No Zombies Allowed [Hardcover]

Matt Novak (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002 | Age Level: 3 and up

Monsters can be so annoying. Just ask Witch Wizzle and Witch Woddle. They will tell you horror stories about the nasty habits and bad manners of zombies, werewolves, swamp creatures, ghosts, skeletons, and vampires. Now it's Halloween again. Wizzle and Woddle are planning another party -- but who will they invite?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Novak (The Pillow War) turns the habits of zombies, witches, werewolves and other creatures from haunting to hilarious in this tale of an annual monster bash. As wart-nosed and pop-eyed witches Wizzle and Woddle prepare to host the party, they discover photos from last year's soiree that make them reconsider the guest list. "Those zombies kept dropping their eyes into the punch bowl," they recall, and "the skeletons kept calling everyone Fatso." The pair posts one sign after another ("No zombies allowed"). Whimsically patterned spreads reminiscent of Tedd Arnold's work depict enlarged snapshots of their friends' shenanigans against backgrounds of Pepto-Bismol pink and scaly green. Two cartoon-like zombies-one holding his eyeball and the other with only a tattered sleeve where an arm should be-mug for the camera in one; in another, swamp creatures party in the toilet and tub. But when the witches recognize each other as the culprits in a pair of pranks, the guest list grows once again, and a fun punchline offers a clever coda. Novak skillfully balances the gruesome factor with a spoof on spookiness while delivering a message about acceptance and tolerance with a very light touch. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Witch Wizzle and Witch Woddle's annual monster bash is plagued by party planning's primary predicament: the guest list. Looking at photos that help them recall a slew of unsavory incidents from the previous year, the hostesses decide to ban former guests, such as the zombies for dropping their eyeballs into the punch bowl and the werewolves for coughing up furballs. Also struck from the invitation list: swamp creatures, skeletons, ghosts, and vampires. Still on the banning bandwagon, the two set their sights on a couple of witches that had turned their guests into frogs. But pictures don't lie, and they discover that the spell casters were none other than themselves. Novak's fondness for silliness is put to good use in his dual role as author and illustrator. The text is engaging, the dialogue is ironic, and the characters are true to form. The watercolor illustrations are bright and eye-catching, and the cheerfully depicted creatures will be nonthreatening to the youngest listeners. New readers will find plenty of white space around the text to help them focus on the words, with the art complementing the action. The two witches learn a good lesson about the social hazards of being exclusionary: it takes all kinds to make the monster world go around, even zombies and werewolves.
Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, Canada
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books; 1st edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689841302
• ISBN-13: 978-0689841309
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,596,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matt Novak has been writing and illustrating picture books for over 20 years.
Among his many titles are A Wish for You, The Everything Machine, Flip Flop Bop, The Pillow War, The Last Christmas Present, and Elmer Blunt's Open House.
His Mouse TV was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and Newt received an IRA Children's Choice Award.
Matt has been a puppeteer, a teacher, and a Disney artist. While at Disney he worked on such films as "Rescuers Down Under" and "Beauty and the Beast."
He and his family now live in Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Third Graders Review, February 16, 2003

By 

First Graders at The Potomac School in McLean... (McLean, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Zombies Allowed (Hardcover)

Third graders recognized immediately that this is a story of inclusion and exclusion; a tale of learning to appreciate all people. When two witches begin planning their annual monster party, they find photo after photo of troublesome friends at last year's event. One-by-one they eliminate the mischief-makers until....
The eight and nine year olds enjoyed this picture book from the daffy dedication to the crazy conclusion. They commented on both the author's silly sense of humor and the illustrator's interesting use of animals. The third grade students loved the artwork style and found the font easy to read. They recommend this book for olders readers, as the pictures might be "too gross" for the pre-school set.