Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance

by Keith Graves, Keith Graves (Illustrator)

Overview

Shake, rattle, and roll with Frank, a music-loving monster who just wants to dance! Kids will thrill to this rollicking rhyming tale that features awesome illustrations, a few gross-out surprises, and a whole lot of fun!

Frank was a monster who wanted to dance. So he put on his hat and his shoes made in France . . . and opened a jar and put ants in his pants! 

So begins this monstrously funny, deliciously disgusting, horrifyingly hilarious story of a monster who follows his dream. Keith Graves' wacky illustrations and laugh-out-loud text will tickle the funny bone and leave readers clamoring for an encore.

SPOOKY SEASON READ-ALOUD: The perfect read-aloud for a monster-themed birthday party, classroom Halloween celebration, or story time at home for kids who love a good, silly scare with a great message.

FUN & FUNNY ART: “Author and illustrator Keith Graves' paintings are rich and fresh and entirely enjoyable. . . . [He] renders Frank the monster as a hilarious compilation of parts . . . a monster that Frankenstein might have created if he'd had a sense of humor and some leftover bits.” —January Magazine

READERS LOVE FRANK!: Hundreds of 5-star reviews celebrate this very cute and entertaining story, calling it a delightful romp that’s “fun to read and dance along with Frank’s fancy footwork.” Parents, grandparents, and teachers share with kids from ages 2 to 8 and find them begging for it again and again! It’s great for Halloween and all year round.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811854528
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	08/17/2006
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.12(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Keith Graves grew up long ago in a strange, humid land called New Orleans. And if you don't think it really is a strange place, then you haven't been there for Mardi Gras. He is the author and illustrator of a bunch of nutty books for children, including Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance, Chicken Big, and Three Nasty Gnarlies. 

Keith lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Nancy and twins Max and Emma. His website is keithgravesart.com.

Editorial Reviews

Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance has been awarded for outstanding achievement in children's books 1999. The Parent's Guide to Children's Media is a non-profit corporation for the enhancement of the quality of children's media. They are located at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA.

Parents Guide to Childrens Media

Reviews From:

THE BULLETIN
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

of The Center for Children's Books
By Janice Harrington
When Frank (as in Frankenstein) goes dancing, his lively movements make him fall to pieces, whereupon his previously appreciative audience runs screaming from the theater. A humorous rhyming text immediately engages readers: "Frank was a monster who wanted to dance./ 'I know I could boogie if they gave me a chance.'/ So he put on his hat and his shoes made in France/ and opened a jar and put on his pants." In acrylic and colored pencil, Graves' cartoon-like illustrations, stylistically reminiscent of Lane Smith, extend the text with such details as Frank's mouse slippers (complete with teeth), a bottle of "Le Smell," and a box of "Le Shooz." Graves' palette (purple-grape, electric blue, and lime-green with cherry-red highlights) makes the details pop without overwhelming the eye. Young listeners will respond to the comedy, the catchy rhythm, and especially the yuck factor induced by Frank's dancy disintegration.

Newcomer Graves pays generic, goofy homage to Frankenstein and to 1960s-era hot-rod art. He goes heavy on the purple, electric blue and Astroturf green in his polished, nearly 3D compositions of acrylic and colored pencil. Even the hand-lettered text, with its occasional incorporation of worms, bulging eyes, etc., contributes to the expansion of the punchline, which will likely hit primary graders' funny bones.

In rhyme and gloriously putrid color, we follow Frank the monster as he achieves his dream: "I know I could boogie if they gave me a chance," he muses, sitting at home in his pants, and proceeds to the theater. The audience loves him, but his head, which looks like an acid-green baseball with a zipper, comes undone, spilling out his purplely brain. The grossed-out audience departs as Frank loses an arm and an eyeball. Just the ticket for a collection that might be leaning too much toward the sweet and proper. This is a close cousin to Boogi Bones, written by Elizabeth Loredo and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.

From the Publisher