If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, hopefully you were smart enough to watch the season seven premiere live last week. Spoilers were everywhere after we finally found out who met their maker by way of Negan’s trusty barb wire-wrapped baseball bat Lucille.

he TV show’s ratings are huge, with over 17 million tuning in on Oct. 23 to find out the fate of the beloved characters they’ve grown to love since the show premiered on AMC in 2010. Personally I was hoping Carl would be the unlucky victim, as he’s my least favorite character, but (spoiler alert) no such luck!

If you need to catch up on the series, we have the DVDs and the graphic novels the show was based off of here at the library. And of course, other zombie movies and books! Here are some of my recommendations:

“Zombieland” takes place two months after the zombie apocalypse. Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin play four survivors who journey across the country to the Pacific Playland amusement park in California.

“Shaun of the Dead” features hilarious British humor as title character Shaun doesn’t even notice the zombie apocalypse due to his hangover. Eventually he catches on to the fact that zombies have taken over and makes his way to rescue his family.

“28 Days Later” is set in post-apocalypse London, where the main character awakens from a coma to find himself in a deserted hospital. He roams the city and finds a few more survivors, and they all set out to find a military blockade for protection from the zombies.

“World War Z” by Max Brooks is actually totally different from the film version and much better in my opinion. Each chapter is told through the perspective of a different person in a different part of the world who is experiencing the zombie plague.

“Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan is a young adult novel set in an isolated village surrounded by a fence to keep out the zombies. Mary never knew life before the apocalypse but she has heard of the ocean and is determined to see it, even if that means putting her life in danger.

“Warm Bodies” was a cute movie, and I also enjoyed the book by Isaac Marion. R is a zombie who lives in an abandoned airport. He hasn’t been completely taken over by the disease as he still has feelings and some memories. He saves a human woman named Julie and the romance begins…

We had a fun teen program here at the library last week called Zombie Camp 101. Teens experimented with zombie make-up, made “bug out bags” (supply bags to use when the zombie apocalypse hits) and a list of survival items, and participated in a scavenger hunt to hone their survival skills. Pictured here are Amelia Derr, programming coordinator, with teens Sierra, Matthew, Remy, Ani, Samuel, Molly, and Rory. Check out our website, Facebook page, and Instagram (@polkcopublib) for info on more fun upcoming events!

Jen Pace Dickenson is the Youth Services Librarian at Polk County Public Library. For information about the library’s resources, programs, and other services, visit www.polklibrary.org or call (828) 894-8721.