Thursday 11 October 2018

DELIGHTFUL KIDS BOOKS | 5* BOOK REVIEW | 'Mary And Frankenstein' by Linda Bailey and Júlia Sardà


Hey guys, and happy Thursday! Today I am so excited to be back with my children's books feature, after quite a long while! And what better book to start off with than the incredible Mary And Frankenstein by Linda Bailey and Júlia Sardà. This is unlike any picture book I have seen before and I was so thrilled to receive it and see what it was like. Spoiler alert: it's bloody gorgeous.


I was kindly sent Mary And Frankenstein by Andersen Press in exchange for an honest review :)





Intrigued? Check out the blurb here...


It began with a girl named Mary. She liked to daydream and imagine. And she grew up to write Frankenstein. The inspirational true story of the great writer Mary Shelley, brought to life for children in this stunning picture book by multi-award winning author Linda Bailey and with beautiful illustrations from Júlia Sardà. Mary loves stories, but the stories in her daydreams are far more thrilling than those in any book. 

After a troubled childhood, eighteen-year-old Mary runs away to Switzerland with the famous poet Percy Bysse Shelley, her step-sister in tow. One dark and stormy night at his house by the lake, they huddle around the fire, telling ghost stories. But Mary can imagine better than those! After learning about electricity that can make dead frogs twitch, she has a nightmare that triggers the birth of one of the greatest scary stories of all time: Frankenstein... A perfect read for the very youngest aspiring writers, and for fans of Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell’s The Sleeper and the Spindle.

Mary And Frankenstein is honestly the most perfect picture book in every way. It is interesting and informative, the illustrations are beautiful and evocative, and most importantly, it is a brilliant story. So whether you are reading this to a young child for a bedtime treat, or reading it to an older child to get them interested in Mary Shelley, this book is perfect for children of all ages. I have loved Frankenstein ever since I first read it four years ago, and it was wonderful to see Mary Shelley's life, which was troubled and tragic as much as it was brilliant and creative, depicted in this way.

Although a lot of Mary Shelley's life may seem unsuitable to be described to children, Bailey tells the story of Shelley's life in a gripping and wonderfully descriptive way, in a way that children will find both magical and compelling. Sardà's descriptions are suited perfectly to the writing and really bring the words to life. The illustrations in Mary And Frankenstein are probably my most favourite illustrations in a children's book EVER. They are so atmospheric and gorgeously Gothic, and tie the whole book together.

Overall, Mary And Frankenstein is one fantastic picture book, and I urge you all to go and grab it for these Autumn months! It is a brilliant story about one of the most interesting and talented authors who lived, who had an imagination that spanned galaxies and was a pioneer for the science fiction genre as we know it today. This book should inspire the young writers in your life that their imagination can take them wherever they want it to.


Check out Linda Bailey here: http://www.lindabaileybooks.com/books.html

Check out Júlia Sardà here: http://www.juliasarda.com

Until next time :)


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