The Zombie Project – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: environmental damage, family, corruption, hope.
Children’s book title: The Zombie Project.
Children’s author: Alice Nuttall.
Genre: Children’s fiction.
Published by: Chicken House.
ISBN: 9781915947345.
Recommended for children aged: 10-12 year-olds.
First published: Paperback January 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: exploring environmental issues and the importance of bees in the existence of the human race, but with a unique perspective.
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Our review:
Merian is eleven years old and lives in a very small cabin in a forest, far away from the city and all its dangers. The last bee was seen thirty years earlier, and now, in order to survive, the world relies on death-flies to pollinate crops and keep humankind alive. Merian’s mother, Gwen, is a renowned scientist specialising in the life cycle of the death-fly and the zombies it inhabits.
Travelling to a meeting in the city was supposed to mean a few days spent with their friend Carla, as well as giving Gwen a chance to share her message with a larger, younger audience than usual. However, when disaster strikes, Merian and Gwen find themselves fighting for the truth as their lives are threatened and a dangerous situation is faked to discredit their research.
With big business desperate to build in the forest Merian calls home, the conference soon dissolves into total chaos. With the location in lockdown and information scarce, it’s up to Merian and her new friend, Caspar, to discover what’s going on. What they find leaves them amazed and horrified, but also hopeful.
How can they get everyone they care about to safety, spread their message about the corruption they have uncovered without fearmongering, and return home to the forest amidst the ever-increasing panic in the city?
Our verdict:
This is not a book for the faint-hearted of any age! Even though age-appropriate horror is a popular genre, I found the part of the storyline about the zombies unsettling and creepy. However, there is a serious message contained in this story, centred around the long-term problems caused by the use of pesticides and the corruption of big business when it is allowed to operate in secrecy.
Merian is a personable, bright, and courageous main protagonist who holds everything together when the worst happens. There may be a second book, as some major issues weren’t written to a conclusion.
Teaching points and book club discussion ideas:
- Zombies aren’t the villains in this book, even though they are dangerous. Why were they so central to the storyline, and how would you write about their future if the bees successfully returned?
- It is everyone’s responsibility to help save the bees. In a cross-curricular activity with science, discuss what we can do in our own homes and gardens to help with this.
- How can influencers, sportspeople, movie stars, and politicians use social media to spread environmental messages to their supporters and help protect the planet?
Many thanks to Chicken House for the review copy.
To order a class set of this book, please click below to order via uk.bookshop.org, an organisation that supports local bookshops, or Amazon.co.uk.
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