Middle graders who are fans of Vordak the Incomprehensible and books of that ilk will really enjoy this story. The broad humor will appeal to them. The very conceited narrator who is constantly "educating" the reader with snarky asides provides much of the humor in this story.John and Abigail Templeton are 12-year-old twins. There mother has just died and their father who is a university professor and inventor has become very sad and reclusive. It isn't until the kids convince their dad that they need a dog that he begins to come around. Walking Cassie the fox terrier gets him out of the house and ready for a change. Professor Templeton is invited to work at Tickeridge-Baltock Institute of Technology - better known as Tick-Tock Tech - and work on his inventions there. Once there he comes into contact with the villainous Dean D. Dean who was the only student he ever failed and who is convinced that he is the real inventor of the Personal One-Man Helicopter. Dean D. Dean and his identical twin brother Dan D. Dean kidnap John and Abigail in order to convince Professor Templeton to sign over all rights to the invention to him. fortunately our young hero and heroine use their skills at cryptic crosswords (Abigail) and playing the drums (John) in order to defeat these nefarious villains.All of the characters are over-the-top personalities from the handsome but evil Dean brothers to the kids' new nanny Nanny Nan Noonan who is convinced that whenever the kids are quiet it is only because they are trying to get away with something. The narrator of the story is especially over-the-top. The way the book is designed also adds to the humor. My ARC didn't have the finished drawings but the sketches already added to the fun. The chapter titles and the Questions for Review at the end of each chapter just extended the humor. I can see my middle school students really enjoying both the humor and the adventure in this story.
