Einstein the Class Hamster

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.)