Check, Please!

Frankly, Frannie #3

by A.J. Stern, Doreen Mulryan Marts (Illustrator)

ItÕs opening night at a local restaurant, and the service is a little slow. Always on the lookout for employment opportunities, Frannie sidles up to the bus station, grabs some bread baskets and water pitchers, and lends a helping hand. Who knows, maybe the restaurant will hire her on permanently? ThatÕs what she hopes anyway, until she discovers patrons eating escargotÑactual snails! Frannie knows itÕs up to her to warn people away from the disgusting mollusks. But can she do it without ruining the restaurantÕs reputation?

Genres: Kids, Childrens, Chapter Books

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

AJ Stern lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Dayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is out to be a good series of modern early chapter books. Frannie is a sweet lovable character who really wants to have a grown up type job - but still struggles with just being a kid. In this first book Frannie wants to see what it would be like to be a restaurant critic.

I was the same kind of kid - recording my own radio shows in the yard and creating event marketing well before I knew what it was. So this whole series of books really spoke to me. In each book Frannie tries out different job possibilities.

The series seems wholesome with good resolution to the story line. Enjoyable enough for parents to read along. There are some made up kid words that appear in the story - I shared some with my 5 year old while reading aloud others I just substituted with the proper word.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in this series for younger readers. This time Frannie wants to work in the food service area. She makes a mistake at the school fundraiser and learns about consequences there. She also makes a mistake that has serious consequences for a new restaurant.
Useful for discussions about thinking and asking questions before we do what we "think" is helpful.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frannie is a go getter. She definitely wants to grow up and have a job in which she will carry a briefcase and business cards. She uses grown up words like concentratey, twentyteen, jobbish and whispery to name a few. Frannie and her best friend Elliott get themselves into a mess and it all started with a raffle ticket during the Spaghetti Lunch at school. Frannie's mother has won the ticket and the family visits the restaurant with the hopes of seeing the famous food critic, Maria Cross. Frannie and Elliot mistake snails (escargot) for bugs the excitement begins when they slip a note to an unsuspecting patron whom they believe to be the critic. Screams and shouts create chaos and the crowd leaves the restaurant. As the incident unfolds Frannie and Elliot are forced to do the right thing and apologize for the mishap publicly.

This humorous tale of a young girl finding her way to professionalism will keep readers chuckling and giggling to the very end. Stern does a great job of inventing words that spiral from the tongue in addition to allowing children a moment to imagine they can be whatever they choose when they grow up. Teachers and parents can discuss various careers and the path needed to achieve a dream job.

[Luanne Hatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun to read! As I read it, I kept thinking how perfect this book (and hopefully the other Frankly, Frannie titles) would be for my young readers with higher reading ability. Frannie reminded me of Clementine. Her mishaps were "clean" and believable. Frannie caused a little incident at the school's fair when she was helping with the Spaghetti Lunch. When Frannie and her friend, Elliott, go with her parents to a new French restaurant, Frannie causes a stir in the restaurant, which results in chaos. I can't wait to read another Frankly, Frannie!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frannie has a lot of spunk! I love the way she makes up new words by combining two or three or four of her favorite words. In this story, she eats at a new, fancy restaurant with her parents. She thinks she might want to be a restaurant critic someday, but she causes problems when she puts out the word that this particular restaurant has bugs in the kitchen. It's a very cute book.

[Susannah Goldstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the narrative voice of this book to be pretty unbearable. It didn't feel effortless- you could feel the author unsuccessfully trying for a fresh, new voice- and it was exhausting. However, I did appreciate how the central conflict was resolved and Frannie took ownership of her mistakes, and I think kids will be very intrigued by the restaurant plot.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it was funny!I thought it was funny when she sent a note to this random person at a restaurant
that said that there were bugs in their food!The funny part was she thought the random person was Mira cross.

[Mickale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one I read to my kids. We had a great time reading it together and it kept us laughing! I definitely would read more of these books to my kids.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm only halfway through the first cd and the Frannie-isms are killing me already. Might be more bearable in print, but I'm not sure.

[Kara]

This would be a cute read aloud to 1st grade

[Lexi]

such a good book. love it

[Louis Rullo Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

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