Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor by John Scieszka and Brian Biggs (Amulet Books)

Unleash your inner science geek! It's happy publication day for a new nerdy hero, big of brain and out to impress. John Scieszka's "Frank Einstein" is our kind of character, something between Dexter (from Dexter's Lab), Peabody (from Peabody and Sherman) and The Wimpy Kid.

Frank is a genius in every respect, and there's no branch of science that he can't bring his massive intellect to bear on. Frank's passion is robotics, and he has designed his own 'helpers' - two sassy robots called Klink and Klank.

After a bizarre accident in his lab (the garage) Klink and Klank achieve artificial intelligence, and take on their own personas.

Frank's quest to design the perfect power sources and systems for his mechanical buddies leads him to the ultimate project - the design and build of a dark energy drive, providing tons of energy for his creations. But avaricious eyes are on him! Mean-spirited ne'er do-well T Edison steals Klink and Klank, and it's up to Frank and his friends to mount a rescue mission. Can the world's most intelligent boy genius and his pals succeed?

Charlotte and I lapped this book up. Mixing perfect comic timing and rib-tickling text with a goodly dose of fun illustrations to punctuate the story, it's a perfect book for kids like Charlotte who love fun stories, love a bit of (not dumbed down) science, and a good old fashioned good vs evil tale.

We really cannot wait to see more from Frank (and Klink and Klank!) One of the most entertaining kid's early chapter books we've read through in a long time.

Charlotte's best bit: Bamboozling me with lots of science questions about bits in the book she didn't understand (of course Daddy knows how an Antimatter motor works, daddy knows EVERYTHING!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Fast-paced, frenetic, chaotic but above all tons and tons of fun, this is one of the best geek-books we've read in a long time. Hooray for John, Brian and Frank!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Abrams / Chronicle / Amulet)