FRANKLIN STEIN

Like his once-removed namesake, Franklin Stein labors alone in a creaky old house and brings forth a monster — this one named Fred and made of a mop, potato masher, necktie, skateboard, slats, fan, lamp, rake, feathers, etc. Franklin's family and neighbors and some wildly assorted passersby label Fred "WICKED ABOMINABLE DUMB SINISTER ATROCIOUS WEIRD REVOLTING" — until he wins the pet show blue ribbon and the judge's citation: "ORIGINAL CREATIVE ARTISTIC SUPERB." Raskin echoes the words in the pictures (via cartoon-like balloons) to crisply comic effect, and she gives a sly parting turn to the screw when Franklin, bent on making a friend for Fred (who has helped Franklin find a friend), is depicted on the last page asking the butcher for "ONE HEART TWO LUNGS TWO KIDNEYS." Moral support for the lonely genius, and — being Raskin — it's ORIGINAL, CREATIVE and ARTISTIC.