Date: March 20th, 2014

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

by Adam Rex

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex

When Frankenstein
prepared to dine
on ham and cheese on wheat,

He found, instead,
he had no bread
(or mustard, cheese, or meat).

What could he do?
He thought it through
until his brain was sore,

And thought he ought
to see what he
could borrow from next door.

His neighbors gawked
as Frankie walked
the paths up to their porches.

Each time he tried
the folks inside
just chased him off with torches.

“A MONSTER! EEK!”
the people shrieked.
“Oh, make him go away!”

The angry hoards
unsheathed their swords,
pulled pitchforks out of hay.

They threw tomatoes,
pigs, potatoes,
loaves of moldy bread.

And soon a thought
struck Frankenstein
as pickles struck his head.

It’s true, at first,
he thought the worst:
His neighbors were so rude!

But then he found
that on the ground
they’d made a mound of food.

He piled it high
and waved goodbye
and shouted, “Thanks a bunch!”

Then stacked it on a plate and ate a big, disgusting lunch.

Copyright © 2006 Adam RexFrom the book Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. HMH Books for Young Readers. Reprinted by permission of the author.

About this Poem

The title for this one actually came to me first. I thought it was funny, because I think the word “sandwich” is funny. And to me the idea of a crazy monster character like Frankenstein doing something normal like making a sandwich is even funnier.

Ever since I wrote this poem, people have been writing to me and telling me when I meet them that Frankenstein isn’t the name of the monster. So I eventually wrote this haiku and put in the sequel:

He knows Frankenstein’s
the doctor, not the monster
Enough already.

Harcourt created this web page to accompany the book: http://www.harcourtbooks.com/Frankenstein/

You may also find worthwhile stuff on my blog: http://adamrex.blogspot.com/

About The Author

Children's Author Adam RexAdam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. Later he got a BFA from the University of Arizona, and met his physicist wife Marie (who is both the smart and cute one).

Adam and Marie live in Tucson, where Adam draws, paints, writes, spends too much time on the internet, and listens to public radio. Adam is nearsighted, bad at all sports, learning to play the theremin, and usually in need of a shave. He can carry a tune, if you don’t mind the tune getting dropped and stepped on occasionally. He never remembers anyone’s name until he’s heard it at least three times. He likes animals, spacemen, Mexican food, Ethiopian food, monsters, puppets, comic books, 19th century art, skeletons, bugs, and robots.

His first picture book, The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake, was published by FSG in 2003. His picture book Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, a collection of stories about monsters and their problems, was a New York Times Bestseller. 2007 saw the release of his first novel, The True Meaning of Smekday. His second, a book for teens and adults called Fat Vampire, was published in July 2010.

Garlic and crosses are useless against Adam. Sunlight has been shown to be at least moderately effective. A silver bullet does the trick. Pretty much any bullet, really.

Where to Buy this Book

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