11 Experiments That Failed

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.)

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