Children's Book Review: Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey

Title: Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein

Author: Linda Bailey

Illustrator: Julia Sardia

Pages: 56 pages
Published: August 28th 2018 by Tundra Books (NY)

Source: NetGalley

Genre: Children's Non-Fiction

GoodReads Description: "The story of the girl behind one of the most well-known novels -- and monsters -- ever, perfectly timed for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein.

How does a story begin? Sometimes it begins with a dream, and a dreamer. Mary is one such dreamer, a little girl who learns to read by tracing the letters on her mother's tombstone and whose only escape from her strict father and overbearing stepmother is through the stories she reads and imagines. Unhappy at home, she seeks independence, and at the age of seventeen runs away with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, another dreamer. She travels to Europe and surrounds herself with more poets and writers, including Lord Byron and John Polidori. On a stormy summer evening, Byron suggests a contest to see who can create the best ghost story. After nine months of daydreaming, 21-year-old Mary Shelley's terrifying tale is published, a novel that goes on to become a very well-known monster story."

(Disclaimer: I actually read this book almost 2 years ago!  But it somehow got deleted from the blog, so re-posting it now since it really was a gem!)

This is the (child-appropriate) story behind the story! 

Favorite pages: 

Wow!  What a brilliant little book!  I love this idea of encouraging kids to dream big by looking at historical figures!  I've been noticing a trend in inspiring books for children lately!  Let's keep it up!  I still hope that it becomes a series about women in history or women authors or just authors in general!  The opportunities are endless!  And the book was very informative without being boring.  It was just perfect to inspire little dreamers to use their dreams!  It would be perfect for fall and Halloween (just around the corner) with this subject matter as well.

But PLEASE... can we take a minute to talk about the illustration??!!  I absolutely love it!  GORGEOUS illustration!  Totally enhanced the creepy factor of the book, but was stunning enough to hang on the wall!  

5 creepy good stars - highly recommend!




YOU need this book if you would like to inspire young hearts to follow their dreams!  



Follow me and see more of my reviews @ mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!