Frankenstein and Other Stories of Man-Made Monsters (Classic Monster Stories)

Rating:
Summary: The famous monster film and the others it inspired
Review: To be clear, most of "Frankenstein and Other Stories of Man-Made Monsters" is primarily about the classic 1931 film produced by Universal Studios. Eric Kudalis tells the story, including dialogue and accompanied by nine photographs from the film, although the constant chapter titles tend to get in the way. In the subsequent chapters Kudalis looks at Mary Shelley's original story of "Frankenstein," the various plays and films based on the characters (including "The Munsters"), the science behind the story, and the state of organ transplants today. These last two chapters are regrettably brief and my overall impression is that the weight of this book is opposite what it should be. In laying out the 1931 film version and then Shelley's novel young readers should be able to come up with the major differences between the two, but I would have appreciated it if Kudalis had at least introduced his young readers to the significance of these differences. The title is also a misnomer because the Frankenstein creature is the only man-made monster that is covered in this Classic Monster Stories volume. However, this book for very young readers will at least establish the idea that there are multiple versions of the Frankenstein story and that it has had some influence on modern science. Other titles in this series take the same approach in look at "Dracula and Other Vampire Stories," "Stories of Mummies and the Living Dead," and "Werewolves and Stories about Them."

Rating:
Summary: The famous monster film and the others it inspired
Review: To be clear, most of "Frankenstein and Other Stories of Man-Made Monsters" is primarily about the classic 1931 film produced by Universal Studios. Eric Kudalis tells the story, including dialogue and accompanied by nine photographs from the film, although the constant chapter titles tend to get in the way. In the subsequent chapters Kudalis looks at Mary Shelley's original story of "Frankenstein," the various plays and films based on the characters (including "The Munsters"), the science behind the story, and the state of organ transplants today. These last two chapters are regrettably brief and my overall impression is that the weight of this book is opposite what it should be. In laying out the 1931 film version and then Shelley's novel young readers should be able to come up with the major differences between the two, but I would have appreciated it if Kudalis had at least introduced his young readers to the significance of these differences. The title is also a misnomer because the Frankenstein creature is the only man-made monster that is covered in this Classic Monster Stories volume. However, this book for very young readers will at least establish the idea that there are multiple versions of the Frankenstein story and that it has had some influence on modern science. Other titles in this series take the same approach in look at "Dracula and Other Vampire Stories," "Stories of Mummies and the Living Dead," and "Werewolves and Stories about Them."