Fifth-Grade Zombies

Goosebumps SlappyWorld #14

by R.L. Stine

This is Slappy's world -- You only scream in it!

Scarlett Martenson and her friends are total zombie fans! With Ross as the brains, Annie as the makeup artist, Owen as the fright master, and Scarlett as their leader, the group is unstoppable as they terrorize their unsuspecting neighbors. But when Granny Z moves into the creepy, old, abandoned house at the bottom of the hill, things get rotten for the zombie club. Can Scarlett find a way to save herself and her friends or will things continue to decay?

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens

134 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2021

About the author

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...

Reviews

[Justin Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, dear. Jovial Bob Stine strikes again. Despite such terrifying cover art, which is almost as iconic as the Tim Jacobus paintings from the 90s, Fifth-Grade Zombies is much more about laughs than scares. The meandering first half offers little suspense except a brief "Children of the Corn" type moment where strange voices whisper among the cornfields. The tension quickly passes in favor of scenes which are frankly boring. A lot of "Why doesn't anyone believe me??" so commonly found in the original Slappy books, except in those the stakes were much higher. Slappy's villainy includes turning parents against you, getting unjustly punished for cruel jokes, and actual destruction of property. Here the terrifying mysteries include finding an old shoe in the yard. Wah-Wah.

At long last the mystery of the rumored zombie children takes hold. We do get a few breathless pages of icky, undead kids being creepy that is almost worthy of the cover art. I had a hunch that the "boring" opening would eventually come around as a surprise in the end. It does, and the ending line is admittedly a winner. Still, I was left with the overall impression that Stine was phoning this one in. I know it's been a busy year with his non-stop output of Just Beyond, Garbage Pail Kids and SlappyWorld books, but I think we deserved better than this. More like 2 1/2 stars, but the cover gives it a boost.

[Michael -- Justice for Renee & Alex! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with (now)7-year-old Nolan: "I liked the scary parts, where there were creepy threats!"

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

City kid visits the Midwest and discovers it's more frightening than metropolitan New York? Fifth-Grade Zombies isn't the first book with this premise, but delivers it with R.L. Stine's signature flair. Twelve-year-old Todd Coates isn't thrilled when his parents decide to take a year-long business trip without him. The only relatives willing to take him in for that long are his uncle Jake and aunt Clara, farmers from small-town Moose Hollow, Wisconsin, a far cry from where Todd grew up in Queens. But he's ready to give the arrangement a try, and at least his cousins—Mila, who is Todd's age, and Skipper, an eighth-grader—will be there to ease the transition. Things starts out rough with Skipper constantly attempting to spook Todd about what may lurk in the cornfield beside the farm, but a kid from Queens isn't easily alarmed.

Todd's unease grows when he spots weird-looking kids shuffling out from the cornfield at night. Their flesh looks decayed, as if they were...zombies. Mila, Skipper, Uncle Jake, and Aunt Clara laugh when Todd raises his concern. Are they covering something up? In secret, Mila and her friend Shameka tell Todd that a class of fifth-graders got lost some time ago in the cornfield, died, and morphed into zombies, but he doubts the veracity of their story. However, he'll have to believe something when he sees the zombie kids up close at school. Who all is in on the conspiracy to allow flesh-eating youngsters to run free where they could harm living children? And does the rot run deeper than Todd suspects?

Besides some intriguing social and political implications you could read into the text, Fifth-Grade Zombies is a disappointment. The atmosphere isn't bad, but the pace is slow; all the real action is crammed into a few quick final chapters. Worse, the explanation of what is actually going on in Moose Hollow is riddled with convenient "Who knows?" moments that make the story feel lazy, and the conclusion feels more like the punchline to a well-worn joke than a smart ending to a decent junior novel. Regardless, I might rate this book one and a half stars, and as always is the case for me when it comes to Goosebumps, I'll be back for more.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I just finished Fifth Grade Zombies,another book in the Goosebumps Slappyworld Series. And I was a little disappointed in this book.The story starts off with Todd our main protagonist. He is going to stay with his aunt and uncle and his cousin's Skipper and Mila. Todd brings with him his special lighter that his Grandpa gave him and a harmonica that he loves to play. While riding in the back of the truck on the way to the farm he notices things coming up from the ground.He asked Skipper about it and he says that their field mice and honestly the first 30 pages of this book is just exploring the farm and pranks sprinkled throughout.Around the 30 page mark we finally get to see what we're promised and it's actually pretty scary if you think about it. Being outside alone in a cornfield while seeing people come up from the ground is pretty scary.When Todd asks about what he saw nobody wants to really talk about it.Or they bring up something to change the subject.The story then takes a turn because Todd is starting this new school and well at school he notices a few things.For one in the lunchroom, he notices that he doesn't see his cousin and her friend and he also sees this weird school bus come up with the same kids that he saw coming out of a field.And that's honestly where I'm going to leave this review, because this is one of the more bland ,vanilla books in the Slappyworld Series,and I feel like a lot doesn't happen so I don't wanna spoil anything. I wouldn't say it's terrible but it's definitely on the weaker side in my opinion.One of the biggest things I didn't like was the poorly explained origin of the zombies.They were on a field trip and got lost in a cornfield.This also leads to the twist that bothered me.I had an idea this was the route we were going but it had no explanation and didn't make any sense.The only things that I really enjoyed were the farm setting and the inside of the school setting.And I liked the October feel of this book like cornfields and there is a scene of the kids drinking apple cider.The ending of this book was absolutely terrible though and overrode any hopes I had for this book. I also didn't like how these zombies here we're not described in any kind of gory way .There's one scene in a school bus where Todd finds a a shoe with a leg in it and that's pretty scary but it's not even described in a way that Stine would typically write.So yeah I think I'm going to give Fifth Grade Zombies a two out of five stars.

[Austin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is quite literally a reskinned version of The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight from the original 62 series. Instead of scarecrows, we have zombies.
There's some good writing in here and some atmospheric and eerie moments - but this book completely falls apart and craps the bed in the final act. And the twist ending of this one... dear God... this is one of the stupidest endings in all of Slappyworld. Was aiming for a 2.5/5 until the messy final act which brings this one down to a flat 2⭐ for me.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the school age children left this on my desk recently, so when I was returning it to him I asked if he would mind if I borrowed it to read. I was curious as to how scary it was since I never read Goosebumps. It was definitely creepy, and I read it in one sitting because it was a page turner. It did not, however, end like I wanted it to! 🤣 I think the main lesson from this read is don’t be a snoop, because curiosity killed the cat!

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An NYC kid moves to Wisconsin for a year, finds out there's something in the cornfields.

It would be scarier, but we all know this kid can't even take the subway by himself back home.

[Singapore_progods123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked it

[April Mizerk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good at description. It really helped the reader create an image in their head while reading. There is a kid who is going to go visit his cousins in their town and start school there and soon realizes theres some creepy things going on in this town. This would be an interesting book for kids who like spooky stories and would keep them engaged and interested in reading. I think this book though also does a good job of using humor. Its not as scary as some other goosebumps books, but it still has the horror element. I would recommend this book to a 3rd- 5th grade students or possibly use it as a read aloud book during halloween time.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting blend of Scarecrow Walks at Midnight with Creature Teacher—but it worked pretty well, I guess? Fifth-Grade Zombies is quite a hated Goosebumps book for the modern era, and I can see why, though I didn’t really dislike the biggest issue with the book. Getting to what I enjoyed, I loved the atmosphere of this book; it nails the fall harvest vibes with the farm setting, and the back to school themes later on elevate that further. The writing is really good here for some reason, on of Stine’s more well written Goosebumps books I feel. The characters were fine, I kinda liked the teeny bit of character development we got with Skipper being more nice to Todd (the main character) as the book progresses. Horror was top-notch at times. Some very disturbing imagery involving the supposed zombies, maybe a scene in a bus, and very creepy moments early on in the cornfield. Overall, a creepy read with great atmosphere and writing! But the book takes a turn into campy as it goes on, which I neither love or hate. Though I will say, now talking about the aspects of the book I didn’t like, that the book felt to corny (pun intended). The later chapters when the title starts to come into play more are really strange and almost feel out of place, and though I liked them for the most part, it felt a little stupid—even for Goosebumps. But that little negative out of the way, the ending, whilst it is dark, has a sort of Headless Halloween feel, where a character excepts their fate. But in that book, it was done MUCH better. The ending of this book was badly executed, being the dumbest excuse for a crappy change of heart about a pretty dark situation, which I half like only thanks to the shit fiesta of a final paragraph. Anywho, only other negative was the “you gotta believe me” and “it was me pulling pranks all along” crap pulled throughout the book, the latter being throughout the entire book and the other being present only in the first 40 pages. Finally, the book gets a solid 8/10. Not too great of a book; the climax could’ve been better if it went in a different direction, and the ending was poo poo. Definitely over-hated I feel though.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

So my library's website had the ebook of this already, they usually wait a while before putting the latest Goosebumps stuff on there. I don't have a physical yet but this will do for now, figured I'd get it out of the way now. Again, slightly more in depth review coming eventually along with the series but for now here it is.

It's fine. About as fine as you can get. Nothing great but nothing terribly objectionable either, it's flat Decent. It has a fine setup, and it flows well. It actually has better than average scares and atmopshere for a Slappyworld, and I have to give it credit for that. It uses the setting well and the zombies have their moments. It just gets too repetitive, and doesn't quite spend enough time on the zombies and stuff.

There's enough setup/payoff but also a few weird unexplained things and the nature of what is going on is a bit odd, could have been simpler as not to leave questions. I like the twist, it's a kind we don't see often and I like, although it is abrupt in execution.

The original summary was pretty different and s0me are hung up on that, even though this has happened before. Lizard of oz, Night of the Puppet People, Diary of a dummy, so on. Some aspects of that summary sounded more interesting, but it also had protagonists that reminded me of the Terror Twin stuff in Headless Ghost, so maybe it's not a big loss.

Overall, it's fine.

STINE-ISMS: No red-heads but we got falling on elbows and knees, sour, and "Dry as cotton". No "swallowed hard though.

Oh and the cover is great. And I think that kid on the right is our first non-white charecter on a cover? There actually is a black character in here, but it's a girl named Shameka. She was fine and was even prominent. Progress?

[Alysia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this one. 🤪

[Octavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy divertido, como siempre.

[B.J. Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down, Fifth-Grade Zombies is not only the best entry from the Goosebumps SlappyWorld spinoff series, but it's one of my favorite Goosebumps stories. I was psyched when I got my hands on this book, but due to my disappointment with the last book, Monster Blood Is Back, I kept my expectations low. Within a few chapters, I got hooked into the story, which borrows a little bit from Stephen King's Children of the Corn and the school bus segment from Trick 'r Treat. Now not everything is fully explained as to why certain things happened. Some readers could be bothered by this. I like it when plots aren't 100% explained because it makes the story creepier.

Overall, Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Fifth-Grade Zombies is one of the best installments in the twenty-nine-year-old franchise. Young or old, if you like fun zombie stories, then I recommend reading this one.

[Clover · Rating 5 out of 5]

TLDR;
Who knew a harmonica and a lucky red lighter would make me love Todd Coates? The characters are great, the plot has decent pacing, and I enjoyed the eerie farm/cornfield with the addition of zombies. I like mixing my horror tropes. This was one of the better books in this series, I found the ending to be perfect and was a cherry on top of an already good book. I completely recommend it!

Corn for Zombies:
For reasons unknown, Todd Coates, a twelve-year-old “city kid [his] whole life, from Queens, New York”, is spending a year with in Moose Hollow, a town “so small it’s not even on the map.” His Aunt Clara and Uncle Jake are nice enough. Mila is Todd’s age, and Skipper is fifteen. Skipper loves making eerie jokes, pranking, and scaring Todd. But when Todd “watch[es] someone crawling out from under the corn” no one will listen. No one is taking responsibility if it’s a prank, but everyone in the house is “deliberately interrupting [him]. They [don’t] want to talk about” all the things happening on the farm. Whispers in the cornfield, “strange kids crawl[ing] out from the stalks”, zombies! Things are just as weird when Todd starts at his new school. Teachers and students are secretive and dismissive, just like his family. Todd must find out the truth. But who is he putting at risk in this quest for answers?

It was interesting having Skipper there, it’s not often we see older children in Goosebumps. I thought he might play more of a role considering one of his first lines is: “Todd, don’t believe everything you hear.” Slightly disappointing, but Mila and Shameka make up for it. There were some grammatical errors in the beginning which I noticed because I read the sample chapters in Monster Blood is Back. It was interesting to notice the slight changes and the addition of more dialogue.

This book was the book that made me want to read the SlappyWorld series. The cover is creepy, more scary than other covers. I am glad the book did the cover justice.

This is another great book, I do wish the zombie plotline came a little sooner. I loved the ending, which is refreshing considering the last few have been complete duds.

4.5/5

This is Day #15 of my October Goosebumps Challenge.
Day: 15/31
Books: 15/31

[Celès Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifth Grade Zombie, written by R. L. Stine, follows the story of Todd Coates, a city kid from Queens, New York, who moves to Wisconsin to live with his cousins Mila and Skipper on their farm for the year. When strange things begin to happen all around him and everyone seems not to notice, Todd becomes determined to find answers. He's convinced there is something of the undead variety in the cornfields. Will he be able to prove zombies exist, or is it all in his imagination?

The fact that this book was written with children in mind did not stop me from enjoying this book to the fullest extent because it brought back fond memories of my childhood. This book was equal parts silly and spooky. Personally, I didn't enjoy Slappy’s interjections during the narrative, but since it's a Slappy's World book, it’s to be expected. Overall, I believe this is a fantastic tale for kids who are seeking a scary tale.

@TheHeterogeneousReader

[David Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and goofy. The ending was dark but happy I guess. The main character was cornered, well circled in the corn field by the zombie kids but asked if he became a zombie he would be able to be in the band some of them had. They agree and it leaves off with them about to turn him.

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 4 out of 5]

When young Todd must go and stay with his uncle & family in Wisconsin, he is not thrilled by the idea. Things aren't quite right in Moose Hollow especially when he finds things are creepy in the corn field. No Spoilers! I highly recommend it for kids of all ages.

[JEB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a massive return to form for the goosebumps series. I’m starting to notice the new-ish books tend to have wildly different quality between them as Stine attempts to inject new modern experiences to speak to modern kids. This one is more of a classics goosebumps first person adventure.

[Angela Juline · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Goosebumps - kids always asking for scary books, and for some reason no one is checking these out this year even after I point them out. Thought it was time to finally read one and it was surprisingly good! I wouldn't say scary...but creepy.

[Sidney Parchepool · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will become a great book!

[Wolverinefactor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so darn good until that wet fart of a last page.

[Katie Buckingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minor scares and creepy kids. Enjoyed this audio book with my 8 yr old on a car trip. She liked it.

[Robert Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read for a kids book. Started slow and dragged to the end where it picked up towards the ending.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Todd will do anything to join Mila's band. He'll even become a zombie to join it.

[Perrilyn Pringle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was really funny. That'd be me.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is reminiscent of some classic Goosebumps, and I loved it.

[Patrick Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ol’ RL still has some tricks up his sleeves!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ending was rather abrupt, but this was one of the creepier Goosebumps books.

[Jamie Uribe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good one from the start. I didn't want to put it down. Had 2, but it was so good. I was like okay is Todd going crazy?....