“They’re taking the encyclopedia!”
Einstein shouted. “It’s the best prize
EVER. Stop them!”
“I guess we’ll have to settle for the
Segway,” Ned said.
“An encyclopedia is a hundred times
better than a Segway,” Einstein said.
“Everybody knows that!”
“Okay, students!” Ms. Moreno
called. “Looks like we’re heading back
to Boerring.”
Suddenly Principal Decker sprinted
across the stage, followed by four
security guards. “My snake!”
“My dog!” A woman’s
scream filled the room.
Einstein and the others
stared at the very large
Twinkles.
“Did he just . . .?” Marlon asked.
“Looks like it,” Einstein answered.
The guards pried the dog out of
Twinkles and returned the snake to
Principal Decker.
“Don’t YOU ever get hungry for an
afternoon snack?” the principal
huffed.
The actress who’d pretended to be
blind hurried to make sure the dog
was okay. (He was.)
The security guards escorted the
class to the bus. (Ned got to ride the
Segway.) Before leaving, Einstein
looked wistfully around the studio.
He’d miss the lights, the fun facts,
and the excitement, but not the
scaredy-cat host or the cranky
director. Maybe someday he’d get
another chance to host a game show.
Just not today.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as
president of the United States for more
than 12 years, but poor William Henry
Harrison served only a month in office in
1841. Harrison died of pneumonia on
his 31st day as president, after doctors
tried to save him with plants, opium,
and castor oil.
Harrison’s untimely death sparked a
Constitutional debate about who should
succeed him and for how long. Harrison’s
vice president, John Tyler, eventually
took over the job, making him the first
person to serve as president without
being elected.
William Henry Harrison might not
have done much during his month in
office, but his grandson Benjamin
Harrison became the 23rd president,
defeating Grover Cleveland.
Unfortunately for Harrison, he was
defeated after one term—by Grover
Cleveland, whom he beat the first time.
Cleveland is the only
president to serve
two nonconsecutive
terms.
I CAN’T DIE—
I’VE GOT A COUNTRY TO RUN!
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
bAcK aT
bOeRrInG
As happy as Einstein was to spend
the day on the set of a real game
show, he was also happy to be back
home in his own classroom.
Ms. Moreno buzzed
around the room on the
class’s new Segway.
“We should’ve taken
the encyclopedia,”
Einstein pouted.
“We could be reading about biomes by
now. Or molecules. Or geometry.”
Marlon rolled his eyes.
Ms. Moreno let Bonnie take a turn
on the Segway, then hurried to the
teachers’ lounge. She returned with a
large tray of treats.
“Cupcakes!” Ned said.
The class hurried to the front of
the room, elbowing each other to get
the first one.
“Turducken cupcakes!” Ms. Moreno
said. “Turkey cupcakes filled with duck
cupcakes filled with chicken cupcakes!
I ordered special cupcake tins from
the shopping network, then stayed up
all night making them. Aren’t they
great?”
Ned and Ricky slowly put the
cupcakes back on the tray.
“Eat up,” Ms. Moreno said. “You
deserve it!” She took a giant bite of a
turkey, duck, and chicken cupcake.
“Did somebody say turducken?”
Principal Decker strode into the room
with Twinkles and popped one of the
cupcakes into his mouth. “These are
delicious.”
Twinkles slithered over to Einstein
and Marlon. “How about a turhammy
cupcake instead?” Twinkles hissed.
“A turtle inside a hamster inside a
bunny?”
“Go bother someone else,” Einstein
said. “You’ve caused enough trouble
for one day.”
“Sorry you didn’t get to host KIDS
KNOW STUFF,” Ned said. “Looks
like the only game show you’ll be
hosting is still AnSwEr...ThAt...
QuEsTiOn.”
Einstein’s eyes lit up. “Do you mean
NOW?”
“Of course I mean now.” Ned
gestured to the rest of the class,
AnSwEr
ThAt
QuEsTiOn!
taking turns running over cupcakes
with the Segway.
“Can I play too?” Marlon asked.
“You still owe me fifty bucks.”
“We’ll see how much of that you
risk in the lightning round.” Einstein
hurried to his tank and looked out
over the classroom.
Today might’ve been a disaster,
but there was one question Einstein
always knew the answer to: What
lucky class hamster had the greatest
friends in the world?
EiNsTeIn!
AnSwEr...
ThAt...
QuEsTiOn!
LIGHTNING ROUND
The students of Boerring Elementary did
well on their game show. Let’s see how
you do.
1. True or false: Mice communicate by
ultrasonic noises that humans can’t hear.
2. True or false: Alligators and crocodiles
are never cannibalistic.
3. Engineer Percy Spencer invented what
appliance, almost accidentally?
4. Who gave the Pacific Ocean its name?
5. How many Pilgrims journeyed on the
Mayflower?
6. Who opened the first electrical power
plant?
7. What two countries are alligators
found in?
8. True or false: Rabbits cannot vomit.
9. True or false: Helen Keller and Louis
Braille were born blind.
10. What president served only 31 days in
office?
11. Which one of the Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World is still standing?
12. How many people died on the voyage
of the Mayflower?
13. Arachnophobia is the fear of what?
14. Chess was invented in which country?
15. How do mother kangaroos clean their
pouches?
16. What is the only part of the body that
does NOT receive blood from the
heart?
17. What do honeybees do to give one
another important information?
18. What gave both Mary Wollstonecraft
Shelley and Ro
bert Louis Stevenson
ideas for their horror novels?
19. What famous artist and inventor
created an animatronic lion in the
1500s?
20. Who invented the FIRST lightbulb?
How well did you do?
1.TRUE
2.FALSE
3.THE MICROWAVE
4.FERDINAND
MAGELLAN
5. 102
6. THOMAS EDISON
7.AMERICA AND CHINA
8.TRUE
9.FALSE
10. WILLIAM HENRY
HARRISON
11. THE GREAT PYRAMID
OF GIZA
12. ONE
13. SPIDERS
14. INDIA
15. BY LICKING THEM
16. THE CORNEA
17. DANCE
18. DREAMS
19. LEONARDO DA VINCI
20. HEINRICH GOEBEL
SpEcIaL
FeAtUrEs
BLOOPERS AND DELETED SCENES
WHO
WORE
IT
BETTER?
MARLON
EINSTEIN
Bonnie,
what’s it like
working with
Einstein?
What’s the
next Einstein
book about?
What’s the
story with you
and Ned?
What’s it like
being drawn by
Jake Tashjian?
Don’t worry about
your bus driver. I’ll just
wait in the parking lot
with the rabbit.
Come on, Einstein.
Do your Charlie Chaplin.
Oh, I
couldn’t.
YO, NEED
MORE PAGE
TIME HERE!
IT WAS ME THE
WHOLE TIME
Where’s Lance?
He has to try one
of my cupcakes.
You think
he knows
I’m not
really a
turban?
FIND OUT MORE
Want to find out more information about
my Tasty Tidbits? Explore your local library
or check out these online sites:
ALLIGATORS:
sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/alligator.html
sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/crocodilealligatordifferences.html
animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/american-alligator/
bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Crocodilia
MAGELLAN:
bg016.k12.sd.us/Explorers/ferdinand_magellan.htm
history.com/this-day-in-history/magellan-killed-in-the-philippines
geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/magellan.htm
MICE:
bestfunfacts.com/mice.html
buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-mice.html
MICROWAVES:
web.mit.edu/invent/iow/spencer.html
RABBITS:
mspca.org/programs/pet-owner-resources/pet-owner-guides/rabbit-care-
adoption/interesting-facts-about.html
PILGRIMS:
deseretnews.com/article/705386737/Mayflower-trivia-facts-and-resources.
html?pg=all
plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/mayflower-and-mayflower-
compact
INDIA:
funfactsaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/03/10-interesting-facts-about-india.
html
articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-03-10/book-mark/27879998_1_
snakes-and-ladders-board-chess-pieces
PHOBIAS:
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/phobias.html
library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00415/Testophobia.htm
ANIMATRONICS:
waltdisney.org/content/early-days-audio-animatronics%C2%A9
HONEYBEES:
beeright.com/fun_facts/bees.shtml
nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7039/full/nature03526.html
SEVEN WONDERS:
world-archaeology.com/seven-wonders/7-facts-about-the-7-wonders-of-
the-world/
DREAMS:
brilliantdreams.com/product/famous-dreams.htm
mentalfloss.com/article/12763/11-creative-breakthroughs-people-had-their-
sleep
THE HEART:
2020site.org/fun-facts/Fun-Facts-About-the-Heart.html
facts.randomhistory.com/human-heart-facts.html
BLIND HEROES:
disabled-world.com/artman/publish/famous-blind.shtml#ixzz2HnVduWTl
ELECTRICITY:
alliantenergykids.com/EnergyBasics/AllAboutElectricity/000418
edison.rutgers.edu/patents.htm
heinrich-goebel-realschule.de/e_invention.htm
KANGAROOS:
livescience.com/27400-kangaroos.html
nytimes.com/2012/08/14/science/how-do-female-kangaroos-keep-their-
pouches-clean.html?_r=0
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON:
americanhistory.about.com/od/williamhenryharrison/a/ff_w_h_harrison.htm
millercenter.org/president/harrison/essays/biography/6
About the Creators of
einstein the
class hamster
JANET TASHJIAN has written many books for middle-
grade and young-adult readers. She loves doing
school visits around the country, talking to students
about reading, cartoons, and how important it is
to have chocolate around when you’re revising. Her
son, JAKE TASHJIAN, has illustrated six books for kids,
including the award-winning My Life series. Einstein
the Class Hamster is based on a comic strip he created
in sixth grade. Jake is an avid surfer; Janet is an avid
coffee drinker. They live in Los Angeles.
Also by
JaNeT TaShJiAn
with illustrations by
JaKe TaShJiAn
Einstein the Class Hamster and the Very Real Game Show (Einstein the Class Hamster Series) Page 5