Mijn dikke vette zombiegoudvis

My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish #1

by Mo O'Hara

Als Toms gemene broer Mark op een dag thuiskomt met een goudvis om op te experimenteren, besluiten Tom en Pradeep, zijn beste vriend en buurjongen, dat het tijd is om in te grijpen. Maar ze zijn net te laat en Mark heeft al rare groene stofjes in de kom van Frankie de goudvis gegoten. Tom en Pradeep vinden Frankie spartelend in zijn kom en besluiten hem te redden door hem een schok te geven met een batterij. Maar dan gebeurt er iets dat ze ab-so-luut niet hadden verwacht: de vis komt weer tot leven... Het is een zombiegoudvis! En de vis is vastbesloten wraak te nemen op Mark...

Genres: Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Novels, Adventure, Fantasy, Ebooks

160 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

"Originally from America, I moved to London because I wanted to live abroad but spoke no foreign languages. After a brief and unsuccessful stint as a serving wench at the Tower of London I found work as an actress and comedy performer. I’ve perfomed regularly at Edinburgh and London comedy festivals. A few years back I got a job touring around the UK as a storyteller and that’s when I discovered that kids liked, laughed at and didn’t fall asleep when I performed stuff that I wrote myself. I was hooked on writing and performing for kids..."

Reviews

[Mari Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This MG novel gets points for creativity but lost points with me for the excessive sibling violence. The sheer brutality of it just turned me off. Some readers might point to the tongue in cheekiness of this book, and yes I, as an adult, get that. But, this is a book aimed at primary kids, where satire is sometimes lost in a sea of literalness (is that a word?). This isn't just a little pinching and poking among brothers, this is concussions and taping mouths, dropping glass bowls on their heads and creating chaos in the school. Maybe this won't bother others but it bugged me and I don't think I will recommend to others.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first grader picked this out at our library's summer reading party. She said it was awesome, and I should give it five stars.

[Madissen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked because there was to different stories that had adventures with this zombie goldfish that had toxic waste spilt on him that made him die and then Tom had to use elctricity to bring him back to life.Once I was done with that on I read the other one it was weird because it was about Tom and his friend Pardeep both of their brothers started a virus to go on all computrers to make zombie gold fish.So thats why it was a intresting book to read so if you like zombie goldfish/zombies this book is perfect,just right and is a good book.

[Axellesbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dit verhaal is echt te bizar voor woorden… Haha 😅

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun bit of nonsense.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

I saw this one in a book store here (an English book here, at a normal price? It's a miracle!) and I had to buy it as I heard a lot of good about this little book, and I saw it on Twitter a lot. I do love zombies, and I was curious to see what a zombie goldfish would be like. Never read a book about those. The only other zombie pet I read about was a hamster. :)

This book tells us how Frankie was created, I just felt so sorry for Frankie. Being an experiment for a big (trying to evil scientist) brother. Luckily for Frankie he has 2 people who care about him and revive him Frankenstein-style, thus creating a very epic little zombie goldfish with a big personality.

Frankie was just awesome, he is one tough little fishy and I just loved how he enjoyed green foods (which generally are mouldy), how he would get all hyper when danger (or brothers) came close to him. He was quite epic with his fins (he really knows some self-defence) and he really was a good friend to Tom and Pradeep, and also later Sami (the little sister of Pradeep).

Lets talk about the humans. We have several. Our main characters are Pradeep and Tom, but we also have Sami (Pradeep's sister, who often tags along) and Mark (trying to be an evil scientist, but failing oh so hard in general, he is also very rude and mean) and at times we also see Pradeep's older brother Sanj (who is also trying to be evil, only he is more of the hacking and computer stuff, while Mark is more evil scientist and trying to create stuff.

Of course the plots are generally a bit the same (not only in this book, but also the others). Tom and Pradeep either stay at home or go somewhere, something happens, they take action with Frankie, generally it is Mark who is doing the bad stuff and they solve whatever is going on.
I don't mind this at all. Because the rest of the story, the setting, the characters are still great and really fun, and with each book you learn a bit more about the characters, and also will find new characters to love.

At times I was annoyed and frustrated with Mark, that he got away with a lot of stuff. Sure, he got into some trouble, but generally he was just being a big bully to his little brother and his friend(s). It is something that happens a lot in books though, big brother bullying his little brother, I don't really see the appeal and at times I wish we would have more books about brothers being kind to each other and helping each other out. Now, I guess that wouldn't fit this book, as that would mean Frankie wouldn't be around and that there would be no real reason for Frankie to stay.

Tom and Pradeep are fun characters, I love their friendship and how they communicate between each other, with just one look they could tell what the other was saying, and no it wasn't simple stuff, at times it was a whole story and they would still understand each other.
It was really fun that Tom takes Frankie with him everywhere, something he learned to do after Mark tried to do stuff to Frankie, and Frankie in return, tried to do stuff to Mark.

Surprisingly, I normally don't like little sisters in stories. They are often annoying, clingy. Sami however is a bit clingy, but mostly tries to help out even though she is really young. She loves Frankie and does a lot things to help him out.

I love how the hypnotizing works and I just laugh each time that someone got hypnotized. Swishy Little Fishy. :D

What more? Ah yes, something that I found out while reading. I thought this would be one big book, but as the story progressed and I was getting worried on how it would go on, as I was now around page 80 and this story was winding down and going to a conclusion. As I flipped the pages, I found out that one book actually has 2 stories in it. Stories that are kind of a continuation of the first one, but also a totally brand new story.
I really like that, so we get 2 stories in one book? Yes please!

The first story was all about how Frankie came to be Frankie, the second story was about Mark and Sanj trying to take over the school. Both were really fun stories. :)

We also have some illustrations, which made the book even more fun.

All in all, I just loved this book, it was funny, hilarious, though at times a bit over the top. I loved the kitchen ladies in the second story, they totally kicked ass.
I would really recommend this book if you are looking for a funny story.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really this can be read in a day but I had better things to read than this sad little book. SO won't be reading the rest of the series. I understand the novel is for elementary kids, and I have no problems checking out what kids are reading, but I really won't be recommending this to anyone.
First this book is really like 2 small books into one. That threw me off but I did enjoy the second part better.
Second, the word "moron" was overly used which made me feel like I was being verbally abused and that is basically what the older brother(s) were doing to the main character and his friend. Plus be creative with your wording. Repetition makes for a really dull read.
Third, this "zombie" might be one of the worst zombie concepts I have come across and I have read a lot of smack out there. The zombie goldfish was atleast dead at one point and like Frankensteined back to life BUT basically the fish liked moldy green things to eat, could hypnotize people, and understood humans and was personified quite a lot. Other than the moldy eating and having died at one time, I don't know how this was a zombie.....
The main character also did too much of explaining himself after he did something. Example, he high-fived his friend and then explained why he thought it was a good time to high-five. Pretty sure those things shouldn't need explaining. What was cute was the misunderstanding of words like perpetrator he thought was PURPLE-TRAITOR. Adorbs! I did enjoy the second story since it was less...mean, I guess. Not too many "moron"s but still overly used.
No kid besides those in like grade 4 or below should read this so it makes me sad I have seen grade 5 and 6 students take this out and I know their reading levels are higher. This novel doesn't challenge them enough.

Done rant.

See newer review on my blog

[Barefoot Danger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Parents, do not subject your children to this travesty.

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was loads of silly fun. It's like a zany cross between a comic book and goosebumps. It's very entertaining with wild, out of this world situations. Evil older brothers who want to take over the school, a zombie goldfish who is a hero, weird lunch ladies, mothers who don't realize what's going on because they are too busy either baking green cupcakes or dragging you to the hospital...and who could forget the little three year old sister who loves the goldfish? It's all here.

I really had fun reading this. I like crazy stories like this as they are just so much fun.

And I just absolutely loved the illustrations! The big googly eyes on the characters. The little maps with the dotted lines to show where the fish had traveled.

Most of the plot is insane crazy. It could never happen in real life but that's what makes it so fantastic! It's random too. You could never guess anything in here.

Simple pleasures, just like a comic book but longer!

[Ericka Clou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because James is reading it and likes it. It's cute I guess, but I'm not planning on reading the sequels. It has a little bit of an environmentalist element to it, but other than that, it's mostly silly.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A science experiment gone very wrong. Two best friends save a fish from the experiment, but the fish has changed...

[Damien Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think its a really good book and I recommend it.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by my 9-year-old grandson Isaac. Totally original and lots of fun!

[Willemijn jufwillemijnopallstars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goudvissen hebben mij altijd gefascineerd. Zouden ze nou echt dom zijn of zijn ze toch slim? Na dit verhaal gelezen te hebben, wil iedereen wel een goudvis (of juist niet).

Tom en zijn vriend Pradeep zijn vastbesloten de goudvis te redden uit de handen van de gemene broer van Tom. Door een aantal mislukte wetenschappelijke proeven, verandert de gewone vis in een zombiegoudvis. In deel 1 van dit boek speelt het verhaal zich af in en rondom het huis van Tom. In het tweede deel is er een avontuur op school.

Het is erg aandoenlijk om te lezen hoe de jongens er alles aan doen om de goudvis in leven te laten en aan de andere kant is de goudvis constant vervelend aan het doen. De goudvis wil namelijk wraak nemen op Mark, de broer van Tom. Het gaat zelfs zo ver dat de goudvis zichzelf meesmokkelt naar school.

Mijn dikke vette zombiegoudvis is een heel grappig boek, de situaties zijn grappig en hoe Tom en Pradeep reageren is ook grappig. De oudere broers zijn juist heel gemeen neergezet. Dit resulteert ook in een aantal wat woest kijkende illustraties.

Dit is denk ik het ideale boek voor een grappenmaker van 8 jaar en ouder. Jongens zal het misschien meer aanspreken, maar het is ook zeker leuk voor meisjes om te lezen. Deel 2 schijnt al in september te komen!

[Cade Cook · Rating 1 out of 5]

"To call this book good just isnt right. its just so unrealistic. i get that the zombie goldfish is out for revenge but it just deosnt have a good story line. one weekness of this book is that how it gets to school, and why its at school just brings the book down as a whole. another weekness this book has is why the zombie goldfishis out for revenge. that is a huge reason why the book makes no sence. To be honest with you, i dont think that i will read the second book in this series. I dont think the the audience would appreciate how this book it made, because it leaves you with alot of questions. this book really comes off to me as a book that uses humor to connect unrealistic things. Its just simply unrealistic." -GoodReads user Cade

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed to read this since I recommended it to a young man who was stuck in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid rut. He ended up returning for more in the series, so yay me!
Tom has an evil big brother named Mark who receives a chemistry set for his 12th birthday, so therefore he becomes an evil scientist. Mark says that he needs to do an experiment with a new goldfish to see how pollution affects the fish, and dumps some of his chemistry set into the water. Tom and his friend Pradeep rescue the fish, who is now labelled a zombie because it is now undead. The fish can hypnotize with its wonky eyes, and has a vendetta against Mark. The fish, named Frank (short for Frankenstein by Tom), can use its flippers to travel out of water (even in a plastic bag), and smacks Mark in the face.
There is a second story with Mark and Pradeep's older evil brother taking over the elementary school by hacking into the computer system, but I did not read it.
There are drawings throughout, which was a plus for the young man I helped, but not so many that his mom negated the series.
Goofy outlandish fun, and many in the series so afficianados can now get stuck in the My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish rut.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. There are these two bad guys named Mark and Sanj and four good guys named Tom, Sami, Pradeep, and the last good guy is a fish that Tom zapped with a battery and he is now a zombie goldfish named Franky. I really liked that the lunch ladies teamed up with Tom, Franky, Pradeep, and Sami.

[♡•☆Mint☆•♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing! Even though some people might tell me that I'm to old for this but the whole book series were amazing! Totally enjoyed this 5/5 for me!

[Gary Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

28th book read in 2016.

Number 326 out of 522 on my all time book list.

Review Pending:

[Katherine Loyacano · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O'Hara is the first book in an entertaining middle-grade series about a goldfish that becomes zombified during an experiment. The story follows Tom whose older brother decides to become an Evil Scientist. In his first experiment, he dunks a goldfish into toxic green gunk with fatal results. Tom decides to zap the goldfish with a battery which brings it back to life! The battery charge revives the goldfish; however, the new Frankie now has hypnotic powers and is out for revenge.

"Swishy little fishy!" A zombie goldfish with hypnotic powers who wants revenge on bullies makes for a creatively fun story. I love Frankie the zombie goldfish! He's quirky, smart, and resourceful which says a lot about a goldfish. Tom and his neighbor Pradeep are the best of friends, and I loved their interactions with one another and how they looked out for each other. Tom, Pradeep, and Pradeep's little sister Sami are likable characters who must put up with two obnoxious older brothers.

I am not a fan of Mark (Tom's brother) or Sanj (Pradeep and Sami's brother). They are both mean-spirited bullies who could have had their verbal assaults towards their siblings toned down a bit. It felt excessive, especially while listening to the audiobook. About half-way through the first story, I stopped listening to the audiobook and switched to reading my physical copy. I soon realized that my edition had been revised from the original publication as well as the audiobook version I had checked out through my library. Bothersome words or phrases had either been omitted or replaced with more appropriate words or phrases. For example, words like "stupid" or "lame" had been replaced with "silly;" the word "moron" had been replaced with either "slughead" or "minion;" and "shut up" was replaced with "shut it." After doing a bit of research, it seems that the language choices and the sibling violence were two problematic elements for parents of this story early on in its publication history which is unfortunate because My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish is a well-written and amusing story. So, bravo to Mo O'Hara for making those revisions. Mark and Sanj still get on my nerves because of their behavior towards their siblings, but knowing Frankie is there to protect Tom, Pradeep, and Sami make them less annoying and more bearable.

My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish is a cool combination of humor, heart, adventure, unexpected twists and turns with a sprinkle of supernatural (zombie goldfish). It includes two stories, "A Frankly Shocking Tale" which introduces readers to Frankie and "Rules the School!" which follows Frankie's first middle-school experience. There are plenty of terrific illustrations by Marek Jagucki throughout the entire book. In fact, the awesome cover (and the title) caught my attention while I was researching middle-grade zombie books for my Zombiethon Readathon. Additionally, my edition includes an extra section that contains zombie games, puzzles, and an interview with the author. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and plan to continue the series to read about more of Frankie's adventures.

[TheBookWorm🐛 🐛 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was ok. It has a cool plot to it, and the characters in it are cool as well. I probably just didn’t find it as interesting because I am kind of growing out of those types of books. It is fun to come back and read books like these sometimes, but it isn’t really a book that you can snuggle down with and read for a long time. It’s more of a book that you can probably read in under 45 minutes to an hour. Over all, I have no complaints about this book. I really like the thought of two kids bringing a goldfish back to life, and then having it on their side, but like I said, it’s just too...what’s the word... young for me? If that makes sense.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another in the list of things I read because my stepdaughter left it lying around the house. This one has pieces of inspired lunacy, and the concept is fun. This isn't great literature, and it's not at the level of something like Daniel Pinkwater or Polly Horvath, but it will do in a pinch.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for kids.

[Bridget Neace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good grief, I'm glad that's over.

[Megan Mcewen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are great incentives for my 8-yo to read...and to learn a bit about the power of friendship and cooperative action.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with my kiddos. They loved it. Too much big brother name-calling for my taste, but what do I know?!

[Lesley Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t love the book, but it is geared toward kids, not me. ☺️ My 5 year old enjoyed it, so that’s what counts. And he read the entire book out loud to me.

[Victor]

it was pretty cool:)
and kinda scary

[Angie Gazdziak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute. Definitely a silly middle grade novel, but my son and I enjoyed it. This edition has the first two books included, but the chapters are pretty short and fun to read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could have the hours I spent on this book back. Blah.