“A top-grade creepy/funny addition to the spooky-picture-book canon.”—Kirkus Reviews
A meowing, misunderstood monster stars in Powell-Tuck and Grey’s humorously melodramatic creature feature. Behold Frankenkitty, a fuzzy kitten sutured together in a calico-esque patchwork. Though the cat’s mad scientist creator insists his creation has “DOOMED” the castle denizens, portrayed with various skin tones, to myriad low-key curses (slimy socks, brown bananas), daughter Olive thinks the feline is “rather cute.” She even dares a rescue after a Frankenstein’s monster–eque butler shows Frankenkitty the door. Antic artwork fizzes with ghoulish glee across busy, castle-set scenes featuring splashes of electric green and orange. As skittering disembodied appendages and a cerebrum in a jar pull back a tasseled curtain on the story, the narrative voice howls with fun, skipping through horror movie tropes (“IT’S ALIVE!”) and addressing the reader (“You want to turn the page? Be warned!”). An ambiguous finale gets the last laugh in this entertaining readaloud. —Publishers Weekly
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