Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein

"Both timely and terrifying." --Gregory Macguire, New York Times-bestselling author of Wicked

Pairing free verse with over three hundred pages of black-and-white watercolor illustrations, Mary's Monster is a unique and stunning biography of Mary Shelley, the pregnant teenage runaway who became one of the greatest authors of all time.

Legend is correct that Mary Shelley began penning Frankenstein in answer to a dare to write a ghost story. What most people don't know, however, is that the seeds of her novel had been planted long before that night. By age nineteen, she had been disowned by her family, was living in scandal with a married man, and had lost her baby daughter just days after her birth. Mary poured her grief, pain, and passion into the powerful book still revered two hundred years later, and in Mary's Monster, author/illustrator Lita Judge has poured her own passion into a gorgeous book that pays tribute to the life of this incredible author.

A 2019 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
A 2019 Amelia Bloomer Project Book

This title has Common Core connections.

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: 01/30/2018
Pages: 320
Weight: 1.65lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781626725003
Age: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.1
Point Value: 3
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 501480 / Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2018
Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2017
Booklist 12/01/2017 pg. 41
Voice of Youth Advocates 12/01/2017 - Recommended - Better Than Most
School Library Journal 01/01/2018 pg. 107
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2018 pg. 87
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2018 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Lita Judge is the author and illustrator of several award-winning picture books for young readers, including How Big Were Dinosaurs?, Bird Talk, Born in the Wild, Flight School, and Red Sled. After a summer spent reading the hand written journals of Mary Shelley, Lita embarked on a five year journey to tell the story of this courageous teenager in Mary's Monster. She lives in Peterborough, NH with her husband, two cats and a parrot.