Happy Halloween, everybody! This undead issue takes a look at all things zombie, and explores a popular cultural phenomenon that has found its place in literature. We’d be lying if we said this wasn’t one of our absolute favorite issues of the year. Dive in to find scary stories that make for fun reading!
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is our Center Stage feature. You’ve seen it in bookstores and read about it on the net. We bring this wacky homage to Jane Austen to your classroom. This play takes the classic plot of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice and weaves it with a zombie story invented by Seth Grahame-Smith. Our version includes both Grahame-Smith’s and Austen’s writing styles. We hope your students will discover how classical literature can be used to inspire modern writers. It is also our hope that some students will be inspired to pick up other Jane Austen novels and read them as they were originally intended to be read, sans zombies.
More: Don’t forget to check out the interview between READ editor and Jane Austen!
On The Blog: Visit www.readandwriting.com on November 6, find out what really happened to courageous interviewer, Bryon Cahill, when he attempted to speak to a dead Jane Austen.
Discover the parallels between Zen Buddhism and zombie life in our nonfiction excerpt, “The Zen of Zombie.” These excerpts from the book by Scott Kenemore are a great example of how two conflicting ideas can come together to create a hilarious satirical parody of self-help books.
More: We recommend using this piece as part of a lesson on satire. Last year, READ devoted a whole issue to it. This year, we suggest giving your students this great satirical essay, “Why I Hate Literature and Why You Should Too.” It’s more accessible than Johnathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” and we think it will get the idea across.
Our LSI examines juxtaposition in the poem “Scary Movies” by Kim Addonizio. The poet compares her childhood fears of frightening films to her mature fear of death.
“The First Zombie” is a read original work of fiction. This first-person narrative is a diary kept by scientist Barton Calhitzer about his dark scientific experiments that turn him into a zombie.
Our Writing section features a Grammar Slammer entitled “Get Possessed With Apostrophes.” A grammar lesson in proper apostrophe use will help your students understand when and where to place that tricky little mark.
Then our feature story, “To Plot or Not” will teach students to shape their story lines. Follow a plot diagram of an Ambrose Bierce story, and check out a few excerpts from the master of suspense writing, Stephen King.
On the Blog: www.readandwriting.com
On November 13, we will post Halloween Haiku by your students. Have them send their spooky poems to us in time at word@weeklyreader.com.
On November 16, view video clips of Emily Hagins’s film Pathogen as well as clips from the documentary, Zombiegirl: The Movie, which is based on the 12 year old filmmamker.
Oh, and don’t forget… TWAIN IS COMING! Our next issue is the Mark Twain Electronic special! Log in to weeklyreader.com/twain on November 13 for the newest addition to READ’s electronic catalogue.
We hope your students get just as much of a kick out of this undead issue as we did. Happy Halloween. As always, we would love to hear your questions and comments. Please email us at