I could fan girl over Mary Shelley's Frankenstein everyday of the week, but this wasn't the book I wanted. I also tried reading this book multiple times. I read that first chapter at least three times, but I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't for me. That's why I waited so long to write a review. I hate to be negative. about someone's hard work.

Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein is not just an ode to Mary Shelley’s talent, creativity, and fierce individuality; it is also a meditation on artistic inspiration and a fine introduction to the captivating story behind the story of the famous doctor and his monster. It brings Shelley out of the pages of history and makes her a relatable, sympathetic figure who shows kids that having your head in the clouds and pursuing your dreams is a wonderful thing, no matter what your age is.

Júlia Sardà’s magnificent art plays with proportion and perspective to create a constant sense of looming. The often tragic circumstances of Mary’s life loom over her in contemplative moments where her small figure risks being swallowed whole by gloomy landscapes. However, Mary’s will, talent, and imagination shine through as Frankenstein waits to be written; an electric sense of looming destiny permeates the book, lending a thrilling sense of suspense to a well-known story. The dark, rich color palette further evokes the stormy and passionate soul of Mary Shelley and her most famous work.

Layered patterns and textures create a deliberate flatness that leaves little room to breathe, but each claustrophobic design creates a different effect — a scene where young Mary deals with her father and new stepmother feels oppressively lonely, whereas the scene of the famous night when Byron suggests the scary story contest feels exhilarating and kinetic. Sardà’s landscapes are her most eerily dynamic illustrations, proving that the air itself is indeed filled with monsters.

The thematic interplay between Linda Bailey’s text and Sardà’s art is breathtaking. They set up a biographical symmetry between the illustrations — compare, for example, the image of young Mary lying in bed and daydreaming about stories with the image of (barely) adult Mary bolting upright in bed as the idea for Frankenstein comes to her. These artful parallels of formative moments in Shelley’s life underscore the confluence of inspiration and talent that led to the creation of one of history’s most enduring novels.

Sophisticated yet age-appropriate, Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein is an engrossing picture book about the young woman who wrote one of the world’s most popular stories. The audience will be inspired by her life and by the brilliant artwork illuminating it. This is a terrific book for young readers, whether they be aspiring writers and artists, budding horror and science fiction fans, or kids who need to hear that it’s okay to carve your own path and follow your dreams. That’s how stories begin, after all: with a dreamer.

While this is a picture book (for children presumably) I am desperate to get a copy for my own shelf. Not only are the illustrations dreary, yet gorgeous but they are just perfect given the subject matter. Illustrator Julia Sarda (yes the famous illustrator from many other children’s books) has captured the Victorian age and Mary’s melancholy so well in her dark and moody art.

In the opening pages I wasn’t sure that Linda Bailey’s (a Canadian!) story of Mary Shelley was kid appropriate. Also knowing of her life myself I was struggling to imagine children caring about a literary competition on a dark and stormy night. Let’s face it, few children will know (or care) who Lord Byron or the others at the table are. And yet by the end of Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein, not only did I want to pin pages from the book on my wall, but I realized it’s the perfect story for a flighty child with a strong imagination. Then I also realized I already know a 7-year-old boy who would love this story. He thinks Pennywise the clown (though he’s never seen the movies) is the best and has recently started to pick the villains to win against his beloved superhero’s.

So I chastise myself for not giving children enough credit. While the story of writing Frankenstein is very moody and dark; so too is the monster himself. And given that most 3-year-olds know who/what “Frankenstein” is (forgiving them for not understanding it’s the scientists name); then why not tel them that an 18-year-old wrote the story on a dark and stormy night.

Besides sending a wonderful story for children, this book also feels perfect for the struggling author. It speaks of Mary’s inability to write her story immediately and that she needed inspiration to do so (the twitching frog). It also reminds us that no one writes a brilliant story overnight (Mary took 9 months). What better things to remind a new or struggling author?

Bailey and Sarda have created a masterpiece from a masterpiece. Unique in a way I’m not used to with picture books; and yet perfect in every aspect. This book will be added to my children’s box of toys for visiting children. I can foresee myself being overjoyed when the children want me to read, or them to me, the story of when science fiction (and many elements of horror) were first founded in literature.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley; but took out a physical copy when my library ordered it. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Great book for younger readers to introduce the work of Mary Shelly and have students learn about the author and how she created one fo the most memorable characters ever. The visuals were stunning and helped create a mood for the story. It is always great to look into a life of a famous female novelist.

An awesome book to introduce young readers to the amazing Mary Shelley. What I liked about this one is that it spent some time on her childhood (when she was a "Big Problem"!), before taking readers to that dark and stormy evening when the challenge to write a ghost story happened. And I loved the underlying theme of Mary, a young girl with a dream, who created something incredible. So many great quotes, too.
The illustrations are to die for (pun intended?) - the color scheme is just gorgeous. The official age range is 5-8, but my feeling is that this might be a better fit for 6-10ys.

The illustrations in this are gorgeous, and any book that gets a young reader interested in a classic novel has an instant hold on my heart. Mary Shelley and Frankenstein are two of my favorite things, and while the novel itself may not be appropriate for children, this would be a great way to pique their interest in the text for the future. And I cannot stress enough how great the illustrations are. I probably will buy a copy for myself, honestly.

This was a fascinatingly interesting book. The kids would like it, but I can see it as being a quick introduction to the book itself. It could be a little tricky to use because the age group that the book was written for is way too young to get anything out of "Frankenstein". The group that's old enough for the book might have a little trouble getting excited about a picture book, no matter how not babyish it is. Still that's no reason not to put it in an elementary library. The pictures are creepy enough to really appeal to those kids who always want a scary book.

If you're much familiar with the story of Frankenstein, chances are you've heard the story of how it was written. What makes this book more intriguing is it puts that tale in the greater context of Shelley's life. Her strained family relationships, rebellious nature, "wild" life choices, and general youth and inexperience. It gives more context to the final product. And the illustrations add to the general foreboding and dark nature of the whole story. It gives us something of an uneasy feeling as we read. My one concern, though, is with the picture book format. Will a child young enough to appreciate the picture book be familiar enough with Frankenstein for it to make sense?

I will be the first to admit, as many stories as I have read throughout my lifetime, I have never read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. DONT THROW STONES JUST YET! I have never read it because I've always been a tad bit terrified of it. My Aunt would tell me how she read it at a young age and it gave her nightmares for weeks, and when the movie with Boris Karloff came out it rekindled those nightmares for her. So I just stayed away from it. I own multiple copies of it, but still have not read it. 

First I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my free copy in return for my honest review. 

In this story we follow how Frankenstein came to be. Mary Shelley's life before she created her famous monster. After a pretty rough start in her life, she runs away from her Fathers home, and so begins the adventure that will change this young 18 year old's life. 



The illustration were by far my favorite part of this book. The are so hauntingly beautiful! Simplistic yet so detailed I literally stared at each picture over and over again.  Here is the link to the illustrators website! Go buy her art! http://www.juliasarda.com/



This was such a great quick read. Perfect story to read to your creepy little monsters at home! We are giving Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey 5/5 stars! Buy the book here  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/225745/mary-who-wrote-frankenstein-by-linda-bailey-illustrated-by-julia-sarda/9781770495593/

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Keep your nose in a book!

Angie

I learned so much from this book! Who would have ever thought something as small as a writing challenge would spark a book of such great proportion! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I have never read Frankenstein. I tried to read it a few years ago, but I couldn’t get into it. However, I loved this book.

I didn’t realize that Mary Shelley was so young when she wrote the novel. She was only 18 years old! The story was born from a challenge given to a few friends on a trip. They were tasked with writing a ghost story, and Mary’s was so good that it is still talked about more than a century later!

The art in this book was very cool. The illustrations looked like patchwork. The colours were very dark, which suits the subject matter.

This children’s story about Mary Shelley’s life is great. It has inspired me to try reading Frankenstein again.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein combines an informative text by Linda Baily with evocative artwork by Julia Sarda to create an easy-to-recommend picture book for older children.

Baily introduces the young Mary Shelley as a “dreamer,” then places her in the context of her upbringing. Her mother is described as a “great thinker . . . [who] wrote books to say women should have the same rights as men” before dying before Mary was only two weeks old. Her father meanwhile taught her to read, but “when he’s upset with her he grows cold and silent.”

Luckily though her father plays host to a lot of creative and intellectual sorts, and so one night Mary hides behind a couch and listens as Samuel Taylor Coleridge recites “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” an inspirational moment for her, and one she’ll never forget. Unfortunately, that was one of the high points of her early life, as she soon becomes a “Big Problem.” So big her father sends her to Scotland, which should have worked but didn’t as she was still a “Big Problem” on her return thanks to marrying the poet Percy Byshe Shelley.

We then get the classic story of the night that inspired Frankenstein, with Percy, Mary, Lord Byron, Mary’s stepsister Claire, and Doctor Polidori having a ghost story challenge, followed by the accounting of Mary’s dream of a monster and its creator (this from Mary’s introduction to the novel). The main text ends with placing the novel in its historical legacy: “Over two hundred years have passed . .. And everywhere around the world, people know Mary’s book . . It may be the greatest scary story of all time . . It began with a girl named Mary . . .”

Following the main text is a lengthy (four pages) Author’s Note that goes into more historical detail about Mary’s life, the writing of the novel, and a bit on how Polidori’s story inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The language is simple and direct. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more vividness or lyricism, something that startled now and then via unusual language or a unique image or metaphor. But the text moves along smoothly and is always clear. And there’s a nice focus throughout on the power of imagination.

While the story is solid, it’s the artwork that truly makes this book shine. The images have that same vividness and startlement factor I was hoping for in the language. There’s a wonderfully appropriate gothic feel and tone to the illustrations. The color palette makes use of a lot of grays, blacks, and reds, also suiting the subject matter. The imagination references in the text makes it appearance via ghostly grey images floating at the top of the page: Coleridge’s poetic albatross or skeletal monsters during the stormy night of the ghost stories.

With its fluid, informative text and fantastic artwork, Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein is an excellent work highly recommended.

This is a wonderful book to read if you enjoy Frankenstein or the background about a story. We might think we know the story behind the author and writing of Frankenstein, but this gives even more information. It is well done and very interesting. It is exactly the book for me a fan of Frankenstein and story background -- well done. I enjoy learning about the author and the inspiration for this classic story.

'Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein' by Linda Bailey with illustrations by Julia Sarda is a wonderful picture book about the life of Mary Shelley.

The story tells about Mary's early life and the types of things that may have contributed to her imagining, then writing the famous story Frankenstein. She wandered and dreamed. She mourned the early death of her mother and was troublesome to her father and his new wife. When she runs away with Percy Bysse Shelley, at age 17, she travels around Europe. One night she has a dream and brings to life a really famous story.

The book ends with an afterword with more about Mary Shelley's life and why the author was inspired.

The story is a bit dark, as are the illustrations. What that means to me, is that I really liked this book. It may not be for the overly sensitive child, but I know when I was young, I loved stories with a darker tone.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein, is a biographical book written about the life of Mary Shelley for children by Linda Bailey. This summer, while studying for the Praxis English Middle School Examination, I first learned of how the story of Frankenstein came to be and how it tremendously differs from today's green faced monster with bolts in his neck!

I love how Bailey introduces this woman behind the creation of Frankenstein and how society was unaccepting of the horror story and was unbelieving of who the story was written by. This young girl, could not possibly have written such a thing; how did she even come about it? Although, the information shared about the writer and the story was true; which provides an example to our students that young people can do incredible things too. The stories that we dream about, create in class, and make up out on the playground could be the next timeless classic novel. Nobody really knows until they try. It has been 200 years since Mary Shelley published the book of Frankenstein and we are still discussing it!

From the publisher: How does a story begin? Sometimes it begins with a dream, and a dreamer. Mary is one such dreamer, a little girl who learns to read by tracing the letters on the tombstone of her famous feminist mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, and whose only escape from her strict father and overbearing stepmother is through the stories she reads and imagines. Unhappy at home, she seeks independence, and at the age of sixteen runs away with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, another dreamer. Two years later, they travel to Switzerland where they meet a famous poet, Lord Byron. On a stormy summer evening, with five young people gathered around a fire, Byron suggests a contest to see who can create the best ghost story. Mary has a waking dream about a monster come to life. A year and a half later, Mary Shelley's terrifying tale, Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus, is published -- a novel that goes on to become the most enduring monster story ever and one of the most popular legends of all time.

A riveting and atmospheric picture book about the young woman who wrote one of the greatest horror novels ever written and one of the first works of science fiction, Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein is an exploration of the process of artistic inspiration that will galvanize readers and writers of all ages.

I received an Advanced Digital Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley & Tundra Books in exchange for my honest review. This book will be released today, August 28, 2018.

This book is gorgeous!! The illustrations perfectly complement the story and the book is perfect for kiddos maybe 8+. It describes the life story of Mary Shelley, a woman too bold, talented, and educated for her time. Mary was an incredibly talented woman and this book is a beautiful tribute to her.

Be warned, for kids who don't like scary things there are ghosts and pictures of the Frankenstein monster.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy. In exchange for an honest review. Coming into this book I knew that it would be a succinct look into one of literatures first author of the science fiction genre Mary Shelley author of Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus. I was familiar with the story surrounding the beginning of the tale but did not know how old she was. What I enjoyed from this book was the fact that Linda Bailey was inspired by the author herself who wrote an “authors introduction” in a later edition of her novel. I enjoyed the information presented and am inspired to examine Mary Shelley’s work and may include reading Frankenstein for the first time. Accompanied by illustrations by Julia Sarda made the book that much enjoyable for her illustrations conveyed the mood surrounding chance and intrigue. Also it embellished the tone of Shelley’s life as well as her legacy. I highly recommend this to those interested in literary history as well as those fans of Frankenstein.

Great book for Halloween! It’s a picture book on the true story of Mary Shelley. The illustrations are hauntingly gothic and incredible. There are themes of the importance of literature, on being a strong woman, and on creativity. LOVE!

Fascinating! I loved this biography. Kids will be amazed at the origin story of one of the most famous horror stories. The artwork perfectly complemented the text. Bravo.