''The Last Kids on Earth'' is a children's illustrated novel and subsequent book series by American author

Max Brallier Max Brallier (born September 8, 1983) is a children's book author and has written more than 30 books. He is best known for his ''New York Times'' bestselling series ''The Last Kids on Earth'', which has been made into a TV series by Netflix. P ...

, illustrated by Douglas Holgate, with audiobook format narrated by

Robbie Daymond Robert Daymond Howard (né Niles; born March 11, 1982) is an American voice actor who is mostly known for his roles in audiobooks, video games, and animation, best known for voicing Jesse Cosay in the second season of '' Infinity Train'', Spider ...

. Novels in the series have been recognized on

Best Seller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

lists of both

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and

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

. This book is recommended for teens/pre-teens in the "middle school" demographic. The series currently includes 7 books, with an 8th underway, and has been adapted into an

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. In the initial story, a foster child and an optimistic loner named Jack Sullivan finds himself abandoned in a cartoonish end-of-the-world apocalypse. He thrives on freedom, junk food, and video games while building a team of his classmates to fight off zombies as well as a trove of campy monsters who have also somehow appeared. The series treats its subject matter with lighthearted humor rather than adult horror. Subsequent books continue the same comic dystopian scenario with the team of mismatched school kids facing new antagonists, new monsters and new challenges.

List of novels

* ''The Last Kids on Earth'' (2015) #1 * ''The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade'' (2016) #2 * ''The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King'' (2017) #3 * ''The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond'' (2018) #4 * ''The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade'' (2019) #5 * ''The Last Kids on Earth Survival Guide'' (2019) (Standalone) * ''The Last Kids on Earth: June's Wild Flight'' (2020) (Standalone) * ''The Last Kids on Earth and the Skeleton Road'' (2020) #6 * ''The Last Kids on Earth: Thrilling Tales From the Tree House'' (2021) (Standalone) * ''The Last Kids on Earth and the Doomsday Race'' (2021) #7 * ''The Last Kids on Earth: Quint and Dirk's Hero Quest'' (2022) (Standalone) * ''The Last Kids on Earth and the Forbidden Fortress'' (2022) #8

Summary

The eight books follow a thirteen-year-old boy named Jack Sullivan, who lives in his foster brother's tree house after a zombie outbreak hits his hometown,

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offers ...

. He is accompanied by his best friend Quint Baker, who loves experimenting; June Del Toro, a strong, brave girl who used to be the school newspaper's editor-in-chief; and Dirk Savage, the local bully with exceptional fighting skills. The friends fight one monster in each book, while trying to stay alive, and stop an entity named Rezzoch, who wants to take over the Earth.

Reception

The series is recognized as a best–seller on both

and

book lists, with the publisher boasting seven million copies in print.

Animated series adaptation

On February 26, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had a series order to an animated television adaptation of the book series. The first season, a single hour–long special covering the plot of the first book, was released in September 2019 to coincide with the release of the fifth novel. The second season, covering the plot of the second book, was released in April 2020 and consists of ten episodes. Production companies involved in the series include

Thunderbird Entertainment Thunderbird Entertainment Group (formerly Thunderbird Films) is a Canadian film and television entertainment company with offices in both Canada and the United States of America. Thunderbird's multiple divisions develop movies and television pr ...

's animation studio Atomic Cartoons. It has recently been renewed for a third season based on the third book in the series, it was released on October 16, 2020. A 4th season was hinted at the end of season 3 but there has not been any official confirmation by Netflix yet. However, a screenshot of a message by Max Brallier reveals that it was cancelled during the pandemic, but he is working on a live action version.

List of novels

Summary

Reception

Animated series adaptation

References

Further reading