Frankenstein Takes the Cake

Adam Rex returns in this second collection of monstrous poems, following upon his initial Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, presenting nineteen selections that are brimming over with his trademark brand of sly humor. Formatted in much the same way as the first Frankenstein book, with a number of parallel themes - here we have the Headless Horseman's blog, in which he complains of the people who constantly stare at his pumpkin head, or imitate it; there we have Bigfoot and Yeti, and their pique at being confused with one another; here we have Edgar Allan Poe, and his hilariously poetic flights of fancy (much to the chagrin of a local raven); there we have the Phantom of the Opera, with a tune stuck firmly in his head - Frankenstein Takes show more the Cake is an amusing foray into the world of some of the world's most famous monsters, and other creepy creatures.

That said, although it is an enjoyable read, and a wonderful selection for the Halloween season, I didn't find Frankenstein Takes the Cake to be quite as appealing as Rex's earlier title, and I've been trying to figure out just why that is. The zany humor is still there (although I didn't giggle aloud with this one, as I did with Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich), and the artwork is in the same appealingly eclectic mixed media style, with its blend of painted elements, drawings, and photographs. But somehow the result didn't have quite the same magic. I suspect that this is partly owing to the more adult concerns displayed, from the centrality of the wedding (with a focus on the actual planning of the wedding) between Frankenstein and his bride, to the reference to Tipper Gore (which already feels dated). In any case, despite these issues, I would still recommend this one to young readers who enjoyed the first collection, and to anyone looking for suitably monstrous reads for Halloween. show less

I'd heard of FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH, but I wasn't aware that Adam Rex had done a follow-up. And what a great follow-up it is! The book is loosely organized around Frankenstein's wedding to his scary-haired Bride. We get to take a peek at the wedding preparations and watch the ceremony itself, but most of the book consists of poems about the wedding guests and their lives (or afterlives). The Headless Horseman complains about his pumpkin head on his blog. Dracula Jr. brings home a Pekingese. The Sphinx uses the desert as her own personal litter box. And Edgar Allan Poe is driving his raven crazy.

It's wonderful stuff. The poems are clever and readable. The monsters are both creepy and relatable. And the art is fantastic. Rex uses a show more number of different styles here, and they all click. As the book progresses, we see examples of old-time comic strips, painterly work, modern comics, altered photography, caricature, brush painting, line drawing, vectors... the list goes on and on. Rex is a wonderfully diverse artist, and he works well within every style he turns his hand to.

The only thing that had me wrinkling my nose was the e-mail forwards from outer space. Don't get me wrong, they're very well done, but the book is aimed at the 4-8 range. The older kids and their parents will likely the jokes, but I'm not sure how conversant your average 4 year-old is with spam.

All in all, though, this is a great book. Both children and their parents will appreciate the artwork, the clever rhymes and the wide variety of monsters who rear their ugly heads.

(Review copy provided by the publisher. This review originally appeared in a slightly different form on my blog, Stella Matutina). show less

A very, very funny book of poems, rhymes, Poe, and Frankenstein! The fun starts on the inside cover, Wolfman, Drac, The Mummy and The Creature from the Black Lagoon assuming that you (the reader) are Frankie. But, the stories and poems don't stop there. This book offers a reason to the strange origin of these stories, a sampling of Haikus (with a haiku *about* haikus), Frankenstein's new in-laws, blog posts from a certain Horseman, Alien contact, and more, culminating in a wedding extraordinaire!

This was funny, and the simple flowing rhyming made it easy to read aloud. The colorful artwork encouraged my daughter to stop jumping on the bed and come and take a look. And the references made me giggle as I read the short stories and ads. show more Frankenstein, indeed, Takes the Cake! show less

Absurd stories, poems, blogs, and advertisements from monstrous characters of our favorite movies and poems. Many references to Poe's "The Raven" and other things that the supposed target audience (ages 5-10 ???) wouldn't get. I found the humor much more clever than my son did in this one... I personally LOVED it and hope to own it someday. I'll pull it out again when my son studies "The Raven" at an age when he gets it better.

This book has a theme of Halloween type stuff. There are headless horseman, zombies, vampires, Frankenstein, and other things too. The book is done in a whimsical way and things that are creepy are not really that creepy in this book. The book does have a story line of Frankenstein's wedding and his guests. The story diverts several times to talk about the guests and some of their experiences. It is an interesting read.

Older kids will enjoy the. humor and funny pictures in this silly book. Frankenstein is getting married and Edgar Allen Poe has writers block. Enough said.

When Frankenstein gets married the caterer makes garlic bread that bothers the best man vampire
Strange poems really better for adults than kids. Poe spends the book looking for rhymes. A sarcastic raven.