Frankenstein’s Matzah: A Passover Parody

PreS-Gr 1–On the night of the Passover Seder, Vee, a young nonbinary scientist, attempts to bring a piece of matzah to life and succeeds with the help of a bolt of lightning. After Manny the Mantzah (“Matzah + Monster = Manztah”) makes his appearance, Vee brings him to the science fair. The story is told through colorful layered and textured graphic panels and speech bubbles. Except for blessing the wine and breaking the middle matzah, Vee’s white family (which includes mom, Pops, and sibling Jax) does not perform any of the other traditional holiday rituals. Instead, two “Super Seder Science Experiments” are inserted—one to see if an egg floats in salt water and another to simulate the splitting of the Red Sea with red pepper and dish soap. Back matter provides a very brief description of Passover; an outline of the Scientific Method, as used in the story; a random fact about Mary Shelley publishing Frankenstein in 1818 when she was 18; an author’s note; and a glossary.