Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (review)
2006; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 60; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2006.0615
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
ResumoReviewed by: Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich Deborah Stevenson Rex, Adam Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich; written and illus. by Adam Rex. Harcourt, 200640 p ISBN 0-15-205766-8$16.00 R Gr. 3-7 This collection of humorous verse monstrosities treats old favorites, especially cinematic horrors, ranging from Frankenstein to Dracula to the mummy. Food is a recurring subject (the table of contents is labeled "Menu," and in addition to the titular poem there's an eating component to the entries about the creature from the black lagoon and the hunchback of Notre Dame), and there are several running jokes: the Phantom of the Opera is repeatedly troubled by getting tunes ineradicably stuck in his head, and the Yeti and Big Foot engage in a poetic slanging match over people's tendency to confuse one for the other. Though the entries are a little uneven, the poems are conceptually clever (kids will snicker at the idea of Count Dracula walking around with spinach stuck in his teeth), and the pell-mell jokery, with its moviegoing edge, will be irresistible to audiences fond of camp horror's goofy charms. As appropriate to the film theme, the visuals carry more than their share of impact: Rex varies style from entry to entry, with glistening highlighted oils for Frankenstein's dilemma, luminous black and white for the Phantom's turns (in which the Phantom is unquestionably Lon Chaney Jr.), and soft, parodic Golden-Books style for the Bigfoot and Yeti poems. Amusing details abound, from Rex's title fonts in appropriate styles to jokes in surprising places (such as the copyright page) to entertaining references (roundheaded young Dracula looks like Charlie Brown, with a bat constituting his trademark shirt zigzag). Even the poetry-resistant will appreciate this blend of ghoulishness, glitz, and snarkiness. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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