Nightmare on Zombie Island

May 1, 2008
Gr 4-8-There is a simple pleasure in reading a choose-your-own-adventure book. The option to reconsider every plot twist is perhaps one reason, and another may be the power of happenstance. These titles add to this engaging genre. Both feature fairly involved stories, with a page of text usually alternating with a full-color comic panel that illustrates the action. The artwork is in a good comic style, not mangalike and not trying to replicate a superhero style, either. In "Time Travel Trap", a group of kids are hurtled through various time periods, and the imagined futures and known historical pasts are carefully imagined and chosen. In "Zombie Island", a group of children are trying to escape from pirates and zombies after a shipwreck. Both of these titles have a comic sensibility, and even when readers choose a plot twist that leads to doom, the writing is still humorous and sarcastic. Young readers will devour every page and follow the chain of events leading to each scene of happy or horrible ending. Dont miss out on these excellent titlestheyre great for getting children who hate reading to change their mind."John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NY"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2008
Two more titles in the series that blends graphic novels with choose-your-own-ending-style plotting. In keeping with its horror theme, Nightmare has some particularly gruesome endings. Time Travel uses the format to jump around historical eras. The cartoon-panel pictures are slightly more accomplished than the scattered, confusing stories they illustrate.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)