Frank the Monster

I don’t often review books for children here, but Mats Strandberg wanted to send me a copy of his latest book, and it is very lovely so here we are.

Frank the Monster is aimed at fairly young kids. The blurb I got from the publishers says ages 6-10. The central character is nine years old. So obviously it is quite short, and the language is very simple. The book is beautifully illustrated by Sofia Falkenhem.

Young Frank Steen is a bookish nerd. He’s unpopular at school, and a disappointment to his parents thanks to his sporty and popular kid brother, Oliver. Frank spends a lot of his time alone, or hanging out with his kindly elderly neighbour, Alice. If that wasn’t bad enough, everything changes for the worse at his 9th birthday party when he is bitten by Alice’s dog, Woof. Frank now finds that he will sometimes turn into a wolf at night.

With no one to guide and advise him, Frank has no idea how to behave in wolf form, and soon the town is consumed with panic about the furry monster that stalks the streets at night. Frank, who has had enough of being seen as different to already fill his short life, is terrified. But being a nerd he goes to the library, finds out about lycanthropy, and looks up possible cures. He’s delightfully serious about the whole thing.

Most of the cures were horrible. Like the werewolf having to drink the blood of an unborn child. Or stab themselves three times in the hand. Or be shot with a silver bullet. That way you’d die, but at least you’d be a human again.

Eventually Frank finds other monsters living in his town, and they take him in and give him advice. Because yes, this is a Found Family story. The publicity notes that Strandberg is, “Sweden’s leading horror writer”. It should perhaps have also noted that he is one of Sweden’s most famous gays. Frank the Monster is a charming story about the difficulty of growing up knowing that you are different from other kids, and eventually finding your own tribe (or, in Frank’s case, pack).

Because books for kids need to be very short, there isn’t space in this one to fully explore the issues. Frank still hopes that one day he will be able to come out to his parents, but that day seems a very long way off. Thankfully there are two sequels already written. I’m looking forward to them.

I should note that Julia Marshall’s translation into English is flawless. I’m pleased that some publishers are still employing human translators.

The book is currently on pre-order and will be available in April.

Title: Frank the Monster
By: Mats Strandberg & Sofia Falkenhem
Translator: Julia Marshall
Publisher: Gecko Press
Purchase links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Bookshop.org UK
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