Meet Einstein, class hamster and Alex Trebek wannabe. Of course, Ned is the only kid who can hear Einstein who rattles off queries in a game called Answer That Question and impresses his audience of one. When Ms. Moreno announces that her class has a chance to be on a real kids' quiz show, Einstein is over the moon en down in the dumps when he realizes he won't be able to appear on the show. However, Ned does need him as a tutor, so it's incumbent on both that Einstein is kept out of the tender embrace of the principal's pet snake, Twinkles. This is not just silly, goofy fun. Well, it is mostly silly, goofy fun, but readers will learn something, too. Einstein's Tasty Tidbits appear throughout, offering fun, informative, and occasionally disgusting facts (for instance, it's difficult to know if the waste from whales is vomit or poop). Tashjian's son Jake provides the line drawings that, while perhaps not the most artistic (Einstein looks a lot like Mr. Potato Head), are the most hysterical. A clever gigglefest of a series starter.

The mother-son team behind My Life as a Book and its sequels returns with a funny if occasionally exhausting story for a younger crowd, starring a high-energy classroom hamster with aspirations that extend beyond his glass tank. Einstein has cast himself as the host of his own game show, Answer... That... Question, but getting contestants is difficult: only one student, a lonely boy named Ned, can hear and understand Einstein. When a real game show for kids comes to town, Einstein is determined to help Ned win. Jake Tashjian-s manic, kid-scrawled spot illustrations have an energy that matches Einstein-s, and there-s an abundance of humor (generally goofy or gross-out) in both his artwork and in Janet Tashjian-s writing. At one point when Einstein is feeling down, the school python, Twinkles, suggests a hug (-Just a little squeeze,- he says slyly. -You-ll feel so much better-). The story also packs in trivia, mainly through interludes labeled -Einstein-s Tasty Tidbits,- which cover everything from ambergris to endorphins and carnivorous plants. Ages 7-10. Agent: Brandt & Hochman Literary Agency. (Aug.)