The Children’s Book Review | September 17, 2016
Written by Kristyn Crow
Illustrated by Molly Idle
Age Range: 4-6
Hardback: 40 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury (2017)
ISBN: 978-1619636415
What to expect: Dancing, School, Zombies
Zombelina is back in perfect form in this exciting school adventure.
Zombelina is ready for school. She jumps and twirls her way through breakfast (lizard-eye gruel, thank you very much) and heads off to school while dancing to her own drum. Her best friend, Lizzie, is a regular human and a great friend. They love to solve math problems together. But when Morty, the new ghost kid at school, comes down with a bad case of stage fright, can Zombelina show him how a show-and-tell can be fun? And when Zombelina’s own show-and-tell performance falls apart (pun intended) at the end, can she scrape together an okay day?
Zombelina is an adorable little zombie who’s ready to take your heart! In the best way possible, of course. Kristyn Crow’s prose in verse is adorable and full of Zombelina’s funky beat. Like the best books in prose, Crow is a master at making the lines of the story roll off your tongue without even trying. Molly Idle’s colorful and sweet rendition of a little zombie ballerina is charming and engaging without being too scary. Children will love to point out all the silly and spooky things at Zombelina’s house, including an octopus-like creature hidden in the storage chest or spooky pictures along the walls. Parents will enjoy a laugh, too, when they figure out a math problem on Zombelina’s chalk board.
A delightful book that turns the zombie craze on its head, Zombelina is sure to please any kid who loves Halloween and all things spooky sweet! Highly Recommended.
Available Here:
About Kristyn Crow
KRISTYN CROW loves to use rhythm, rhyme, and repetition to make reading snappy and fun. Her first book, Cool Daddy Rat, received starred reviews and was named a Blue Ribbon Book by the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Other titles include Bedtime at the Swamp, The Middle-Child Blues, and Skeleton Cat. Kristyn enjoys visiting elementary schools, where she directs eager young readers in a “swamp rhythm symphony” using a variety of percussion instruments. Kristyn is the mother of seven wonderfully creative children, and is married to a policeman, who doubles as a mad scientist/inventor. She lives in Layton, Utah.
About Kristyn Crow
MOLLY IDLE is the Caldecott-Honor winning author and illustrator of Flora and the Flamingo and Flora and the Penguin, as well as Tea Rex and Camp Rex. She is also the illustrator of the Zombelina books. Molly worked at DreamWorks Feature Animation Studios for five years before turning to book illustration full-time. When not making mischief with her boys or watching old Technicolor musicals, she can be found at her desk scribbling away, with a pencil in one hand and a cup of espresso in the other. She now lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her family and two snuggly cats.
www.idleillustration.com | Twitter | Instagram
Zombelina School Days, by Kristyn Crow was reviewed by Denise Mealy. Discover more books like Zombelina School Days by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with Dancing, Halloween Books, Molly Idle, and Zombies.