(3) K-3 Mad Scientist Academy series. In this third adventure at Mad Scientist Academy (The Dinosaur Disaster; The Weather Disaster), Dr. Cosmic teaches his young monster students about our solar system. When the planetarium goes haywire, the class must solve astronomy challenges in order to survive. The silly (if now-formulaic) premise doesn't overshadow the science, and the comic-book format helps make learning about planetary bodies more entertaining.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) K-3 Mad Scientist Academy series. Following the hijinks in Dinosaur Disaster, Dr. Cosmic teaches his young monster students about weather phenomena. When Dr. Cosmic's inventions malfunction at their school, the class gets an up-close look at what causes various types of severe weather. The comic-book layout is well suited to the goofy nature of the story and helps make the hard science easily digestible.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) K-3 Mad Scientist Academy series. On their first day at the Mad Scientist Academy, a group of young monsters is led by the appropriately loony Dr. Cosmic through a new dinosaur exhibit. Chaos ensues. The comic-book format and veneer of narrative hijinks are diverting; the high-interest combination of dino facts and lunacy is winning.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) K-3 A young aspiring chef invents creative (and revolting) culinary delights. While his big sister insists that "no one in the whole universe would eat" his concoctions, extraterrestrial visitors come to sample such delicacies as toothpaste soup and turnip-side-down cake. The silliness of McElligott's story is matched by his muted ink, pencil, and digital illustrations of goofy-looking aliens eating wacky cuisine.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) 4-6 Victor and his friends continue their madcap efforts to thwart the undead Napoléon Bonaparte. In this installment, reanimated Benjamin Franklin enters into a bizarre face-off with Thomas Edison in an effort to prevent his Infinity Bulbs from turning everyone in range into zombies. Science, ridiculous hijinks, and entertaining drawings combine to make a third engaging adventure.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Matthew McElligott. The reanimated founding father (Benjamin Franklinstein Lives!), with Victor's help, aims to determine whether he was awakened intentionally. He's also puzzling out the similarly undead Wright brothers' connection with vampire bats terrorizing Philadelphia. Fast-paced, humorous, and just shy of too ridiculous, the series continues to be entertaining while also teaching a tiny bit of real history.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(3) K-3 When the full moon rolls around, a little boy heads to a barbershop; there he cuts the hair of assorted monsters. Silly puns ("shamp-ewww") and visual gags ("Can you take a little off the top?" says a headless man) bolster the humorous premise. The art features scads of creatures, some familiar (Frankenstein's monster) and some made up for this story.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Matthew McElligott. What if Benjamin Franklin didn't die but instead placed himself in suspended animation so he could come back in the future to help humanity? This situation confronts young Victor, who's just trying to win the science fair. The bizarre and entertaining plot thickens as reanimated Ben is half founding-father, half rampaging monster. Effectively varied illustrations include both molecular diagrams and zombie stick figures.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(3) K-3 At the lion's dinner party, greedy guests gobble up the cake, each snatching half of what's left. An ant, embarrassed to have only a tiny crumb to share with her host, offers to bake another cake. Not to be outdone, each guest, in turn, doubles the offer. Eye-catching watercolor, ink, and digital illustrations of jungle animals with 'tude complement the math-and-manners tale.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 In this follow-up to Backbeard and the Birthday Suit, the Pirate Council kicks the big guy out of their club for looking "like a doofus" in his vaudevillian attire. Backbeard's search for a new job yields comic moments and a great twist. The amusing mixed-media art is comfortably cluttered with many different colors and patterns.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Two superstitious bugs try to divide up the thirteen beans they've picked for dinner. They keep ending up with one unlucky leftover--until a happy accident intervenes. Readers will be so entertained they may not realize they're learning math. Helping matters is the cartoony art in ultra-bright earth tones and other shades not found in nature.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 On a walk with her friend Gloria, Frieda the bug sees peril everywhere. Most of the hazards are coincidences of the landscape, such as a log resembling a dog. But Frieda is right when she suspects two tree trunks are really a bird's legs. The bugs' narrow escape is exciting, and readers can have fun spotting the dangers cleverly hidden in the illustrations.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 When eccentric Uncle Frank comes to visit, the narrator's family expects him to stay only a short while. But Uncle Frank detects something special buried in their back yard. He digs and digs and stays and stays. Just when the family thinks he'll never leave, he hits pay dirt. Droll illustrations show Uncle Frank's underground home in all its glory.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley