The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Rocklin, Joanne

Fleabrain Loves Franny

278 pp. | Abrams/Amulet | August, 2014 | Trade ISBN 978-1-4197-1068-1 $16.95

(2) 4-6 1952 was the height of the U.S. polio epidemic. It was also the publication year of Charlotte's Web. These historical details drive Rocklin's animal fantasy, an homage to White's classic. Franny, convalescing from polio, receives a handwritten note from an eloquent flea named Fleabrain. With keen insight into human (and insect) relations, Rocklin creates believable, three-dimensional characters that help anchor the off-the-wall elements. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014