Einstein's Underpants: And how They Saved the World

Anthony McGowan

Corgi Yearling, 2010 - Fiction - 320 pages

A stinking alien commander.
Eight freaky kids.
And a pair of faded Y-fronts.

When crazy Uncle Otto warns of imminent invasion from outer space, his maths geek nephew Alexander takes on the task of saving the world. He recruits a ragged crew of school superheroes to help him, including Tortoise Boy, armed with Cedric the tortoise, the Human Hurricane, who possesses untold power in his bottom, and Really Annoying Girl. But with only a pack of cards, some toy ray-guns and a pair of old pants for help, can they do it? Find out in this nail-bitingly scary but hilarious story by a prize-winning author.

About the author

Anthony McGowan was born in Manchester. Educated at a Catholic comprehensive, he won't say that his characters' schooldays are exactly based on his own, but he certainly writes from experience. Before turning to writing full-time, Anthony gained a PhD in Philosophy, worked as a nightclub bouncer, an Open University tutor, a journalist and a civil servant. He is married with two children. His first book, Hellbent, was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award. He won the Teenage Booktrust Prize for Henry Tumour, which was also shortlisted for the Sheffield Children's Book Award, the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award, the Redbridge Teenage Book Award and the Catalyst Award. The Knife that Killed Me was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Anthony is also the writer behind the Donut Diaries books.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Einstein's Underpants: And how They Saved the World
• Author: Anthony McGowan
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Corgi Yearling, 2010
• ISBN: 0440869242, 9780440869245
• Length: 320 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Literary; Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General; Juvenile Fiction / General; Juvenile Fiction / School & Education; Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction / Alien Contact; Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction / General; Juvenile Nonfiction / Social Topics / General