11 Experiments That Failed

by Jenny Offill, Nancy Carpenter (Illustrator)

Overview

"This is a most joyful and clever whimsy, the kind that lightens the heart and puts a shine on the day," raved Kirkus Reviews in a starred review.

Is it possible to eat snowballs doused in ketchup—and nothing else—all winter? Can a washing machine wash dishes? By reading the step-by-step instructions, kids can discover the answers to such all-important questions along with the book's curious narrator. Here are 12 "hypotheses," as well as lists of "what you need," "what to do," and "what happened" that are sure to make young readers laugh out loud as they learn how to conduct science experiments (really!).

Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter—the ingenious pair that brought you 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore—have outdone themselves in this brilliant and outrageously funny book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375983849
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/27/2011
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	440L (what's this?)
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

JENNY OFFILL is the author of 17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore, a Parenting Magazine Best Book of the Year and a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year, and 11 Experiments That Failed, also a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year, which Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, called “the most joyful and clever whimsy.”

NANCY CARPENTER is the illustrator of 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill, called "picture-perfect" in a starred review by School Libary Journal; Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming; Apples to Oregon, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book, and Fannie in the Kitchen, both by Deborah Hopkinson; Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye, winner of the Jane Addams Picture Book Award; and Masai and I by Virginia Kroll. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

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

School Library Journal

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. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2011:
"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."

From the Publisher