Zombie Monkey Monster Jamboree

In Zombie Monkey Monster Jamboree, a group of Wild West Scouts on a campout get separated from their troop leaders. Searching for things like food and water to get them through the night, one of the Scouts stumbles across a chest containing an ancient golden Monkey idol, one with a warning included. Naturally, the boys disregard the warning -- until a rash of monkey zombies appear and begin to swarm towards a nearby, unsuspecting town. Now the boys have to find a way to rectifty their mistake and save the town from being overrun. This book is pure, simple fun. Writer J.J. Hart is clearly at home in the Young Adult strata -- his characters are simplistic enough to be easily distinguishable for the young reader, with just enough bits of grossness to both engage young boys and allow them to relate to them without giving their parents a reason to be overly-worried. When one of the characters is called "Gas"... well... you can imagine his defining characteristic. The book is a really quick read, and probably would be so even for a young reader. The monsters that are the main draw don't show up until well past the halfway point, so the biggest problem would be keeeping their attention until then. There's also a subplot about the missing scout masters that will probably be more amusing for an adult rather than a kid who's just looking to get to the monsters. The monsters themselves, though, really are fun. I mean... zombies and monkeys. How can you possibly combine those two concepts and not be entertained? The last act of the book, with the kids racing around doing battle with the monsters, is easily the best -- funnny, exciting and certain to keep the young reader gripped. Capping off a strong book by Hart is some nice line illustration by Will Meugniot. The combination of the two reminds me of the sort of books I read when I was a kid, and the nostalgia factor bumps up my appreciation of this volume even more. I'm really enjoying the Actionopolis experiment, and while this book wasn't a knockout, it was still a lot of fun.

Maurice "Skeeter" McGill had been named Patrol Leader for the Wild West Scouts' Basilisk Patrol the previous May. Now that it's summer and time for their first campout, Skeeter is determined that things will go off without a hitch. He's studied maps of Arizona's White Mountains, double-checked his backpack to make sure he's brought everything he could possibly need, and memorized every step between their starting point and where the Scouts will make camp. There's one thing, though, that Skeeter didn't count on when he was planning this campout. Actually, two things. The first would be that the two parent Scout Leaders accompanying them, Glenn Caldwell and Paul Steiner, would end up getting lost and separated from the boys. Separated, with the only food for the trip. The second would be the Scouts' discovery of a golden monkey idol found inside a crate in an old abandoned cabin in the woods. For the Scouts--Skeeter, Sam, Mustafa, Kyle, Josh, Lane, Hari, and Gas--ignoring the warning of removing the idol proves to be a very, very bad idea. When the camp is overrun by zombie monkeys, the boys know that it's up to them, as loyal Basilisk Patrol Scouts, to warn the nearby town of Apache Wells of the monsters that are on the loose. Not to mention that they need to find a way, and fast, to stop the curse. ZOMBIE MONKEY MONSTER JAMBOREE is another entertaining story from Actionopolis. If you like a dash of humor with your horror, this is definitely the book for you. Sure to appeal to pre-teens and older reluctant readers, not to mention fans of comics and great art, you won't go wrong with a copy of J.J. Hart's addition to the line. Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

The Basilisk Patrol of the Wild West Scouts are having an overnight with Patrol Leader Skeeter McGill who wants everything to go perfectly. He studies up for the big day and then proceeds to lead the scouts through a part of the White Mountains in Arizona. The adult leaders get lost trying to find a shortcut in a heavy rain and compound the problem by losing all the food. When Skeeter calls a halt, they pitch camp as best they can and they find a crate with a warning not to open it, but they do so any way and find a gold monkey with jewels for its eyes. Soon they are disturbed by noises and when they go outside to check they see lots of zombie monkeys surrounding them. They chase them away but the zombie monkeys head for the nearby town so the y the scouts try to figure a way to get rid of them Rather than being scary, ZOMBIE MONKEY MONSTER JAMBOREE is a humorous horror tale that will have the readers laughing out loud. Skeeter is earnest in his desire to lead and that includes taking care of the zombie monkey problem. One of the scouts "Gas" uses the bodily function he was named after to keep the monkey zombies away from his friends. This is a charming tale that elementary school readers will thoroughly enjoy. Harriet Klausner