy but not overly simplified either. I appreciated the pronunciation help that accompanies many of the scientific terms.

like · see review

May 11, 2013 Kristy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction-middlegrades, nonfiction-ya, concepts-nature, concepts-lifecycles, concepts-biology, zombies

I've GOT to buy this for my school library, especially for my morbid middle schoolers. The writing style is gleefully disgusting (as are the pictures), and the microbiology content is great for a classroom connection. Love the "Science Behind the Story" style. Hey, whatever work for connecting to Common Core!

like · see review

Mar 04, 2013 Dolores rated it 4 of 5 stars

I recognized a lot of these parasites from "Peeps" but I found it interesting to look at them from the perspective of "zombie-makers". The pictures are very cool--and very gross with plenty of kid appeal. A very interesting read, with the potential to inspire further exploration.

like · see review

Jan 27, 2013 Nitza Campos rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: grades-5-7

Grades (5-8) Want a book that will make you squirm? This is the book for you. It will make you cry out, "Eeeewwwww!" I thought this was a totally fun book! This book describes different kinds of fungi and parasites that cause their victims to become "zombies." Rebecca Johnson explains how and why this happens and includes some pretty fun and yucky pictures.

like · see review

Mar 14, 2013 Jenni French rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: age-3-grades-3-5, age-4-grades-6-8, age-5-grades-9-12, genre-nonfiction

This book is equal parts cool and disgusting. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT look at the pictures of the worm-infected snail. Unless you're planning to diet, that is, because they definitely killed my appetite. Blech.

like · see review

May 01, 2013 Loree Burns rated it 4 of 5 stars

The perfect book for kids who prefer the "ick-factor" in their nonfiction to be off the charts. I whispered "That is DISGUSTING!" on almost every spread ... but could not stop myself from turning the pages.

like · see review

Oct 05, 2012 paula rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-for-slj-nf4rr, nonfiction, great-nonfiction-for-kids

REALLY well-researched, REALLY ooky stories. Mostly invertebrates, but the guinea worm in the human leg is a picture I won't be able to forget any time soon. Will be read to pieces.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 16, 2013 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction-childrens, school-visits, animals-nature

This was so gross I had to hold the book away from me so I wouldn't get to close to the pictures. I know some kids that are going to love it though:)

like · see review

Feb 27, 2013 Leslea rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-non-fiction, seamus, sean, sam

Unfortunately none of the boys liked this book, even though they asked for it, specifically from the library's website. Believe it or not, it grossed them out! I am shocked. Maybe it's more a "teen" thing?

like · see review

Apr 18, 2013 Mira rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: child, non-fiction, horror

A children's non-fiction book about real parasites, diseases, and molds that alter their hosts behaviors and sometimes even their brains!

like · see review

Nov 30, 2012 Abbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

Read my review at Gator Book Chomp.

like · see review

May 13, 2013 Heather Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Genres

Non Fiction

19 users

Science

7 users

Childrens

4 users

Horror > Zombies

3 users

Horror

3 users

Environment > Nature

2 users

Childrens > Middle Grade

2 users

Childrens > Juvenile

2 users

Animals

2 users

See top shelves...

Books by Rebecca L. Johnson

Journey Into the Deep: Discovering New Ocean Creatures

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Zombie Makers: Tr...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead
avg rating	preview: Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead Goodreads rating: 4.18 (93 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13773362-zombie-makers?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338690997l/13773362.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13773362-zombie-makers?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead by Rebecca L. Johnson[/url]

Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Genres

Books by Rebecca L. Johnson

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Zombie Makers: Tr...

new topic
Discuss This Book