Lunch Walks Among Us

Franny K. Stein (FKS) is a fresh, imaginative series that kids really enjoy. My 3rd Grade class greatly enjoys FKS's whacky inventions and machinations. FKS evokes the same creativity and humor as Mike Thaler's "...From the Black Lagoon." On a side note, many of my students enjoyed FKS so much that they ordered the series as part of those Scholastic book orders. (Unfortunately, some of them acquired the books by way of stealing them from my personal library). FKS isn't all about fun and games. Though masked in frivolity, FKS is essentially about a young girl who doesn't fit in with her peers because of her quirks. Exploring that theme with children can provide another level of understanding and appreciation of the series.

The Franny K. series was just the thing to get my reluctant reader to jump into chapter books. She now reads them over and over, and can't wait for the next ones to come out....we have them all so far and her reading has improved tremendously! Thanks, Jim Benson, for a wonderful series that encourages kids to be their own unique selves!

This is the first young chapter reader 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. 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!

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.

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!