Like the other six books in the Franny K. Stein library, The Frandidate is another marvelous invention born from the mind of Jim Benton. We never grow tired of Franny's crazy antics and creations in my household, which is especially impressive when you consider that I have two sons, and well, Franny is a girl. I guess mad science is truly a topic enthralling to both genders. In this seventh book, Franny decides to run for class president. Typical for a mad scientist, Franny's thoughts on how to improve the classroom are slightly extreme. Franny's ideas for exploding chalk for a wrong answer written on the chalkboard or robots who force you to eat a healthy lunch don't go over well with her classmates. The other candidates' speeches about new playground equipment or less homework win greater support with the students. Franny realizes that she is going to have to please all of the students in her class and sets out to invent a suit that will allow her to become whatever another person wants her to be. If a classmate loves bunnies, wearing the suit, Franny becomes a bunny. If a student loves basketball, then Franny can become their favorite basketball player. It's all very simple for a mad scientist, and Franny wins the class election by a landslide. Soon the power has gone to her head, though, and Franny decides that she can just as easily become the President of the United States. It takes a quick thinking lab assistant and a truth seeking mom, to save Franny and the rest of the world from a little mad science gone wrong. Lucky for Franny that the members of her cabinet are so well chosen.
