With a seemingly realistic backdrop and a human-like bear as the main character, Frank! by Connah Brecon weaves an imaginatively wild story filled with bizarre happenings. Notorious for always being late, Frank’s trouble really starts when he begins school.
It’s not because he’s careless, or even because he takes his time getting moving. No, Frank is never on time because he always seems to stumble into situations while he’s on his way somewhere, and because of his kind nature, he is compelled to offer assistance. Does he come upon elderly people who need help crossing the street, or children at play whose ball rolls into the street? Well, not exactly. While one scenario does involve a cat stuck in a tree, the other reasons Frank gives for his late arrivals are all a bit more… strange and outrageous, you could say.
Though he is arriving a bit earlier each day, on the fifth day when he still arrives after the morning bell, Frank’s teacher has had enough, and even his classmates all glare at him as he enters. But, a moment later, the school is rocked by a creature who could have stepped right out of one of Frank’s excuses, and he is real!
When everyone else panics, Frank’s expertise for dealing with the bizarre comes in handy, and under his guidance, his class works together to “defeat” the creature. (Don’t worry, parents, the defeat comes through a dance-off, completely void of any violence!) And in that final scene, the appearances of all the other wacky creatures from Frank’s stories certainly must convince his teacher that he was indeed telling the truth all along!
There’s a flair to this story that is unique, making this not your average picture book. On my first read-through, I wasn’t quite sure it all fit together, but the more I looked at it, I began to see how it would likely appeal to preschoolers and early elementary-aged children, especially for its outrageous plot and wild characters. My own six-year-old son cracked up at it when we read it together, and I think it would be a fun book to read aloud to a class of children ready for some laughs.