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Jon Scieszka's Frank Einstein and the BrainTurbo is a daft, fact-packed science adventure for 8 year olds about a boy genius with one day to make his friend pitch faster.
Janegoodall wants to be the Midville Mud Hens' starting pitcher, and tryouts are tomorrow. So Frank, his best mate Watson and his two home-made robots set out to make the human body "a bit more amazing". Klink is the clever one. Klank is the big, cheerful one who'd love to be human.
Their first idea is extra arms and legs for Klank. It doesn't go well (Watson has to wear a birdcage as a catcher's mask). Then there's a baseball that flies clean through the glass roof of T. Edison's shiny new laboratory and smashes his latest invention. Frank's rival wants paying, and his chimpanzee assistant Mr. Chimp is not someone you argue with.
What makes these books so much fun is how the science just slips in. Klink reels off how lungs work when everyone's out of breath. There are bits on bones, muscles, the heart and all five senses. Grampa Al tells the (true, and quite gruesome) story of what happened to Albert Einstein's brain after he died. Your reader will come away knowing their gluteus maximus is their bottom, and Klank will think that's the funniest thing he's ever heard.
The jokes land for this age too. Watson keeps inventing a sweet with every flavour in it. Klink tries to work out why the chicken crossed the road and shorts out. When the BrainTurbo is first switched on, the wiring's backwards, so every time Frank touches his nose, poor Watson smacks himself in the face instead!
Meanwhile T. Edison has spotted that Frank's baseball cap is no ordinary cap. And late at night, left on guard, Klank starts to wonder what the BrainTurbo might do for a robot...
Frank and T. Edison clearly have history, and the robots mention inventions from before this story. It still makes sense on its own, as each science idea gets explained as it comes up.
Who's it for? Anyone who likes taking things apart to see how they work, or who asks a lot of "but why?" questions at bedtime. Snappy scenes, lots of sound effects and a very silly villain make it a great step up for a newly confident reader.
If they want to go back to where it all started, Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor is the one where a lightning storm and a lucky spark first bring Klink and Klank to life.
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