Shelley Frankenstein! (Book One): CowPiggy

by Colleen Madden

SHELLEY FRANKENSTEIN is a little girl with a rather imfamous family heritage, who loves to be scared and assumes all other kids feel the same.  To prove her theory, Shelley and her assistant brother, Iggy, set about creating new toys to horrify their playground peers. But all of their experiments backfire in a completely unexpected way.
 
What a disappointment!

Then one day, Shelley and Iggy stumble upon a pretty spooky place—the Frankenstein family graveyard, which gives Shelley an idea for crafting the ULTIMATE monster...
 
CowPiggy!
 
Will this new creation send everyone running in terror, like a proper monster should or will love and silliness triumph in this delightfully upside-down graphic novel launch for young middle-grade readers from bestselling illustrator/author, Colleen Madden.

"Readers will enjoy watching Shelley in her destructive mode, but they will also enjoy seeing her evolve into a girl who learns important lessons about whether getting scared is really fun. The cute and colorful artwork is ­simply charming, with plenty of visual humor that will keep kids (and adults) entertained. VERDICT: For older kids who enjoy scary stories with a funny twist!" — School Library Journal (starred review)

"Delightfully creepy... Madden strikes an easy balance between charm and chills." — Publishers Weekly

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Childrens, Horror, Comics, Humor

168 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2023

About the author

After spending her childhood doodling, making wookie noises, pretending to be other interesting people, Colleen Madden grew up to write and draw children’s literature so she could keep doing those things. Her works as an author/illustrator include the graphic novel series Shelley Frankenstein, the picture books Monkey Walk, A Christmas Too Big and The Kiddie Table. She illustrated the best-selling series What If Everybody Did That, Penguin/Random House’s The 12 Days, and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. She is currently working on new picture book titles and another graphic novel series.

And making wookie noises. 🙃

Reviews

[tony dillard jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelley Frankenstein wants to be a mad scientist just like her great-great grandfather, the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein! Along with her brother Iggy, Shelley conducts experiments on her stuffed animals in hopes of creating the most terrifying toy ever. Only each one of her creations is more adorable and cuter than the next. Finally, when Shelley crafts her latest, greatest creation, the Cowpiggy, the fanfare is just too much and the budding scientist takes her frustrations out on the little monster.

Saddened and feeling rejected, Cowpiggy runs away. Luckily, Shelley realizes that she's been too harsh on her new creature and goes off looking for the toy. Only there's a massive blizzard on the horizon and neither Shelley Frankenstein nor Cowpiggy are properly equipped to survive the coming frigid conditions.

This book was so charming. It's got so many tributes and nods to the Mary Shelley classic in which this graphic novel is not just based upon, but set firmly in the Frankenstein family universe. There's Frank and his bride. Even a wolfman! Even villagers. But they're all so gosh darn cute!

I really felt like this book has the makings of a great new series for readers aged 8-12. While there isn't any indication in this graphic novel that Cowpiggy is the opening edition for a series, Amazon and other book sellers list this as Book One! That's just awesome as this was such a fun read. I'm just racking my brain to see where this book can go from here. Not only does this series have Mary Shelley's creation to draw inspiration from; perhaps the Universal Monsters could be involved somehow. We already have the wolfman. Maybe introducing the Invisible Man or Gill Man. Could we see the Mummy?

The artwork, along with the story itself has touches of Tim Burton in terms of the gothic theme. But the characters are just so cute. This was a fantastic work by children lit veteran Colleen Madden. There are monsters and creepy elements, but nothing scary... nothing evil. Parents and guardians will delight at this family friendly reading to kick off the Halloween reading season! Only beware! By the time the young reader in your life is finished with this book, they're going to want a Cowpiggy stuffed animal of their own! I know I want one!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorite books and so I get particular about adaptations. This one, though, is a lot of fun. Shelley Frankenstein is a worthy heir to the Frankenstein name -- a distant descendant who loves all things creepy and longs to create a terrifying creation of her own. Unfortunately, everything she creates to be scary ends up adorable instead. Through experimentation, she learns a trick to bring her monsters to life and sets out to trick one of her creations into being so scary all the kids run in terror. Of course, like her ancestor, this proves to be a mistake. It takes her a minute to learn, but eventually Shelley realizes that not everyone wants to be scared, and not everyone wants to be scary. This is silly and funny and a little bit scary, but mostly just charming.

Cartoony illustrations are fantastic, but the text is sometimes hard to read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Shelly wants is to follow in the footsteps of her relative, the notorious Dr. Frankenstein himself, and create something truly scary to terrify her friends and family. Unfortunately, all her best attempts at monstrous hybrid creations are adorable in spite of themselves. There's only one thing left to try--can she train one of her creations into becoming scary? Hijinks ensue.

This has a lot of charm and a hybrid Tim Burton-meets-Beatrix Potter quality with the illustrations that perfectly mirrors the plot. I love the character design of Shelley with her cloud of Merida-curly black hair and of course, Cowpiggy themselves.
Perhaps Shelley wasn't quite what people have at top of mind when they talk about seeing more girls in STEM, but I love the idea of a little girl mad scientist. I mean, how often do Ada Twist and Rosie Revere get to crow, "It's aliiiive!" after all?

[Garry Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one could be a treat for young elementary-aged readers. The illustrations of experienced artist/author Madden are lovely - clear, colorful and detailed. Befitting her not-so-scary tale, the palate is typically bright, with a variety of lettering styles and sizes. The premise is inviting - that a descendant of Viktor Frankenstein wants to carry on the forefather's tradition of creating frightening monsters. Several classic film monsters (all domesticated) populate the story, and the story's real ancestor - Mary Shelley - lurks in the background. Though the moralizing at the end of the journey is a bit heavy-handed, the determined young protagonist is a budding star one hopes can bring to life future stories.

[Christine LaBatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelley comes from the Frankenstein family. Because of this, she thinks it’s her destiny to make the next scary creature. When she makes CowPiggy, everyone loves it at first. After she teaches it how to be a monster, it does scare everyone like Shelley wanted. However, she learns that maybe that is not what her family legacy is after all.

A cute graphic novel! I think this would be good for elementary students and it has a good message.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shelley comes from a long line of "mad" scientists, but everything she invents is more killer cute than just plain killer. Will her CowPiggy scare the pants off everyone? It does seem to be really... really... sweet...

Cute art and a simple story make this one fairly enjoyable. However, some of the asides don't really hit the mark. It's still an easy book to recommend. And CowPiggy, forever saying "Moink," is quite adorable.

A fun October read.

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 (It was okay)

I wasn't a huge fan of this one. It was very weird. This book follows Shelley, a distant descentant of Viktor Frankenstein. Shelly likes scary things and thinks being scared is the best feeling but everything she creates ends up being cute and not scary. When she finally does scare people, she gets this whole lecture about how being scared is a feeling nobody likes. I think the book could have had more of a middle ground here.

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book where, yes, we have a "loud personality" person, who does not realize that people do not like to be scared. Not even a little bit. There is a cute sister/brother relationship, the historical aspect is amusing (yes THOSE Frankenstein's), and realistic, without being preachy. Cute illustrations that make even a shark-cat or a bat-ostrich adorable.

[verryberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel shows how Shelley Frankenstein learns about being scared, which relates to me a lot because I always watch scary movies and scare people, thinking it's hilarious, but eventually, it hurts people. The moral of the story is most relatable to me, maybe? I really loved Cow Piggy, which also learns lessons along with Shelley and Iggy. Cow Piggy is also adorable :))

[2 Kid Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

So we are 10 years old, and we both LOVED this book. It’s really funny and the creatures made are amazing. It’s a quick read. We can’t think of any kid we know, who wouldn’t like this book. Here is our full review: https://youtu.be/E5KQuk3irGE

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect Halloween read for anyone that doesn't want too many scares. The pacing is quick, and the visual timing as each new creation is presented to classmates is spot on. There is plenty of humor, but also some fun nods to Frankenstein lore.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute graphic novel with a learning story about scaring people and being truly afraid and the difference between the two and how some people don’t like to be scared for fun. The drawings are cute. I read this aloud with my 7 year old daughter.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[SRT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book about the difference between enjoying scary things vs. purposefully scaring others. Loved it and recommend to all kids / early readers. MOINK!

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Good for beginning readers.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Read during the 48 hour Weekend of Peace during Realmathon. See youtube link in bio for detailed review.

[Lachlan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not scary at all.

[Sarah S. Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was utterly charmed by CowPiggy! I can’t wait to have this series on my library’s graphic novel shelves. Grownups will enjoy all the Frankenstein references, and readers of all ages will appreciate Shelley’s character growth and the creepily adorable illustrations.