Frankenslime

June 1, 2021
Grades K-3 Victoria Franken loves science, but what she loves most of all is making slime. With the help of her faithful dog Igor, she creates a lab where she can dedicate her science skills to engineering slime. She begins small, making bouncy, smooth, and stretchy slimes, but soon grows bored with these simple concoctions. In a gleeful demonstration of the scientific method, Victoria begins experimenting and adjusting her recipes as she develops incredible slimes, like rainbow cloud slime and intergalactic space slime. Then one night during a thunderstorm she gets an idea for a new creation. Victoria mixes her ingredients into a glowing green slime, only for it to be struck by a bolt of lightning that brings it to life! Not to worry; a clever twist diverts the plot from horror to happy ending. Playful illustrations utilize a Halloween palette favoring purples, teal, and greens and incorporate fun details and a decidedly mad-scientist vibe. Victoria is a wonderful, inquisitive protagonist of color with a warm heart, and three of her amazing slime recipes are appended.

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July 26, 2021
Taking cues from classic fright films, Keller introduces “slime scientist” Victoria Frankenstein, who is Black. Bored with her past successes, STEM-inclined Victoria and her trusty pup sidekick, Igor, concoct never-seen formulations that local kids line up for, including rainbow cloud slime and a glow-in-the-dark zombie slime. But when inspiration—and lightning—both strike one night in Victoria’s attic lab, she and Igor have to flee their latest oozing creation, yelling “IT’S ALIVE!” Luckily, the new monster, more helpful than hellish, joins Victoria’s experiment team. Belote fills scenes with humorous details, including beaker labels and lists that appear on Victoria’s blackboard wall. Horror movie–flavored suspense keeps readers on the edge of their seats, and young scientists will appreciate the slime recipes included in the back matter. Ages 4–7.

Starred review from September 1, 2021

Gr 3-5-With the help of her canine lab partner, Igor, scientist Victoria Franken creates varieties of slime that excite and amaze. One night, after Victoria comes up with a new idea, she and Igor return to the lab and begin experimenting. This time, their hard work results in a slime like no other. Persistent Victoria never gives up trying to perfect her recipes even after multiple failures. Most pages have no more than three to four lines of text. The font is very easy to read. On some of the pages, the author breaks up the text and uses ellipses, resulting in a fast-paced, suspenseful narrative. Victoria is Black, and illustrations include children from different cultures and a girl in a wheelchair. Three slime recipes appear at the end of the book with clear step-by-step instructions. This title is great for group read-alouds or independent reading. The story is entertaining, and kids are sure to get a kick out of the detailed illustrations, which also include sticky notes, diagrams, and lists that Victoria has hung up all over her lab. VERDICT Highly recommended for all picture book collections.-Elizabeth Gold, Midwood High Sch., NY

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2021
...three recipes for slime are appended. Still reading? Those who love the gluey, gooey stuff -- such as young lab coat-clad protagonist Victoria Franken -- will thrill to this story of scientific curiosity, creativity, and a sentient, slime-ient experiment. Locally famous for her viscous creations -- varieties of which include rainbow cloud, intergalactic space, and ketchup -- Victoria, assisted by bespectacled canine Igor, unintentionally brings one to life. "IT'S ALIVE!" shouts the text, as Victoria and Igor flee in terror. Turns out, however, the creature is a friiiiend -- and also a fellow scientist. With its lively, science-y text and pore-over-able cartoony illustrations (including LOL-worthy endpapers), this picture book, with its welcome brown-skinned-science-grrl protagonist, will stick with readers. Elissa Gershowitz

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2021
...three recipes for slime are appended. Still reading? Those who love the gluey, gooey stuff -- such as young lab coat-clad protagonist Victoria Franken -- will thrill to this story of scientific curiosity, creativity, and a sentient, slime-ient experiment. Locally famous for her viscous creations -- varieties of which include rainbow cloud, intergalactic space, and ketchup -- Victoria, assisted by bespectacled canine Igor, unintentionally brings one to life. "IT'S ALIVE!" shouts the text, as Victoria and Igor flee in terror. Turns out, however, the creature is a friiiiend -- and also a fellow scientist. With its lively, science-y text and pore-over-able cartoony illustrations (including LOL-worthy endpapers), this picture book, with its welcome brown-skinned-science-grrl protagonist, will stick with readers.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)