and the ridiculous dog

From the publisher: 

“Suppose there were 12-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, (respectively), John and Abigail Templeton. Let’s say John was pragmatic and played the drums, and Abigail was theoretical and solved cryptic crosswords. Now suppose their father was a brilliant, if sometimes confused, inventor. And suppose that another set of twins- adults- named Dean D. Dean and Dan D. Dean, kidnapped the Templeton Twins and their ridiculous dog in order to get their father to turn over one of his genius (sort of) inventions. Yes, I said kidnapped. Wouldn’t it be fun to read about that? Oh please. It would so. Luckily for you, this is just the first in a series perfect for boys and girls who are smart, clever, and funny (just like the twins) and enjoy reading adventurous stories (who doesn’t?!).”

You may think from the title of this book that John and Abigail Templeton (The Templeton Twins) are the main characters of this book... but think again. The sassy, sarcastic, snarky narrator steals the show.

This book is a FUN read. The story is clever and silly and wacky. The illustrations are creative and the end of chapter summary questions are hilarious.  
For example:

• Why is it a good idea to call something that sinks a "sinker"? Write your answer in the form of a brief opera.
• Mary has five oranges. She gives two of them to Tom. Tom then buys twice as many as Mary has left and gives half of them to her. Who Cares?
• True or False (circle one): The Narrator is a wonderful person?  T   T
• Essay Question: Write an essay on how clever you think you are. It should be at least 500,000 words and in French. Well, go ahead.

If you know a 10-year-old who is burnt out on reading serious stuff and taking serious tests... and wants to get back to the fun of it all, then The Templeton Twins Have an Idea is the book for you.

*After you read the book, check out this Video ... hmmmm, that's interesting!