Frank and Ernest

First published in 1988 and now back by popular demand, Good Dog, Carl illustrator Alexandra Day’s Frank and Ernest is the entertaining tale of a bear and an elephant who learn to run a diner.  The charming illustrations of the Deco-era diner and the novelty of its animal employees will appeal to children, but the diner slang that Frank and Ernest learn and use will delight parents and children alike.  Frank and Ernest will reveal the meaning of “burn one, take it through the garden and pin a rose on it,” “a stack with Vermont and a blonde with sand,” as well as “guess water,” “balloon juice,” and “million on a platter.”  As in her popular Carl books Day excels at visual jokes and loving detail, but in Frank and Ernest the text is as delightful as the pictures.