Sir John Hargrave's Mischief Maker's Manual - Hardcover

Hargrave, Sir John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 044844982X ISBN 13: 9780448449821

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap, 2009

Synopsis

This is the definitive guide to pranking and mayhem. Written in the style of a training manual, but with hilarious illustrations, this book is broken up into five sections. The “Basics” shows kids how to find a pranking partner and how to pull simple pranks like making crank calls. “Prank Moves” explains how to pull pranks at places like home, school, or camp. “Do-It-Yourself” demonstrates things like putting a real worm inside an ice cube. “Experts Only” covers such advanced pranks as how to fake an alien landing. And “Recipes” gives step-by-step instructions on how to bake tuna cookies.

About this title

About the Author:

Sir John Hargrave, the “King of Dot-Comedy,” is the editor in chief of ZUG, the world’s oldest humor website. His comedy work has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, and BusinessWeek. He has appeared on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MSNBC, Tech-TV, and the BBC. He is a frequent speaker at technology conferences and wacky morning radio shows across the nation.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7 Up–Though at first glance this handbook may seem like a tween/teen version of William Powell's The Anarchist Cookbook (Barricade, 1990), it's actually a lot more like Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden's innocuous The Dangerous Book for Boys (Collins, 2007). While the focus is on how to execute perfect pranks, and while there is definitely an illicit feel to the book design, there's also strong emphasis on mischief-makers' ethics as defined in a Prankster's Code, which is repeated throughout the book. Among its prescriptions: Always be careful; don't be a bully; do no lasting damage; and be funny. That last edict is a biggie. The book constantly emphasizes that, ultimately, pranks should be creative and harmless enough to be entertaining to parties on both sides of the equation–even if perpetrators have to return to the scene of their crimes to help clean up any lingering messes. While it's destined to be devilishly attractive to reluctant readers, most of the pranks outlined are actually of the dribble-glass and Whoopie cushion variety. But some, like any worthwhile high jinks, could go awry and land pranksters in hot water. If that happens, the manual also provides tips on how to get out of trouble gracefully. Some techniques, like the Ping-Pong ball smoke bomb, may give some professionals pause, no matter how many safety guidelines accompany them.–Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI
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About this edition

• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 044844982X
• ISBN 13: 9780448449821
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272