'Pranklab' by Chris Ferrie is an entertaining and educational book that combines science with practical jokes for kids. With a variety of fun experiments, it offers a hands-on approach to learning about chemistry, physics, biology, and more. Ferrie encourages curiosity and creativity while providing laughter-filled learning experiences for young readers.

The book is at its most fun when it explains the science behind classic, ageless pranks. In fact, it made me want to try and do some of them on my wife (though, I'm much smarter than that.) It's not nearly as much fun when it's showing you what some magicians would call scams or tricks of skill and probability.

The big disappointment of the book comes in the simplicity of its design. It's so simple there's nothing engaging to keep the reader's eye engaged. And the ratings of a prank at the beginning of each one seem arbitrary. A coin trick that works on the body heat of someone holding a coin has a "danger level" of four making this prank more dangerous than putting no-bite nail polish on jellybeans. which has a "danger level" of three.

I still think there's a market for this kind of science experiment book for readers who don't necessarily WANT to do science experiments but love the idea of goofing off making this the perfect backdoor book into science.

As a kid, I would have devoured this book. Packed with fun...yes, not boring...science to understand and play with.

Packed with 25 experiments, science is made fun and brought down to a level middle graders can understand and enjoy. Each experiment creates a chapter, which starts with an list of items required as well as an immediate run down of what to expect—whether it's 'messy', how to have fun with it without getting into trouble, and what items might be required for clean-up or what to watch out for. Then, the experiment is presented in a clear step-by-step manner. The reasons behind the desired effects are explained (the science), and even the main historical figure behind the theory or cause is shown in a small, basic illustration along with a sentence or two about them. So, this book definitely teaches as it goes along.

With four kids of my own, the danger of pranks was in the back of my mind when I picked this one up, but after reading it, I'm a total fan of this book. The authors take care to point out the problems each prank could produce (mess, loudness, and such), remind readers that ignoring certain aspects could cause trouble, and offering hints of how to avoid causing real issues...and all of this without coming across as preachy but keeping it humorous and fun. But these experiments are nothing over the top or something most of us adults haven't seen at one time or another. They are actually awesome, easy experiments to show several basics of science.

I really appreciated the explanations behind the fun. The reasons why things happen the way they do and what each experiment shows are also included. And these aren't boring, either. Fun is kept front and center...and isn't science exciting anyway? (At least, I think so.) I was also impressed that the historical figures behind the theories or discoveries aren't forgotten. and none of this takes up much time to bring across, but really sticks to the details and goes on.

This is a great book for hands-on kids who love to do things while learning about them too. I can really recommend this one and would definitely pick it up for my own kids.

This is 200 pages of fun for young teens who are interested in science. Some supervision is recommended. The experiments are easy to read, the instructions are clear and easy to read. All are illustrated with a shopping list. There is a review, a quick quiz a fast fact chart and further information. Chapters have 4 or 5 experiments in a theme. I received a copy of this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to love this book but it just made me uncomfortable. Ferrie is a father of four but I really think he's a different sort of father than many of his potential readers might have. It starts out with pranks to pull on your parents like an exploding bottle of Mountain Dew (tiny holes in the bottle spray water all over him when he loosens the cap), and it's all supposed to be hilarious but I kept thinking of how many kids would not just get in trouble but maybe worse if they pulled this kind of stuff on their fathers. Besides that, it just doesn't strike me as funny to do stuff like this to people. He says things like to always help with the clean up but still.... oy. It just made me wince. I guess I have a different sense of humor than he does.

Other examples of pranks -- putting baking soda in a ketchup bottle so when the lid is taken off it spews ruined ketchup everywhere, putting magnets on the underside of a coaster and cup so when someone goes to put their cup down it will repel it and spill, rigging mentos to fall into someone's pop when they unscrew the lid to to take a drink and cause an eruption, making fake poop and eating it, "reading people's minds" by asking them to think up numbers and letters, etc.

The good part of this book is that it covers the science behind the pranks really well. But you have to be willing to make messes and potentially really annoy people to do them. Each prank has a code in the front of who the best kind of victim is (like parent or sibling), danger level, science level, etc. Most don't need too much in terms of supplies. There are colorful illustrations.

Two stars for me, for "it was okay." High marks for the science, low marks for the ethics. Those in families who love pranks will love this one.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.