Lunch Walks Among Us (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)

Rating:
Summary: Cute Start to An Enjoyable New Book Series for Young Readers
Review: Franny K. Stein isn't your normal little girl. She's a mad scientist. And a weird one at that. When she jump ropes she uses her pet snake, and as opposed to daisies, Franny likes to pick poison ivy. Everyone at school is afraid of Franny, for she's different than the rest of them, and they find that weird. So Franny decides to create an experiment that will change her from being the weird little girl who everyone stares at, to one who fits in. But then a Giant Monstrous Fiend attacks Franny's class, and she knows that she must convert back to being a mad scientist to save the day.

In this first book in the FRANNY K. STEIN: MAD SCIENTIST series we are introduced to a crazy, wacky young girl, who loves everything out of the ordinary. Her personality and quirks are unique, and her adventures are entertaining. Jim Benton has done a marvelous job in creating an enjoyable new book series for children, whose content and illustration will mesmerize even the most reluctant reader.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Rating:
Summary: It's Okay to Be Different!
Review: I am so happy to have found this series of books for my 3rd grade son! We both loved this book. It is funny, with great illustrations. It also has a fabulous message! I highly recommend it for your school-age kids.

Franny K. Stein is an unusual little girl. Rather than dollies and horsies and flowers, Franny loves bats and tarantulas and poison ivy. Her lunches were a bit different too! But like other little girls, Franny needs friendship. In order to make friends, Franny experiments with being someone she is not (the stereotypical little girl), but is unhappy. When she is herself, she finds that her new friends like her just as well or better! In the end, we learn that even if friends don't always like the same things, they can still be friends.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and smart!
Review: I have two boys aged 4 and 7 who can not get enough of these books! Funny for the kids and the adults who read to them, Jim Benton has done an outstanding job of bringing out a female character who has smarts and isn't afraid to show it. I'm buying a bunch of these and giving them out as birthday presents for all the kids in my son's class!

Rating:
Summary: Great intro to chapter books
Review: I've tried reading easy chapter books to my 4 yr. old son for about a year, but after the first 2 or 3 chapters, he loses interest. I've read chapter books with illustrations, but even so, illustrations don't appear on every page so he eventually loses interest. I discovered this book today and was delighted because the story is funny and exciting (what young child wouldn't love a story about a mad scientist?), there are wonderful illustrations on every page and the book is long enough to read several chapters and get into the story and still have plenty to read the next time. I can't wait to read it to him. Once he gets hooked on these types of chapter books, we can make the transition to chapter books with little or no illustrations. He (we) love picture books and will continue reading them, but because he's enjoyed books since he was an infant, I'm anxious to move to the next exciting level of reading.