When Frankie Made a Human

Gr 2-4–What is a monster to do when he is struggling socially and desperate for a friend? Why, make one, of course! Frankie’s monster classmates can do disgusting stunts that they think are hilarious yet he doesn’t get the jokes. He prefers to play chess and work on his science experiments. Finally, Frankie takes matters into his own hands and designs a companion human using his mother’s scientific supplies and a purloined eyeball for DNA. To Frankie’s surprise, his efforts pay off, and his human, optimistically named Fido, seems eager to be his friend. But Frankie did the job a little too well. Uninterested in playing chess, Fido appears to have his own agenda, poised to cause total chaos in orderly Monster Weld. Can Frankie stop the madness that is Fido before it’s too late? This British import is just the ticket for monster-craving reluctant readers and is heavily illustrated in black-and-white, cartoonish pictures. Not for sensitive readers, some bits go a little over-the-top gross. That said, Delahaye infuses humor to balance the grossness. Environmental messages are woven within this friendship tale, which demonstrates how help can come from unexpected places. The book runs long for typical chapter books and some of the vocabulary is advanced, but the margins and type are large.