Description
Review
"Santoso’s ink-and-watercolor drawings..strike a successful silly-scary balance...Striking a reportorial tone, newcomer McGee gets substantial comic mileage out of repeating the word 'brains'—or 'brainsssss,' as it’s evocatively spelled at several points." (Publishers Weekly)
"Run, don't shamble, to get this original zombie tale." (Kirkus Reviews)
"The illustrations’ rounded shapes and pastel watercolor washes portray zombies who are more cute than scary, and full of personality. Signs and balloons with images of brains inside cleverly communicate the zombies’ food preferences in a nonverbal way." (The Horn Book Magazine)
Product Description
Reginald isn’t like the other zombies who shuffle through Quirkville, scaring the townspeople and moaning for BRAINSSSSS! The only thing Reginald’s stomach rumbles for is sticky peanut butter and sweet jelly. He tries to tell his zombie pals that there’s more to life than eating brains, but they’re just not interested. Will Reginald find a way to bring peace to Quirkville and convince the other zombies that there’s nothing better than PB&J?
Debut author Joe McGee and up-and-coming illustrator Charles Santoso have created a delicious tale about being true to yourself that will make readers hungry for more.
From School Library Journal
Gr 1–3—As zombies ramble through the streets of an unnamed neighborhood searching for the elusive "brains" they crave, Reginald decides to be the rebel of the group and is instead on the lookout for a delicious… peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Reginald searches all day looking for what he wants until he finds it at a busy bus stop in the hands of a young girl. McGee's story has humor throughout (when he asks his lunch lady for a sandwich, she "slap(s) a hunk of meat loaf on his tray instead. It looked an awful lot like brains."). Santoso's watercolor and ink illustrations are a soothing, sometimes dull palette of blues and grays, creating a nice balance between silly and scary but never verging on frightening. Text and illustrations work well together to make an amusing read-aloud for older kids around Halloween time. The mustard yellow endpapers showcase the different cuisine options for the zombies, with speech bubbles filled with brains on the front and PB&J sandwiches in speech bubbles on the back, echoing the zombies' exclamations throughout the story. VERDICT A humorous, not too scary look at zombie culinary habits.—Christopher Lassen, Brooklyn Public Library
About the Author
Joe McGee is the author of the picture book Peanut Butter & Brains (Abrams 2015), of which Kirkus Reviews said “Run, don’t shamble to get this original zombie tale.” The New York Times praised it for “amusingly unit[ing] the seemingly unrelated contemporary obsessions of zombies and food,” and The Washington Post noted “Joe McGee keeps the story moving with flowing and engaging text.” Aliens and Jelly, a follow up to Peanut Butter and Brains, is scheduled for Fall 2017. Abrams will be publishing a third, as yet untitled, picture book in Fall 2018.
McGee’s writing has garnered many awards, including the 2014 Vermont College of Fine Arts Holy Smokes! short story award; the 2013 Vermont College of Fine Arts Critical Essay award; and a Vermont College of Fine Arts merit scholarship. Bestselling author and Printz Honoree, A.S. King, called McGee’s young adult short story, Leaves of Brass, “one of the best short stories” she’d ever read. National Book Award finalist and Newberry Honor recipient, Kathi Appelt, said his short story, Tooth Fairy, was “one of the most authentic child’s voices” she’d ever read.” McGee was the recipient of the 2012 Medallion Award for an outstanding graduate writing student at Rowan University, and the winner of the 2012 Denise Gess Literary Prize for Poetry. He was awarded 1st place honors in fiction, short story writing, YA/teen writing, and poetry from The Philadelphia Writers’ Conference. As well, McGee’s young adult short story, Ink Soul