Frankenstein’s Matzah: A Passover Parody

I’ll never forget the day in graduate school when I realized exactly how ethically fraught the practice of science is. A guest lecturer was presenting some recent advances in his lab. I won’t go into specifics, but at some point he put up a slide and all I could think was “Sure, I believe that he can do that …but should he?” We all have our different breaking points, but everyone has that moment. It’s why many programs require some form of ethics or liberal arts training for scientists and healthcare workers. Without a critical eye towards their work, anyone can easily slide into murky waters. I expect to find those classes listed in the curriculum for advanced degrees. I didn’t expect to find the topic in a graphic picture book for younger readers. 

Frankenstein Matzah written by K. Marcus and illustrated by Sam Loman follows the story of young Vee, a non-binary scientist seeking to animate a matzah for their school science fair project. On the night of the Seder, Vee actually succeeds, calling their creation a “mantzah.” Vee then proceeds to ask themself a whole host of ethical questions. Do they own the mantzah since they created it? Can anyone own the mantzah since it is sentient? Was this a good thing to do in the first place? Should they skip the science fair? 

In absence of answers, they stash the mantzah in the basement while the family Seder is proceeding. Some hilarity involving the family cat, the eating of matzah, and Vee’s younger sibling ensues. At the end of it all, Vee finds inspiration in the Passover story and realizes they don’t want to be like Pharaoh. It’s an appropriate settling of scores and Vee is rewarded for that choice. 

It’s nice to see STEM in books for younger readers, especially graphic novels, and there are several fun seder science experiments included. Plus, the author’s note felt particularly meaningful. Frankenstein’s Matzah is a good read in preparation for Passover or your local science fair, but I’d encourage parents to ask their young readers to explore the ethical side of the situation with them in an age appropriate level. What do they think about the matzah experiment? Does Vee own the mantzah? What should the mantzah do in this situation? How about Vee’s parents?

The book is obviously fun, but it can also be a catalyst for family discussion. Maybe if we had more of these talks in our homes, students would stop protesting when they are “forced” to include some liberal arts or ethics training into their science education. Most of all, maybe we would all stop and think, about MANY daily actions, “just because I can, does that mean I should?”

Note: BookishlyJewish received an e-arc of this book from the author after she filled out our Suggest A Book Form.

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