Zombie Elementary

Zombie Elementary cover

Third graders tell a story of unexpected alliances, overcoming mistrust, and collective action

Zombie Elementary is the thrilling story of Samantha and her friend Jake, the zombie who wants to come to school to learn, because zombies tend to forget a lot (according to the 8-9 year-old authors of this story).

Samantha and Jake organize their friends, including nervous Zariah and super-smart Charlette, to outwit Jake’s twin brother zombie, James, and the rapidly multiplying brain-eating zombies who want to skip learning and instead get smart by ingesting other people’s brains through long green straws.

How the children manage to overcome prejudices and mistrust between themselves and the zombies so all can work together to save their school–and themselves!–is a tale for the ages. Ages 7-11 mostly, but older folks will love it too!

Order Zombie Elementary for $5.00 + postage. Paying a bit more–$6.00, $10.00–will help us continue this unique program where young people collectively imagine, write, illustrate and produce collective, reality-based, imaginative stories of social change.


Here’s how Zombie Elementary begins:

Samantha meets Zombie Jake

Chapter 1

Samantha was walking to school, feeling tired and worried. She was worried that her dad wouldn’t let her get a dog, which she had wanted for a very long time. Because of the dog worry she hadn’t done her homework or slept very well, or even eaten breakfast, and now she was worried about what would happen to her for not doing her homework. Worries sure can pile up, she told herself gloomily.

As she walked along, she saw a person about her own size ahead of her on the sidewalk. The person was pale green, and slightly bloody, she noticed. Some kid in a zombie costume, she thought as she approached.

“Hey, Halloween is still a month away,” she remarked. Up close, she saw it was a boy, kind of cute, even handsome, with glasses and smooth, slicked back hair. When the boy turned to look at her she saw deep green eyes behind the glasses.

But something wasn’t right. The boy seemed just a little dead looking. What a realistic zombie costume, she thought. Then she looked again, and suddenly felt frozen with fright. It was a real zombie!

“Hi,” the zombie said. Its voice was mumbly, but she found she could understand it. “Excuse me,” it continued politely, “can you tell me where the school is?”

Samantha was so surprised she couldn’t move or speak.

“My name is Jake,” the zombie told her. “What’s yours?”

Samantha, very alarmed, could only babble, “Whaaaa???”

“Wa?” Jake said. He took a couple shuffling steps toward her and looked at her strangely through his glasses. “Pleased to meet you, Wa!” He held out a greenish hand and smiled a friendly if somewhat dead-looking smile…

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RAINWOOD HOUSE SINGS, a social justice mystery, paints an authentic picture (with a hint of magic) of eveyday activists fighting for justice in their lives and communities, tackling mysteries large and small with creativity, humor, and collective action.

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Stories of Our People (SOOP)

Sample filled-out FFA Test:
JB tests the movie Billie Elliot

Sample filled-out SOOP Questionnaire:
A few stories and burning questions from JB

Connect with Neighborhood Novelists!

Send Juliana a message to…

  • order copies of Zombie Elementary or The Imagination Club
  • invite Juliana to your classroom or enrichment program to give a Neighborhood Novelists workshop
  • Invite Juliana to your language arts teacher training to share the Neighborhood Novelists collective, inclusive novel-writing process.
  • Ask any questions about the Neighborhood Novelists books or program.

Looking forward to hearing from you!!

Preorder Rainwood House Sings

RAINWOOD HOUSE SINGS, a social justice mystery, paints an authentic picture (with just a hint of magic) of eveyday activists fighting for justice in their lives and communities, tackling mysteries large and small with creativity, humor, and collective action.

Submit form below to preorder and receive publication details

Send me a message to…

  • Order copies of Zombie Elementary or The Imagination Club
  • Invite me to your classroom or enrichment program to work with your students in a Neighborhood Novelists workshop, or
  • Invite me to your language arts teacher training to share the Neighborhood Novelists collective, multi-grade novel-writing process.

Your Message