Review by Booklist Review
This Halloween-ready send-up of Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline skewers the original on all levels, from the fake author name (Ludworst Bemonster) to the silver CaldeNOT Horror Book medal on the cover. Instead of a little French girl being trundled off to a hospital to have her appendix removed, here we have wee Frankenstein being hearsed off to a laboratory to have his missing head reattached. Walton twists the classic rhymes of the original with glee ( In two crooked lines, they bonked their heads / pulled out their teeth / and wet their beds ) while Hale reenacts each scene with devilish mayhem.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Walton (Baby's First Year!) and Hale (Animal House) beat Goodnight Goon parodist Michael Rex to a 1939 classic: Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline. Playing on the Americanized rhyme between Madeline and Frankenstein, Walton and Hale style themselves as "Ludworst Bemonster" and recast the Parisian girls' school as a ghoulish academy: "In a creepy old castle all covered with spines,/ lived twelve ugly monsters in two crooked lines.... The ugliest one was Franken-stein." Instead of headmistress Miss Clavel, readers get Miss Devel, a pallid scientist who sleeps on a gurney; instead of appendicitis, Frankenstein suffers from a missing head, and a voodoo doctor attaches a replacement. Frankenstein's classmates-including a mini-Dracula, mummy, and swamp thing-are so impressed by Franken-stein's new neck screws, they follow his example and lose their heads in the book's inconclusive conclusion. Walton and Hale mime Bemelmans's poetry and lithography, amplifying the grotesque and picturing stone castles in autumnal shades of pumpkin and ash. Fans of the original-unsettling in its own right, for its lack of parents and predictable comforts-will enjoy spotting the parallels in this creepy-cute Halloween substitute. Ages 4-8. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-This parody takes on the rhyme scheme, rhythm, and plot of Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline (Viking, 1967). In this version, Frankenstein "scared people out of their socks" and ".could even frighten rocks." His ugly monster classmates prowl the streets "in two crooked lines" and terrorize both the good and the bad. When Frankenstein loses his head one fateful evening, a masked Doctor Bone is summoned. Bemelmans's sunny yellow backgrounds have been exchanged for autumnal orange, the nun's habit traded for a white, militaristic lab coat and boots ensemble. The watercolor and digitally rendered monsters are more funny than scary, even at the climax, when, envious of Frankenstein's two new neck screws, his classmates shed their heads. Though the beleaguered Miss Devel tries to prevent the final page from turning, her headless charges have the last word as they raise signs of protest to readers in the final scene. The ideas and rhymes work most of the time, and the humor is irreverent and juvenile. Older children who know the earlier work will gobble this one up, proud of their literary prowess. Those who don't will think it's a silly story, perfect for Halloween. Giggles are guaranteed for both camps.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Just in time for Halloween, Walton and Hale (Twelve Bots of Christmas, 2010) combine their talents to become "Ludworst Bemonster," author of a droll parody of Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline. Mimicking the rhyme and pacing of the beloved classic, they introduce readers to "twelve ugly monsters. / In two crooked lines, they bonked their heads, / pulled out their teeth, / and wet their beds." It will surprise no one to learn that the "ugliest one was Frankenstein. / He scared people out of their socks. / He could even frighten rocks." He proves particularly challenging to Miss Devel, who late one night finds the green monster without his head. Off he goes with Dr. Bone in a horse-skeletondrawn hearse. When the monstrous menagerie visits him at the laboratory, most "eeeeew"-inducing are the "two huge new screws" on Frankenstein's neck. The tale leaves Miss Devel to find the remaining rambunctious monsters completely silentbecause "Each had lost his head!" The illustrations have traded sunny yellow for pumpkin orange backgrounds and make comically sly allusions to the original title. Whether young readers recognize the relationship to the Parisian version or not, adults will appreciate the clever yet silly send-up. Most children, however, will see this as just another funny monster book. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
