Undead Ed: First Edition

When Ed Bagley wakes up in a yucky sewer --and discovers he's a zombie-- things can't get any weirder! That is, until his evil arm scurries off his shoulder and into the town of Mortlake to cause all sorts of trouble. Un-armed and dangerous, Ed teams up with his werewolf buddy Max Moon to track down his rogue limb and save Mortlake from the evil at the center of it all. This formerly unlucky kid is out to prove he really is all guts! But when he's faced with gross ghouls, wormy wraiths, freaky fat babies, and some seriously sinister clowns, will Ed and his undead friends have enough skin on their bones to save the day? Or will this arm-y prove too tough to hand-le? Hilariously illustrated zombie antics make this the perfect next book for fans of Zombiekins!

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-Ed Bagley was unlucky in life and isn't faring any better in death. Hit by a truck on his 13th birthday, he wakes up in a sewer to find his left arm has torn itself off from his body and is crawling away, threatening to kill Ed should they meet again. He's also become a zombie, and his hometown of Mortlake is full of unseen vampires, werewolves, and ghouls. As Ed tries to get the hang of life after death, he's mentored by "Dead Buddy" Max, a werewolf. Together they fight the creepy creatures that inhabit Mortlake's underworld. Their ultimate enemy: Ed's left arm, which has been possessed by the spirit of a cursed circus clown and is wreaking havoc on the entire undead population. In the climax, Ed's newfound courage and abilities as "Undead Ed" help him exorcise the spirit from his rogue arm, reattach it, and anticipate his next adventure. Heavy on humor, this book is an uneasy mix. Cartoonlike illustrations and gross-out hyperbole ("you stink worse than my last dump") appeal to upper elementary readers. However, mature expressions ("it didn't just suck. It blew," "I'm a badass") and vocabulary ("arcane," "fetid," "erstwhile") suggest middle school reluctant readers as the target audience.-M. Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About the Author

Rotterly Ghoulstone wrote Undead Ed to work off a terrible curse inherited from his great-grandfather. Before creating the series, he'd fallen down the stairs, been hit by a flying tennis racket, nearly drowned in a swamp, crashed his bike into the side of the family greenhouse, and almost choked to death on an oyster in a fancy restaurant. He doesn't know what will happen to him if he ever stops writing about Undead Ed . . . but he has a feeling it's bound to be something bad. Nigel Baines is just trying to stay out of the way of Rotterly Ghoulstone's family curse. He lives in London, England.

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