FRANKIE’S SCARED OF EVERYTHING

A child becomes frightened by his active imagination in this picture book.

After being tucked into bed, pale-skinned Frankie begins to hear scary noises and tries to escape the terrifying possibilities. As he attempts to flee a “screeech” he thinks is emanating from a robot, Frankie runs downstairs, where he faces a “scraping, scratching” dinosaur and a “wailing, flailing” sea creature. On his way to the basement, he encounters what sounds “like a moleman.” Now, “with his options gone, what is Frankie to do?” Frankie runs into his mom’s room; the accompanying illustration depicts the noisy creatures trailing behind him. After telling her all he has heard, Frankie’s mom says that “imagination can be a slippery slope” and shows the boy where the noises actually originated. For example, the “scrapes and scratches” came from the ice machine, not a dinosaur. She encourages Frankie to turn his worries into creativity, explaining that “the inventions you hear, began in someone’s head just like your fears.” Frankie is shown embracing the creatures, who now sport friendly faces. Franklin delivers an innovative interpretation of a child grappling with his wild imagination. The author’s artistic images are integral to the text. They often portray Frankie escaping gigantic creatures and emphasize key words, like the onomatopoeia in the story. Offset by dark backgrounds, the bold, cartoonlike drawings are striking, with a somewhat surrealistic, glowing quality that youngsters will appreciate.

A clever, nicely illustrated tale about an anxious kid.