The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade

The Last Kids on Earth: The Zombie Parade (2016) is a middle grade, illustrated novel by Max Brallier. It is the second entry in The Last Kids on Earth series, which follows 13-year-old Jack Sullivan and a few of his classmates as they attempt to survive a "Monster Apocalypse” and face off against a series of increasingly dangerous antagonists. Jack, Quint, June, and Dirk try to unravel the mystery behind the disappearing zombies while undertaking quests like completing a bestiary, an encyclopedia of the monsters that have emerged since the apocalypse began, complete with pictures and behavioral details. The novel also introduces important characters such as Thrull, Bardle, and archvillain, Rezzoch. It continues to explore friendship and survival, and specifically digs into the importance of perspective, a positive outlook, and being able to empathize with others.

Despite the postapocalyptic setting and often dire circumstances the main characters find themselves in, the series maintains a lighthearted, comedic tone that is aided by its use of illustrations. At this moment, there are nine mainline entries in the series and another four standalone stories that further flesh out the world and characters. The series has become a New York Times bestseller, with over seven million copies sold. The first three entries in the series were also adapted into a television series by Netflix between 2019 and 2020.

This guide refers to the 2016 Viking Books e-book edition of the text.

Plot Summary

Jack Sullivan, Quint Baker, June Del Toro, and Dirk Savage are at the mall attempting to fill out their bestiary when they’re attacked by the Wormungulous, a train-sized monster that can travel underground and is capable of devouring everything in its path. The group is saved by a man-like monster named Thrull, who injures his leg in the process. Thrull recognizes Jack’s weapon as the blade that felled Blarg, the main antagonist of the first novel. Thrull explains that before he was transported from his dimension to this one, he used to be a monster hunter. Because of his injured leg, he asks the group to help him get back to his friends at Joe’s Pizza.

Before they enter Joe’s Pizza, the group hears an inhuman shrieking sound. They hurry inside, not wanting to find out what is making it. Inside, Joe’s Pizza is full of monsters eating, talking, and playing games. Thrull introduces Jack and his friends, and they are cheered for defeating Blarg. Later, they are introduced to a monster named Bardle, whom Thrull claims will be able to tell them what is going on and why the monsters suddenly appeared in Wakefield. Bardle explains the legend of Rezzoch, Destructor of Worlds. Rezzoch always craves death and destruction. At the peak of his powers, their world went dark, portals opened, and everything—the zombies, the monsters, Thrull, and Bardle—was transported from that world to this one. Everything except Rezzoch.

After the story, Thrull asks to see Jack’s bestiary and is unimpressed. He hands them a bestiary he had been working on before his injury and asks them to complete it for him. The pages of his bestiary are thick, textured, and yellow, each entry containing some “essence” of the monster it documents. Bardle is silent and appears angry throughout this discussion, but Jack is happy to have a new quest to focus on.

That night, Jack cannot sleep because he is becoming increasingly worried about his friends’ safety. As he sits awake, Quint eventually joins him. They are interrupted by the shrieking sound they heard outside of Joe’s. They see a couple of zombies acting strangely—as if they’re being summoned by the shrieking—and decide to investigate. They follow the zombies through the city and enter the graveyard, hoping to get a better view from atop the large tomb at its center. However, they’re attacked by a Hairy-Eyeball monster and forced to retreat home.

The next morning, Quint has concocted a plan to catch a zombie so that the next time the shrieking happens, they can follow it and figure out what is happening. Quint takes a few days to build zombie traps, and the others spend time adding entries to the bestiary Thrull gave them. Once Quint’s traps are complete, the group heads out to catch a zombie. It proves difficult to locate a zombie at first since they’re becoming increasingly sparse. When they do find one, none of the traps work as intended.

Jack decides to visit Joe’s Pizza to see if any of the monsters know anything about the shrieking or the oddly behaving zombies. Bardle appears suspicious when they discuss the shrieking, and the group begins to suspect he has something to do with it. When they return home to the tree house, one of Quint’s traps has finally caught a zombie.

Weeks pass before the group hears the shrieking again, and they fill the time by completing the bestiary. On the night when the shrieking can be heard again, they release their captured zombie—who they’ve named Alfred—and follow him into the city. He joins a massive crowd of zombies, who shuffle their way out of town and toward the forest. The shrieking gets louder as they move through the forest and is revealed to be emanating from a large tree at the center of a clearing. The tree appears to be swallowing the zombies, eating their brains, and then spitting them back out. At the base of the tree, the group sees Thrull repeating some kind of inhuman chanting.

Jack sneaks closer to listen to what is being said. He hears Thrull claim to be the servant of Rezzoch. Thrull declares that he has used a group of children to complete a bestiary that will be used as a key to open a portal to this dimension. He is speaking to Rezzoch through a window that has emerged between the tree’s branches. Rezzoch tells Thrull that he is hungry and craves death.

Back at the tree house, the group attempts to destroy the bestiary, not wanting it to fall into Thrull’s hands. Nothing works, so they come up with an alternative plan to destroy the tree using Weed-B-Gone. This requires going back to the mall to get Weed-B-Gone from Lowe’s, and Jack volunteers to be used as bait to distract the Wormungulous. However, once the Wormungulous appears, Jack notices that it is hurt from their previous encounter and attempts to help it. He recognizes that it is just scared and confused, having been inexplicably transported from its home. After Dirk sews up its wound, it leaves them alone.

When the group arrives back at the tree house, Thrull is there to steal the bestiary. He locks Jack, June, and Dirk in a cage, but takes Quint with him. Jack and Dirk panic, but June has the idea to send Rove—their dog-like monster—to Joe’s Pizza to get help. Bardle appears an hour later to free them and reveals that the reason he seemed suspicious before was that he was beginning to suspect Thrull was a servant of Rezzoch; he just didn’t yet have conclusive proof.

As they are about to depart to confront Thrull and save Quint, the Wormungulous appears and intimates it wants to help. It attaches their tree house to its back, and they make their way to the forest. As they travel, they prepare for the battle by connecting their Super Soakers to the barrels of Weed-B-Gone and readying their other weapons.

Once they arrive at the forest clearing, the portal is almost open. Thrull is holding up the bestiary—which has some kind of dark energy spewing from it—while chanting. The group splits their forces. Jack and Bardle head to rescue Quint, while June and Dirk distract Thrull. Once Jack frees Quint, rather than running, Quint attacks Thrull and recovers the bestiary. The portal closes, but not before Rezzoch commands that Thrull kill the children. Thrull says an incantation and fuses with the giant tree, turning himself into a giant tree beast.

Jack and friends retreat to Joe’s Pizza, hoping the other monsters will help them defeat Thrull. A large battle ensues. Things are beginning to look dire when Jack gets an idea. He puts on his space marine armor, chains himself to the remaining barrels of Weed-B-Gone, and then allows himself to be swallowed by Thrull. Once inside, he ignites a powerful firework, causing a massive explosion. Thrull reverts to his normal form and is defeated, and Jack survives the explosion because of the armor. When they try to find Thrull’s body, it is gone. Everyone celebrates at Joe’s Pizza. Bardle tells Jack that this is the monsters’ world now too, and that he will help them repair it.