Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse

A Llama Book

by Jonathan Stutzman, Heather Fox (Illustrator)

In the hilarious follow-up to Llama Destroys the World , author/illustrator team Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox give Llama another shot at saving the world…from himself, in Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse .

Llama’s back and ready to destroy the world AGAIN… this time with his best camelid, Alpaca!

Llama loves cooking. And baking. And, above all, eating.
For breakfast, Llama makes one epic spread…as well as a big mess.
But Llama hates cleaning.
So by lunch, Llama has cooked up something really devious―an idea!―and by second lunch, Llama has cloned his most fastidious friend, Alpaca, to clean his house. And Llama doesn’t stop at just one clone.
By dinner, the alpaca clones threaten to tidy the world into utter destruction―THE ALPACALYPSE* IS HERE!
Will Llama be able to fix it all before dessert?

*That’s “apocalypse” with an alpaca―get it?

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Fiction, Science Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2020

About the author

Jonathan is a writer of picture books, a filmmaker, book hoarder, and daring explorer of 24-hour diners. He is the author of the bestselling TINY T. REX series, LLAMA DESTROYS THE WORLD and LLAMA UNLEASHES THE ALPACALYPSE, FITZ AND CLEO, BUTTS ARE EVERYWHERE, and many others.

His next book is BEAR IS A BEAR illustrated by Dan Santat.

Jonathan studied film in college and grad school. His short films have screened around the world and on television, and he has writing credits on Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Emmy-winning variety show HitRECord on TV.

If you ever meet him in person, he will probably-maybe share his french fries.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good at everything but too lazy to clean?
Am I supposed to relate to this?
Can the child I am reading this relate to it?
I don't think so.
The illustration is really chaotic for kids.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. What happens when Llama uses his Replicator 3000 and creates too many Alpacas? It's an Alpacalypse!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

We absolutely love Llama- a llama of science! a llama of art!- and the first book is read constantly in our house by all of us (my children are ages 16, 12, and 8). So of course we had to get his second adventure! Nothing could ever touch seeing llama in his dancing pants, cha-cha-ing real smooth, but this did not disappoint!

The big question: Can I get an alpaca to clean my house? Just . . . one?

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC copy from work; this was a good laugh Llama is more disaster prone than I am! Lol!

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love picture books. Picture books may be my favorite sort of books to read. And what are my favorite sort of picture books? Wacky picture books. Wacky picture books like those of our friends Dr. Seuss and Mo Willems. Wacky picture books like Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse.

Llama likes to eat, but he hates to clean up. Llama has an idea. Llama creates a Replicator 3000. Llama's friend, Alpaca, loves to clean up. In goes Alpaca into the Replicator 3000. With results you might expect.

Great fun.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possible contender for Mock Caldecott awards. What a wild adventure. Llama loves to cook and to eat but when it comes to cleaning up...not so much. Maybe his friend Alpaca, with all her neat and tidy ways, and his Replicator 3000 could solve all his problems. Or...maybe not. Great bedtime story material!!!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

dat

[Stephanie Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! The students cannot get enough of Llama! "I am Llama!"

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hilarious Llama story, where Llama may or may not learn a lesson :)

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little llama is back, and he's ready to conquer one of his greatest enemies-- his messiness. But Llama gets a brilliant idea-- he builds a cloning machine, and invites his good friend Alpaca over; with his new invention, he creates an alpaca assembly, specifically for cleaning duty! Unfortunately, Llama's ploy does not go quite as planned, and soon his army outnumbers the townsfolk... Wacky, wild, and humorous, you are sure to enjoy the antics of these fluffy friends!

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The engineering follow-up to Llama Destroys the World. I was particularly fond of the off-hand reference to it being time for "second lunch."

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Llama returns, this time with a plot to avoid cleaning up his breakfast mess by replicating his much more fastidious friend, Alpaca. Again, chaos ensues. It reminds me very much of one particular storyline from Calvin and Hobbes, but is funny enough that I don’t mind.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author/illustrator duo is unstoppable! This was AWESOME!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Llama is adorable and creative! Send an alpaca my way please :)!

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upper elementary school aged kids will have fun with this one. It's random and funny and perfect for 4th grade and up. Not sure there's a ton to learn from this book, but it is definitely entertaining.

Seriously, Stutzman is funny, and I love the illustrations.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bookaday #97. Not quite as funny as the first book but still there are a few laughs. I wouldn’t mind the alpacalypse showing up at my house. Be sure to check out the case cover art.

[Theresa Grissom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha!! This book is too stinking cute! Love the illustrations. Students will get a big laugh out of this one.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Llama Destroy's the World was the 2021 Colorado Children's Book Award picture book winner I know kids will want to read this one, or at least have it read aloud. Since lots of the humor is also in the illustrations, it is nice the size makes it a good class read aloud. FUN!

[Caitlin Grabarek · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kid LOVES this book. It’s so random and weird in a way that likely appeals to a lot of children since they’re so random and weird themselves. I have to admit this one has grown on me.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.75

[Mandyhello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dat

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Llama invents a cloning machine and disaster ensues.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the Walking Dead meets the humorous picture book genre "WARK, WARK, WARK."

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is a sequel feels like a prequel ending in piles of cake and we all know what happens then
DAT!
Exactly...

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Llama decides to clone his friend Alpaca to clean up after him, which has unforeseen consequences.

Following in the tradition of Walt Disney’s The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Llama creates an army of alpaca clones to do housework for him, but things quickly spiral out of control. The moral is clearly that there is no substitute for plain ol’ hard work and shortcuts make for long delays.

This story is a circular tale, ending in a way that suggests the same thing will happen all over again, that overtly uses the literary device foreshadowing.

While this book falls short of Llama Destroys the World, it is nonetheless sure to amuse young readers.

[Paige]

I read this in 2021. Here at the end of 2021 I am going over what I read throughout the year and writing my lasting impressions of the book.

This made me laugh.

Update: I read this again in 2022 with my boys. It made them laugh.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Llama continues on his path of scientific exploration and world destruction in this second picture book in the series following Llama Destroys the World. The book opens with the promise that by dinner Llama will have unleashed a great alpacalypse upon the world. Breakfast comes first but Llama makes an awful mess making a balanced meal. He hates to clean up, so he turns to inventing a new solution, a dangerous one, a Replicator 3000. At lunch, Llama invites Alpaca over. Alpaca loves to clean and soon is inside the replicator. With a zoop, she is replicated, but then Llama continues to push the button, creating an army of cleaning alpacas set to clean the world. As they leave Llama’s house and head out, dinnertime arrives. Disaster near, but a clever plan involving great pizza may be enough to save us all, until dessert.

I adored the first book in this series which had plenty of humor and lots of science. This second book has a lot to love too. It has less science but continues with the wild humor of the first, offering plenty of clever noises, rather clueless characters, and dangerous but exhilarating science experiments.

Fox’s art adds to much to the book with her googly-eyed Llama and Alpaca, the merrily cleaning army, and the alarmed citizens. Swirls of toilet paper, wet mop paths, and spritzes of cleaner make this just right for our pandemic sensibilities too.

One joyous mess of a picture book. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[♥ I’d Rather Be Reading ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Count: 2+

-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------
SUMMARY: (SPOILER WARNING)

Llama loves cooking, but he HATES cleaning. After he makes a delicious breakfast, he is dreading cleaning up his mess. So he comes up with the idea to invite his friend Alpaca over to help. Alpaca loves cleaning and Llama knows he won't be able to resist the mess.

But Alpaca does such a good job that Llama gets an idea. Since he's a Llama of science, he has been working on a cloning machine. So he decides that one Alpaca isn't enough. Llama starts cloning his friend Alpaca so he never has to clean again. Only things get a little out of hand.

-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------
REVIEW:

Another cute and hilarious installment in the Llama series. Who wouldn't want to have an army of cleaning Alpaca's to take care of all your messes? Sounds good! lol

This is yet another favorite of my 5 year old daughter. She loves this whole series so much and I can't blame her. They are so funny, clever, and cute. Llama is adorable, even when he's trying absolutely terrible ideas that get him into big trouble.

Highly recommended. Love this whole series. They are fun for adults as well as kids.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book feels like a highly developed internet comic created by a class clown who has been watching the “Sorcerer's Apprentice” scene in Fantasia and reading dire warnings about the potential of AI. The detailed scenes of pandemonium will delight kids during a first read, and offer new treats to be discovered on many subsequent re-readings.

This book’s silly exuberance combined with the way it builds suspense make it a great choice for reading aloud, encouraging children to make predictions along the way. However, the small details in the illustrations would be better appreciated in a 1:1 reading session than a group storytime.

I don’t find the artistic style as compelling as many of the other picture books, but I think it’s a lot of fun and will really appeal to kids. Fun-hating adults like myself will be appeased by the snuck-in message about cleaning up your own messes, and will probably be cracking up along with their kids by the end.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another laugh-out-loud disaster from Llama and Stutzman. While he does less cha-cha-ing compared to the first book, I felt strongly about his post-breakfast kitchen mess. I feel you, Llama, I feel you. Kids might not relate quite as much as adults to the post-cleaning mess, but why kid won't relate to having to pick up after an art project or game? Or just cleaning their room in general! Who wouldn't want an Alpaca to help?

Might pull it out for storytimes on (humorous) disasters, llamas, messes, cleaning... As long as I could get through it with a straight face - and it totally needs a straight-faced reader, too. Like the first one, needs one of those deep, ominous, news announcer/movie trailer voices.