Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein

July 1, 2018
One of a cluster of books celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein.This picture book focuses on Mary's solitary childhood, in which she wanders alone through city streets, cultivating her daydreams, or "castles in the air," which provided the initial inspiration for her novels. She is influenced by the writings of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, whose grave she visits, and by her intellectual but severe father. She is introduced to the intelligentsia of London and hears Coleridge reciting The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poem she will never forget. Stifled at home, Mary elopes with the poet Shelley; her stepsister Claire goes along. Their travels in Europe take them past Castle Frankenstein, the inspiration for Mary's famous novel. One wild and stormy night, the three friends meet with the poet Byron and his writer friend John Polidori at Byron's villa beside Lake Geneva. Byron makes his famous proposal that each should write a ghost story. This challenge and Mary's introduction to science, particularly galvanism, are the inspirations for Mary's famous monster. Bailey's text features clipped, short sentences and presents carefully chosen details children will understand. Sardà's watercolor-and-digital illustrations are dark and stormy and perfectly suited to the mood of the story. The many decorative details, reminiscent of 18th-century gravestone designs, will fascinate children, and the gaunt, Gorey-like, grave-pallid figures will send chills down the spine.An exciting tale in its own right, this biography should prime readers for the original. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 6, 2018
This biographical depiction of Mary Shelley's young life explores how writers create, synthesizing ideas from experiences and imagination. Throughout, Bailey emphasizes her strong spirit and penchant for daydreams as she traces how formative circumstances helped move Shelley to write: the early loss of her mother, a great thinker and advocate for women's equality; meeting frequent visitors to her childhood home, including philosophers, artists, and scientists; living with a family of strangers in Scotland; running away with her stepsister, Claire, and poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, her eventual husband; and visiting Switzerland with Claire, Shelley, the poet Lord Byron, and doctor and writer John Polidori. Sard's distinctive angular illustrations are rife with thoughtful period detail and patterns in rich tones, evoking an appropriately maudlin mood while showcasing how Shelley's life was a catalyst to art and creativity--and, perhaps, the birth of science fiction. Ages 5-8.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Though youngsters won't yet have delved into Mary Shelley's gothic horror classic, most will have been exposed to her piecemeal monster. Riffs such as Adam Rex's Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (2006), Patrick McDonnell's The Monsters' Monster (2012), and Michael Hall's Frankencrayon (2016) are just a few of the picture books starring Shelley's creation; and let's not forget Jim Benton's Franny K. Stein series or Tim Burton's Frankenweenie film. Viewed in this eerie light, a picture-book biography on Shelley herself doesn't seem out of place, especially one so stunning as this. Bailey relates Shelley's childhood, rebellious adolescence, and participation in the now-famous writing competition that spawned the mad Dr. Frankenstein and his monster as a fantastic story in its own right. Her writing is warm and inclusive, posing occasional questions directly to the reader and establishing Shelley as a spirited dreamer. No less astonishing are Sard�'s folk art-style illustrations, which employ deep, moody hues?burgundy, plum, black, gray, and midnight blue?to create hauntingly detailed scenes. Ghostly monsters waft through people's imaginations; dense trees lean and reach their branches toward Shelley's passing carriage; a dead frog sits upright when zapped with electricity. Readers will revel in this artful portrait of a celebrated young author and better appreciate the true brains behind the operation. A thorough afterword offers more details of Shelley's life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)