Written by Kara LaReau, Illustrated by Ryan Andrews
This chapter book is the sequel to Rise of Zombert. I consider it almost necessary to read the first book first because the Rise of Zombert was not a completely developed story before it ended, and frankly, disappointing. Picking up this second book gave me more of a story plot, even though the story ends in a way to demand another sequel. That being said, Zombert is a mutated cat, named by young Mellie Gore, who found the stray cat in her small-town urban neighborhood. Knowing nothing of the cat’s origin, she befriends the straggly creature and subsequently talks her parents into letting her keep him. As the mystery around the cat unfolds, so does the diabolical plan of the greedy corporate owners of the largest employer in town, the YummCo Food Corporation. It seems that there is more going on in their research lab than just testing new flavor enhancers. Can Mellie and her friends successfully carry off a plan to rescue both her cat and the fate of the town? I give this book a three-star rating for its imaginative developing storyline.
Reviewed by Kristine Kramer, Librarian, Lincoln Elementary
Review shared in April 2022
Rating: ★★★✩✩ (3 stars)
Interest Level: Grades: 3 – 5
Return of Zombert
Written by Kara LaReau, Illustrated by Ryan Andrews
Candlewick Press
149 pages
Release Date: July 13, 2021
ISBN: 9781536201079 (hardcover) / 9781536226072 (paperback)
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
