- [partially fiction] biography of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein
- includes a brief description of Frankenstein’s monster
- illustrations are quite spooky
- convo: ghosts, vampires, monsters, creepy nightmares, feminism
Type: picture book
Ages: 10+
Author: Lynn Fulton
Illustrator: Felicita Sala
Did I just put 10 years as the minimum age for a picture book?? Yes. I’m well aware that there are desensitized children out there who would not be bothered by this book because they’ve sadly had an unbalanced exposure to media not appropriate for their ages. However, it’s pretty spooky and not one I handed over to my younger children. I did find it an overall interesting biography and generally accurate for what I understand to be Shelley’s history. It avoids mentioning any of her adulterous activities.
If you’re unfamiliar with the history of Mary’s mother (Mary Wollstonecraft), she had massive influence on the feminism movement, mostly beyond her death. She is mentioned in the story. The Author’s Note in back describes some liberties taken which, in my opinion, inserted Wollstonecraft as a stronger influence than actuality. That being said, feminism is real. It is a significant part of history, much of which points back to Wollstonecraft. This must be studied through a biblical lens, and I would have no problem letting a 10-year-old or older read this book if the parent is ready to chat about it. Interesting discussions could arise, especially if one reads Mary Shelley’s own account of how Frankenstein came to be and compares the two.
(By the way, I find it a tad bit funny that, according to this book and its obviously feminist author, Shelley got all the main ideas for Frankenstein from eavesdropping a conversation between men who spouted off the ideas themselves first. Oops!)
If you have high schoolers reading Frankenstein, this wouldn’t be a bad choice to check out from the library, even for them. It provides a broader picture of Mary Shelley’s life in a succinct way as long as you remember the points above.