The Final Frankenstein Read online

  “Don’t,” Jordan said. “Those ladies are totally going to build him again. Count on it.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Baru said. “But I wonder if we could have done more.”

  “I don’t think so,” Javier said. He smiled at the Pages. “But as always, we can do more at this library.”

  The group of them groaned. Then, just as quickly, they burst into laughter as they returned to their assigned areas.

  As Baru headed back to the fiction section, a thought occurred to him. What if we somehow influenced the way Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein? he wondered. What if Brontë and Radcliffe changed their works too?

  Worried that their adventure had changed literary history, Baru ran to the shelf. He scanned the 823 section until he found what he was looking for. “Frankenstein,” Baru read the title aloud. He let out a happy sigh.

  He was worried that Mary might actually have changed the title to Booky. Baru had to admit it wasn’t the most creative name, but it seemed to fit in the moment. He opened the book and flipped through the pages. He needed to make sure it hadn’t changed.

  Baru breathed easy. It was still the same book he’d read five times.

  As he reshelved the book, Baru remembered to grab Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It didn’t look like horror, but he thought he’d give science fiction a try. He was pretty sure Javier would approve of his choice.

  Cal wandered over to his area.

  “Hey,” Baru said. “Aren’t you supposed to be straightening the magazines?”

  Cal shrugged. “They’re not going anywhere. I meant to ask: How did you end up getting electricity?”

  “Ben Franklin was on the roof trying to catch electricity with his kite and key,” Baru said.

  “The guy from the one hundred dollar bill?” Cal asked.

  “Well, yes,” Baru said with a laugh. “Among other things.”

  Cal shook his head. “What’re the odds he’d be there?”

  Yeah, Baru thought. Why was Ben there?

  Baru looked up at the shelf and noticed another book wedged in next to Frankenstein.

  “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,” Baru read from the spine as he pulled it down.

  “A miss-shelf?” Cal asked.

  “Yeah, but is that how those two worlds combined?” Baru wondered aloud. “The wrong book in the wrong place?”

  “Maybe? Pretty lucky mistake,” Cal said. “And it was lucky he let you borrow his key.”

  The keys, Baru thought. Did I remember to bring my bike key back?

  He reached into his pocket and felt the familiar metal shape of the key to his bike lock . . . and something else.

  Baru pulled out a large skeleton key. “Uh oh,” he said. “I hope Benjamin Franklin didn’t get locked out of his house!”

  Inside the Midnight Mind of . . .

  Frankenstein’s world

  The mysterious Midnight Library transforms whenever the old broken clock chimes, and goes “inside the mind of a book or writer.” This time the Pages are transported to the world of Gothic mysteries: moody stories about monsters and haunted mansions, mad monks, creepy castles, and treacherous storms.

  Mary Shelley

  Mary Shelley and her husband, the poet Percy Shelley, were spending a summer with their wild and unpredictable friend, Lord Byron. One night, Byron suggested they each make up a ghost story to share during their evenings together. Mary was not a writer like Percy was, and she panicked about coming up with a story. Then a nightmare inspired her. The result was the world’s most famous monster tale—Frankenstein.

  Ann Radcliffe

  Many experts consider Radcliffe the “mother” of the Gothic novel. Her most famous book, The Mysteries of Udolpho, has a scheming villain, crumbling castles, and a beautiful heroine facing supernatural danger. The term “Gothic” comes from Gothic architecture, which was the style of many castles and cathedrals where the stories take place.

  Charlotte Brontë

  Charlotte and her famous sisters, Anne and Emily, were popular writers of Gothic tales. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre tells the story of an orphan girl who grows up to become a governess at Thornfield Hall. Thornfield is a gloomy mansion haunted by ghostly laughter and mysterious fires. Jane Eyre has been made into dozens of movies plays and TV shows.

  Lightning Strikes

  Lightning and storms are a part of many Gothic adventures. When scientists discovered electricity in the 1700s, they didn’t think it was the same thing as lightning. Ben Franklin did. He also proposed that metal objects could attract lightning. In June 1752, Ben Franklin did his famous experiment with a kite during a thunderstorm. He was successful at electrifying a key. He later invented the lightning rod.

  Glossary

  altar (AWL-tur) —

  a large table in a house of worship, used for religious ceremonies

  cathedral (kuh-THEE-druhl) —

  a large and important church

  corpse (korps) —

  a dead body

  framework (FRAME-wurk) —

  a structure that gives shape or support to something

  makeshift (MAKE-shift) —

  made from things that are available to use for a short time

  minion (MIN-yuhn) —

  a follower of a person

  monk (muhngk) —

  a man who lives apart from society in a religious society according to strict rules

  paranormal (par-uh-NORM-uhl) —

  not able to be explained by scientists

  pew (pyoo) —

  a long, wooden bench that people sit on in a church

  rickety (RIK-i-tee) —

  poorly made and likely to break or collapse

  skyward (SKYE-ward) —

  toward the sky

  Discussion Questions

  Baru’s favorite type of books are horror. Do you feel the same way? If not, what’s your favorite kind of book to read?

  Reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein helps Baru understand what Shelley is working on with the book monster. Think of a book you’ve read and discuss how it would help you if the T. Middleton Nightingale City Library took you back in time to meet its author.

  Baru needs to climb to the top of the cathedral in a thunderstorm to awaken Mary Shelley’s book monster. Do you think you would do the same if you were in Baru’s shoes?

  Writing Prompts

  Baru gets to see Mary Shelley, Charlotte Brontë, and Ann Radcliffe, three famous authors from the past, in person. If you could meet three authors from any time period, who would you meet and why?’

  The gang uses Shelley’s book monster, Booky, to fight zombies. Write about what you would do if you had a book monster of your own.

  Put yourself in Baru’s shoes, and write a letter to Mary Shelley thanking her for her help.

  Michael Dahl Presents

  Michael Dahl has written about werewolves, magicians, and superheroes. He loves funny books, scary books, and mysterious books. Every Michael Dahl Presents book is chosen by Michael himself and written by an author he loves. The books are about favorite subjects like monster aliens, haunted houses, farting pigs, or magical powers that go haywire.

  About the Author

  Thomas Kingsley Troupe has been making up stories ever since he was in short pants. As an “adult” he’s the author of a whole lot of books for kids. When he’s not writing, he enjoys movies, biking, taking naps, and hunting ghosts as a member of the Twin Cities Paranormal Society. Raised in “Nordeast” Minneapolis, he now lives in Woodbury, Minnesota, with his awe-inspiring family.

  About the Illustrator

  Xavier Bonet is an illustrator and comic book artist who lives in Barcelona, Spain, with his wife and two children. He loves all retro stuff, video games, scary stories, and Mediterranean food, and cannot spend one hour without a pencil in his hand.

  Michael Dahl Presents is published by Stone Arch Books, A Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive, North Mankato, Minneso
ta 56003

  www.mycapstone.com

  © 2019 Stone Arch Books. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Troupe, Thomas Kingsley, author. | Bonet, Xavier, 1979- illustrator.

  Title: The final Frankenstein / by Thomas Kingsley Troupe ; illustrated by Xavier Bonet.

  Description: North Mankato, Minnesota : Stone Arch Books, [2019] | Series: Michael Dahl presents: Midnight library 4D | Summary: “Library page Baru Reddy loves horror stories so when the T. Middleton Nightengale City Library transforms into a ruined gothic cathedral complete with authors Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, and Charlotte Bront?e, not to mention a host of zombie monks, he is not as alarmed as his fellow pages; he just needs to figure out a way to bring Mary Shelley’s creation (made out of books, not body parts) to life to defeat the zombies--and who better to help than Ben Franklin, who is busy with his electricity experiments.”--Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018046383 | ISBN 9781496578969 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781496579003 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781496590084 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851--Juvenile fiction. | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790--Juvenile fiction. | Library pages--Juvenile fiction. | Public libraries--Juvenile fiction. | Books and reading--Juvenile fiction. | Zombies--Juvenile fiction. | Horror tales. | CYAC: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851--Fiction. | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790--Fiction. | Characters in literature--Fiction. | Library pages--Fiction. | Libraries--Fiction. | Books and reading--Fiction. | Zombies--Fiction. | Horror stories. | LCGFT: Horror fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.T7538 Fi 2019 | DDC 813.6 [Fic] --dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018046383