Frank and Bean

Jamie Michalak

Book - 2019

Frank likes peace and quiet. He likes his tent, his pencil, and writing in his secret notebook. Bean likes noise. He likes his bus, his trumpet -- toot, toot! -- and making music. Loud music. But Bean is missing something: he does not have words. What will happen if Frank shares his words with Bean? With a laugh-out-loud narrative by Jamie Michalak, author of the Joe and Sparky series, and Bob Kolar's bright, graphic, comical illustrations, this fresh and funny story will go down easy for beginning readers and young listeners alike.

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jREADER/Michalak, Jamie
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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jREADER/Michalak, Jamie Due Apr 15, 2024
Children's Room jREADER/Michalak, Jamie Due Apr 20, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Readers (Publications)
Published
Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Jamie Michalak (author)
Other Authors
Bob Kolar (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
39 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN
9780763695590
  • Frank
  • Bean
  • Loud and messy
  • The big secret.
Review by Booklist Review

Methodical Frank (a walking, talking hot dog in a bun) heads out for a quiet hike so he can write in his secret notebook. But his writing is continually interrupted, and finally he settles down for the night with just one lonely marshmallow to toast ( Good night, Frank,' says Frank ). In the morning, a loud horn interrupts his breakfast, and he meets Bean, a traveling musician. Bean the Magical Fruit drives a bus and carries a trumpet, drum, triangle, and motorbike. Comic misunderstandings abound as the two mismatched personalities slowly become friends. With extensive full-color cartoon illustrations and 30 to 60 words per page, the book is aimed at readers who are moving into more complex plots and dialogue. The humor is absurd, over-the-top, and laugh-out-loud funny. Mismatched friendships are a staple of early readers, but Bean's boundless cheerful energy, his habit of speaking in all caps, and the concept of anthropomorphic food set this book apart. Hand this to fans of silly, offbeat stories.--Suzanne Harold Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Frank, a hot dog, insists that he just wants to be left alone at his woodsy campsite so he can write his secret thoughts in his secret notebook. "No peeking at my words, owl," he tells a bird, who clearly has no interest in what Frank is writing. Readers, however, will suspect that Frank is a little lonely: "Good night, Frank," he says to himself. But everything changes with the arrival of Bean, a raucous legume who's constantly shouting ("DO I HEAR A COW?"), banging on a drum, or tooting a horn ("TOOT, TOOT!"). Over the course of four short chapters designed for early readers, the two slowly discover that they make a fine pair. Bean introduces Frank to jelly doughnut holes ("Hot diggity dog!" Frank says), and Frank's secret writings turn out to be poems that Bean can use as lyrics for his "one-bean band"--which quickly becomes a duo. While unlikely friendships abound in children's books, Kolar's (Trucker and Train) sleek, animation-style digital art and Michalak's (the Joe and Sparky series) highly performative dialogue build to a manic hilarity that makes these pals, as Bean might say, "half cool and half amazing." Ages 5--8. (Oct.)

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Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 1--Drawing inspiration from the vastly different personalities of her two children, Michalak has created an easy reader story of two anthropomorphic foods with almost nothing in common who become unlikely friends. Frank is a hot dog who wears glasses and a headlight helmet, likes to eat oatmeal, and writes in his secret notebook. Bean is a rather large bean who loves doughnuts, drums, and anything loud. The quiet of Frank's camping trip is shattered when Bean arrives in a bus loaded with musical instruments. Although Frank is initially put off by Bean's rapid-fire questions and limitless restless energy that is channeled into making music, the two foods come together when Frank helps Bean overcome his loneliness and fear of the forest at night. Their friendship deepens when Frank bravely shares one of his poems with Bean. The poem works perfectly with the new song Bean has composed. At the end of the book, the two new friends decide to create a band called the Chili Dogs. Frank's dialogue is matter-of-fact and informative, while Bean's excitement and limited attention span are shown conveyed through capital letters, bold type, and numerous exclamation points. Kolar's digital art is clean and pleasing, and the book contains four short chapters. VERDICT An engaging and humorous tale of two friends whose personality differences lead to growth as well as some fun adventures.--Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, CA

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A hilarious tale of hot dog meets bean. With his campsite all set up in the great outdoors, solitude-seeking Frank (a bespectacled frankfurter in hat and bun) is more than ready to get down to business writing. But, alas, his "top secret" musings are interrupted by animals. Frank relocates a few times until he finds his desired level of peace and quiet. The next day, Bean (a kidney bean) arrives on the scene with a "HONK!" a "TOOT!" and a "BOOM!" Armed with a plethora of instruments and with a motorcycle atop his microbus, Beanever the musical fruitmakes all the noise he can as a "one-bean band." Even so, Bean needs words in order to write a new song. Frank volunteers to help him. But whether Bean is too "loud" or too "messy," Frank always finds something to frown about. Good gravy! Will the two ever get along? The Bert-and-Ernie-esque odd-couple pairing results in countless laugh-out-loud exchanges. Kolar's digitally rendered full-color illustrations take the jokes one step further, offering expressive physical cartoon comedy that's on a par with Michalak's clever wordsmithing. Though most pages break up blocks of short text with illustrations, a few pages do reach a double-digit sentence count. With four chapters and a vocabulary of around 200 words and their variants, the story requires a fair degree of reading confidence.Beanie weenies served just right for young campers. (Early reader. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.