“Frank the cat had it good,” begins this early chapter book. Toys, Whiskies to eat, and a nice home with a window to look out. One day, however, his two humans (a two-man couple), come home with a new puppy. Frank sees this as bad news, and types a message to his humans, telling them, “We do not need the puppy” and asking them to take it back.
They don’t listen (although since Frank didn’t put a stamp on the letter, it’s unlikely they got it) and the puppy (an adorable corgi), wakes Frank from his nap, eats his Whiskies, and makes Frank’s life miserable. Frank tries another letter. He tries running away. But then he gets caught outside in the rain, and there’s only one member of the household who notices….
There is enough repetition of words to help beginning readers along, but author Martha Brockenbrough weaves them into a cat’s-eye narrative that is entertaining and drily humorous, perfect for early readers and a great start to a new series. I love that the two-man couple is simply an accepted part of Frank’s life and the book isn’t “about” them being a same-sex couple.
The storyline is somewhat similar to Princess Puffybottom … and Darryl, in which a cat competes for attention with a new puppy in a household with same-sex humans. The humans in Princess Puffybottom are two women, however, and they ultimately bring home not only a puppy but also a new human baby, so the books are not identical. As I noted in my review of Patience, Patches!, however, another pet’s-eye story, we’ve now seen several similar books set in same-sex-headed households, in which a pet must grapple with a new member of the household, whether animal or human. I’m still waiting for more books (beyond 2009’s And Baby Makes 4) about a human child with same-sex parents getting a new sibling. The animal stories are adorable (and I’m an animal lover myself), but I will continue pointing out the need for human stories, too, until we get them.
Nevertheless, Frank and the Bad Surprise is delightful in and of itself, and adds to the very small number of LGBTQ-inclusive early chapter books. I look forward to more in the series.
