Frankie Stein Book

Frankie Stein comes into the world on a bright, sunny day. He's not at all like his parents. They're scary looking. He's cute. They try to make him look like them. They can't. But he does end up being scary - in his own way!

Publishers Weekly

With his creamy skin and blissful smile, Frankie Stein seems a delightful baby. In the Munsters-like premise, however, his evident normalcy worries his parents, a green-skinned Frankenstein's monster and his Bride. " 'Oh my,' said his mother. 'He's... cute.' " Frankie soon sprouts "a lock of sun-gold hair" and a clean white tooth. He practices lurching, but "his walk was more of a bounce." His doting parents tint his hair a lurid violet, apply fake warts to his face and outfit him in clunky black shoes-ever mindful of their rogues' gallery of candlelit family portraits-but to no avail. A transparent, goofy ghost and lavender rat smilingly observe the unsuccessful makeover, accenting the sitcom humor. Schaefer (Loose Tooth) capably sets up debut illustrator Atteberry's visual punch lines, while Atteberry casts the tale with slightly bland computer-generated caricatures. Given the predictable gags, the roundish yellow typeface appears undersize and weak on the page; otherwise, the book makes the most of its cartoonish comedy without tilting into anything remotely scary. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)

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