Frankenstein Doesn't Wear Earmuffs!
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Funny take on protective parents and eager trick-or-treater.
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What's the Story?
A boy dresses as Frankenstein for Halloween and imagines himself rampaging through a "dark and stormy" landscape -- until he's brought back to reality by his parents insisting he add a parka, scarf, waterproof boots, a lantern, and, yes, earmuffs to keep him safe and warm while trick-or-treating. He rebels and shouts, "Frankenstein doesn't wear earmuffs!" and goes out on his own. The story alternates between scary-movie-type scenes of giant Frankenstein stomping through town and the reality of a little boy in his house or running into other trick-or-treaters in his neighborhood. Once he sees they are wearing mittens, sweaters, and fuzzy hats along with their costumes, he accepts the boots, scarf, and even the earmuffs. "So Frankenstein wore earmuffs/ on that night so grim and ghostly./ And dark and stormy Halloween/ was pretty warm and toasty."
Is It Any Good?
This fun, fresh look at Halloween night spoofs both parents' protective streak and kids' resistance to cautious measures that would keep a child warm and safe. The story is told in zippy rhymes and playfully illustrated, emphasizing the changing emotions of both the boy and his imagined self as Frankenstein. The back and forth between imagination and reality is a clever, entertaining motif, and should be easy to grasp, even for little ones.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Halloween night is shown in Frankenstein Doesn't Wear Earmuffs! Does it look like Halloween in your neighborhood?
How do you like the way the pictures go back and forth between showing the boy as Frankenstein and as a kid dressed up as Frankenstein? What's fun about pretending to be a scary monster?
What kind of costumes do you like to wear for Halloween -- funny or scary?
Book Details
- Author: John Loren
- Illustrator: John Loren
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Harper
- Publication date: July 14, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback
- Last updated: October 21, 2020
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