Stuff Happens! Frank! by Connah Brecon

FRANK WAS LATE!  FRANK WAS ALWAYS LATE.

Frank is a good guy, always ready to pitch in to help a stranger in need.

But when school starts, it seems stuff always happens to make him late. The first day of school he arrives after dismissal.

On the second day he vows to do better... and he does.  He gets there right after lunch. It seems there was a cat stuck up high in a tree, and there was no one but Frank to get her down. Teacher is not pleased, but who can punish a kitty rescuer?

On the third day Frank does much better. He makes it to class just in time for lunch. Questioned, he has quite a tale to tell:

FRANK HAD BEEN MISTAKEN FOR FAMOUS DANCER AND CHALLENGED TO A CHARITY DANCE-0FF, WHICH TURNED OUT RATHER WELL!

It gets worse. The next day Frank almost makes it before the morning bell stops ringing. But he has a good excuse--something about motherless baby bunnies and a evil ogre!

By the end of the week, Teacher has had it. Just as Frank opens his mouth to explain why he's late again, the teacher shouts

STOP!!

But before she starts her tirade on chronic lateness, everything goes dark! Boom! Flash!

Are those plumes of red-hot fire shooting past the window? Are those Zombie King Lizards at the door?

And here's Frank, just in time!

Even without super powers, Frank never fails, in Connah Brecon's funny, tongue-in-cheek tale of a tardy but timely hero, Frank! (Running Brook Press, 2014). In Brecon's piquant cityscape, there seem to be many opportunities for this capeless crusader, as Frank the bear nonchalantly makes his way to school through streets seemingly filled with peril. "Quirky appeal," promises Kirkus Reviews.