Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid (2) (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)

There is a girl, Franny, who is a mad scientist. She does a lot of funny and crazy experiments with her dog named Igor. Igor is very clumsy and hits a baby Cupid that Franny made with a picture. Igor hits the baby with a ray gun that made the baby giant! The giant baby destroyed the city. Read the book to find out how Franny defeats the giant baby Cupid!!

Second book in this great series of adventures following one of the most interesting and well written child characters to come along in a very long time. For those already familiar with this series having come across a later title (an they're all stand alone stories, so no need to read them in order) and wondering which of Benton's former books in the series to buy first, this one also has the added historic element of how Igor came to become Franny's lab assistant. Franny K Stein is an interesting character who doesn't follow the stereotype little girl who plays with dolls, has tea parties with stuffed animals and the like that many authors seem to want to write about. No Franny is a very intelligent girl more interested in bats, snakes, spiders, monsters and her number one passion, being a mad scientist. Interests that gel with many a real life boy or girl these days and lets be honest, always have. The length of these books are fairly short and take my word for it these books are so good you'll probably want to get a few of them, if not the whole series. They seem to be a lot cheaper buying the initial four (there are also others) as a box set which at the time of this review seems to retail for about the same price as just two Franny K. Stein books. In her second adventure Attack of the 50-Ft cupid Franny's teacher introduces the class to Valentine's Day, a concept Franny has never heard of before and now that she has can't see the appeal. Still she wants to fit in and please Miss Shelly and sees a way she can use her mad scientist skills to make the whole writing poems, cards etc tasks more efficient an invents the valentine poem generator. Not quite the results Miss Shelly was looking for the teacher further explains the Valentine Day concept by explaining the recipient likes something a little more mushy. Franny's Valentine Day Card results are worth the price of this book alone and show that if Jim Benton ever wants to take a side job to complement being an author with a greeting card company he'd not just get it but would be highly successful. Also during this book Frannys mother having read up on her daughter's strange hobby believes Franny would love a lab assistant so literally gets her a lab (Labrador dog) assistant. Not quite the assistant Franny had always hoped for she sees Igor as a nuisance and tells him not to touch any of her experiments. Igor just really wants to please his new owner and when he accidentally creates a 50 ft cupid that threatens the town and Franny as a result, Franny will learn the true emotion of unconditional love. A great story but believe me they all are, buy them all!

My son really enjoys Franny K Stein. He is into science and she appeals to both girls and boys. The length and diffuculty are perfect for bedtime reading. My son just finished second grade, but I would think that Franny would appeal to many ages. I read her to my preschool daughter. She will be attending kindergarten next year and the pictures keep her involved in the story. You can hear my son laughing from his room when he is reading one of her books.

This is the first young chapter reader series I purchased for my 6 year old, and she loves it. The story is about Franny, a girl that is learning to adapt to other kids and their lifestyles. She is very awkward in the process, of course, as she is a mad scientist. Franny loves science, and underlying this story is the theme that it's ok for a girl to be a geek. Don't be worried about the "mad scientist" bit. Franny isn't evil. She is a dabbler, liking bats and boogers, bugs and inventions. The Franny series has captured my daughter's imagination. It is creative, unique, and something my daughter reads almost every night on her own. Franny has fueled my daughter's fire for reading. There are no real scary aspects to the story. The monsters are silly, like huge lunch meat sandwiches, or fifty foot cupids. If you are looking for a fascinating chapter book that captures your child's imagination, try Franny K Stein. My daughter wants more books! I have bought her the entire series, and she can't put them down. Her reading ability is growing in leaps and bounds!

...caught me by surprise when my 6 year old daughter picked it out at the bookstore...at home she sat down and worked through it as though possessed...illustrations on each page were a continuous lure to decipher the written story...literally a quantum leap in reading level in a matter of days...amazing!