11 Experiments That Failed

August 15, 2011
The curious and mischief-minded heroine from 17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore turns her attention to the scientific method. A typical experiment: “Question: Do dogs like to be covered in glitter? Hypothesis: Dogs like everything.” Offill’s matter-of-fact recounting (“What to Do: 1. Call dog. 2. Cover with glitter. 3. Let dog go”) make for very funny reading and allow Carpenter to go all out with her collages, which create especially lively depictions of the protagonist’s misadventures (and her mother’s horror). Impressionable readers might be best advised: “Do not try this at home.” Ages 4–8.

Starred review from August 15, 2011

What would happen if a stand-up comedian—a good stand-up comedian, like Robin Williams or George Carlin (minus those seven famous words)—were to choose the question for a science experiment? This, in these pages, is what would happen.

Let's see: Hypothesis—"Ketchup and snow are the only food groups a kid needs." Result—Not so: Stomachache, brain freeze, "love of ketchup wavering." Hypothesis—Yodeling during a boring car ride "makes time go faster." Result—Learns the pleasure of walking. Hypothesis—"A piece of bologna will fly like a Frisbee." Result—Losing recess. These are marvelously nutty experiments, and by all means, do try them at home. (Maybe not washing the dishes in the clothes washer.) Offill and Carpenter send a one-two punch of quality: a poetic compression of words—"Mom cried. Seedlings died"—and multi-media artwork that is not only fetching but wonderfully dear—holding the gerbil's hand on the Ferris wheel, the dog blinking as glitter is tossed on his head. ("Question—Do dogs like to be covered in glitter? Hypothesis—Dogs like everything.") Later, the same dog cranks his head and snakes his tongue to snarf a pimento-stuffed olive off the table. This is a most joyful and clever whimsy, the kind that lightens the heart and puts a shine on the day.

Go ahead, break a few dishes in the washing machine, see the humor and enjoy this fine poke at every science fair that ever was. (Picture book. 4-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2011

K-Gr 2-Beginning with a question followed by a hypothesis, an exuberant budding scientist follows what she believes to be logical steps in proving her theories in, alas, 11 experiments that fall short of expectations. Each of her tests includes a "What You Need" and "What to Do" list and concludes with "What Happened." From attempting to confirm that children can live on a snow and ketchup diet to sending a message in a bottle to the sea via the toilet, this enthusiastic child in her white lab coat, pink rubber gloves, and safety goggles has a never-give-up attitude, much to her mother's distress. Intriguing pen-and-ink and digital media illustrations are inventive themselves as they take readers through the various steps toward unfulfilled promise and sometimes unmitigated disaster. One humorous vignette appears in both this title and in this team's 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore (Random, 2006): the same dog with the same long tongue licking food off the table. Though this book should come with a caution label: "Do NOT read this book to children who may perform these experiments," kids and adults will get a kick out of it.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.