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154th out of 259 books
—
152 voters
11 Experiments That Failed
"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...more
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...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
September 27th 2011
by Schwartz & Wade
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May 22, 2012
Dolly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
Shelves:
2012,
childrens,
education-school,
humor,
pets,
science,
poetry-song-music,
gardens-flowers
This is a hilarious book about a very curious and imaginative girl who conducts a series of experiments to answer her questions. My husband has often encouraged our girls to answer a question by posing a hypothesis, conducting an experiment, and observing the results. He encourages this empirical exploration in order for our girls to discover the truth for themselves, rather than just being told.
The questions and experiments that the little girl comes up with are quite creative and certainly ev...more
The questions and experiments that the little girl comes up with are quite creative and certainly ev...more
For some reason, I thought that 11 Experiments That Failed would be about historical experiments that failed, like... uh, I can't even think of any. But you know what I mean. However, it turned out to be something a lot more whimsical and fun than that. It's about a nameless girl who performs 11 "science experiments." Each would be a stretch to call "experiments," given that the hypotheses are things like, "A kid can survive on a diet of snowballs and ketchup." But they're really fun and what's...more
My niece read this on her own over the weekend, and then we read it together today. I asked her what she thought of it, and she said, "I *loved* it! It was just great! And it was funny, and it also inspired me to try my own science experiment!" Naturally, I was delighted by this. Her question was, "Will regular liquids turn into fizzy liquids?" According to her, her hypothesis was, "Yes. If I stir them." Apparently her hypothesis turned out to be correct, especially with vigorous stirring. :-) 1...more
This clever story clearly demonstrates the difference between intelligence and wisdom, as the little girl tries various "experiments" with no real idea of the possible consequences.
Ranging from a trial diet of ketchup snowballs to the testing of bologna frisbees, her ideas are hilarious, and generally doomed from the start. Still, her brain is fertile, tenacious and amazingly warped. I expect her to grow up to be a mad scientist of the finest caliber.
Any kid who has ever tried to do something wh...more
Ranging from a trial diet of ketchup snowballs to the testing of bologna frisbees, her ideas are hilarious, and generally doomed from the start. Still, her brain is fertile, tenacious and amazingly warped. I expect her to grow up to be a mad scientist of the finest caliber.
Any kid who has ever tried to do something wh...more
I used this book to launch an activity in our after school library program called "Page Turners." I had students research a few of the "failed" experiments before we read the book to see if the experiment could actually succeed. Some of the failed experiments are just plain kid-silly in the book, and others have you wondering. For instance, could you REALLY wash dishes in the washing machine? Or is it really bad for a kid to eat a bunch of snow? Anyway, we had a lot of fun with it together, but...more
A series of experiments take place in this book, each one funnier than the next. They attempt to answer questions like: Can a kid make it through the winter eating only snow and ketchup? Do dogs like to be covered in glitter? Will a piece of bologna fly like a Frisbee? The only way to find out is for the protagonist to test it scientifically. That means trying to eat only ketchup and snow and observing the results. Sprinkling her dog with glitter to see what happens. Testing flight capabilities...more
The author of 17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do comes up with another list book. This time, our main character shows all the experiments she tried that failed, cleverly revealing in the process the quirky quality of children’s thinking. Absolutely delightful.
“Question:
What makes fungus grow?
Hypothesis:
If left in a closet, food will rot and become a colorful fungus garden.
What You Need:
Brother’s shoes
Bread and cheese
Water
What to Do:
1. Place food inside shoes.
2. Sprinkle with water.
3. Hide shoes in...more
“Question:
What makes fungus grow?
Hypothesis:
If left in a closet, food will rot and become a colorful fungus garden.
What You Need:
Brother’s shoes
Bread and cheese
Water
What to Do:
1. Place food inside shoes.
2. Sprinkle with water.
3. Hide shoes in...more
This was very funny. I want to read it to my visiting 2nd graders, even though I'd planned this whole guessing game theme--experiments are kind of games, right!?
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One nameless little girl left behind a record of her science experiments. In the the format of Hypothesis, materials needed, Actions, and Results, this book tells a hysterical story that will delight young readers and horrify their mothers.
Why I picked it up: Found this book browsing while browsing for Story Time books.
Why I finished it: Delightful and imagnative. I would love to Book Talk this during Summer Reading as long as I have a clear shot to the door so that I couldn't get stoned by the...more
Why I picked it up: Found this book browsing while browsing for Story Time books.
Why I finished it: Delightful and imagnative. I would love to Book Talk this during Summer Reading as long as I have a clear shot to the door so that I couldn't get stoned by the...more
A delightful follow-up to 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore, both text and art avoid a sophomore slump. There is as much predictability in the text, but this time it is format rather than words, as the young troublemaker keeps scientific notes about hypotheses, procedures, and observations, an interesting twist for a struggling reader. Similarly, the illustrations have been made with the same media and process, but Carpenter has upped the collage feeling in a way that supports the text's l...more
Feb 15, 2012
Katie Ellis
added it
This book was extremely creative and cute! I think that this book would be really good to read when teaching about the basics of the scientific method. The girl in the book goes through 11 funny experiments that fail miserably and get her into a lot of trouble, however, it does teach how to form a question, hypothesis, the materials needed, the steps to perform with data, and the conclusion. The experiments that the main character does would make kids of any age laugh, even middle school. Howeve...more
History with all its facts, dates, theories, and changes always inspired me to read, study, and learn as a kid. So my love and fascination with science experiments has always shocked me a bit. Now mind you—science class *snooze, bore, drool* rarely held my attention. (*Exception: The Periodical Table of Elements section always fascinated me. I researched every single element and property….Anywho) I mean the handmade, do around the house, hope the kitchen doesn’t blow up kind of experiments! Let’...more
3 likes · like · see review
Mar 14, 2012
Sarah Brock
added it
I thought this book was really entertaining and an interesting way to familiarize students with the scientific method. It gave specific experiment and for each one told the question, hypothesis, materials, process, and result. It was repetitive so I think it would be a great way to help children remember the different steps of the scientific method. It also had a lot of funny parts, my favorite being the experiment with the gerbil. I think students would really enjoy reading this book!
The perfect book for budding scientists. My five-year-old laughed his way through. We get a question, hypothesis, instructions, and conclusions for each experiment, from "What makes fungus grow?" to "Will a piece of bologna fly like a Frisbee?" While there is more mischief than science going on in this book, it is a solid, silly introduction to the scientific method.
The illustrations are an interesting combination of ink and digital media. I liked them.
The illustrations are an interesting combination of ink and digital media. I liked them.
Perfect book for anyone who enjoyed Offill's 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore. The book itself is absolutely hilarious, the illustrations are complex and still manage to depict exactly what's going on, and this may be just the introduction to the scientific method that teachers have always wanted. I foresee this book encouraging lots of kids to try their own experiments. Hopefully, their results will be better than the ones in this book!
children's picture book/the scientific process. Best for older kids who can comprehend or start to comprehend the scientific process; this charmingly illustrated picture book demonstrates the question, hypothesis, materials, procedure, and results (in very basic terms) of a girl's experiments with growing fungus, the effects of yodeling loudly during boring car rides, flushing a message-in-a-bottle down the toilet, and other adventures. Recommended.
Feb 08, 2012
Margaret Cobb
added it
This story gives children a good idea of what not to do at home or at school. It would be very popular with a 6 or 7 year-old as they may have wondered some of these things: whether you can put dishes in a washing machine or whether you can eat ketchup and snow balls until spring. It also shows other children getting in trouble, which could show them they’re not the only ones who get in trouble sometimes.
It was good. I'd like to say "really good" but... just doesn't seem quite up to the "really good" standard. Which is strange, because the pictures are great and the premise is fun. This would be a great tool for discussing the scientific process with a child, since it uses the words "question" and "hypothesis" and shows steps of each experiment and results. But... still just not "really good" for me.
11 Experiments That Failed, Jenny Offill
Grade Level: 2-5
Topic: Design of Experiments
Description: This humorous book lists different humorous hypothesises that kids will enjoy (for example, can you live off of snowballs covered in ketchup in winter?) and explores each one and shows students how they can conduct their own scientific research, even if the ideas behind their experiments are silly.
Grade Level: 2-5
Topic: Design of Experiments
Description: This humorous book lists different humorous hypothesises that kids will enjoy (for example, can you live off of snowballs covered in ketchup in winter?) and explores each one and shows students how they can conduct their own scientific research, even if the ideas behind their experiments are silly.
I actually liked this book more than the previous one--our young scientist at work and play still bends the rules and act out in an amazingly irresponsible manner, but I found it funnier and without the actions that bordered on so dangerous in the last story. Also offers a decent look at scientific experimentation and the wording for setting up an experiment in the first place.
A fun book to read to kids who wonder if they could do "that". A little girl tries out 11 things that she wonders about - one of them being, could you eat snowballs with ketchup all winter? Her hypotheses are never correct but it's sure fun to see how the experiments fail. A book that would work better with 4-7 year olds than younger kids.
A fun book to read to kids who wonder if they could do "that". A little girl tries out 11 things that she wonders about - one of them being, could you eat snowballs with ketchup all winter? Her hypotheses are never correct but it's sure fun to see how the experiments fail. A book that would work better with 4-7 year olds than younger kids.
This book would be great for allowing students to read during free time or even in an interdisciplinary unit as it would great in science. It allows students to see how the character conducted fun everyday experiments and yet many of them failed. It could spur on their own ideas for experiments and help them understand it might not always succeed and thats okay.
Well I sure was thrown off! I thought this was going to be historical experiments that failed and ended up as now-important inventions or something, I dunno. Anyways, it wasn't. And then I realized I recognized the illustrations from an awesome book called 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore... which I LOVE.
So after I came to terms with the fact that this was fictional, I adored it. Super quirky and cute. I also love that kids will know the word "hypothesis" and the steps to preparing for a...more
So after I came to terms with the fact that this was fictional, I adored it. Super quirky and cute. I also love that kids will know the word "hypothesis" and the steps to preparing for a...more
A hilarious follow-up to 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore. This made me laugh out loud (especially the part about the gerbil) and would be great for introducing the scientific method.
This is the perfect book to read aloud prior to holding a discussion on the scientific method or brainstorming science fair topics. I am convinced that after a reading of this clever story that students will design the most creative science fair projects ever devised. This one gets an A+ from this teacher.
This is a very whimsical book that shows kids what happens when you attempt certain "experiments" such as hiding food in your shoe and then putting it in the back of your closet. Parents may not like how it could give kids ideas on doing things that they should not be doing, however, it is quite comical.
Really cute story about a young girl enthralled with the scientific process and attempting to put her curiousity to the test in some very unusual ways. The book is actually an excellent way to introduce children to the whole scientific process while also capturing their attention with its humor and "irony".
Grades 1-4. Very fun picture book to use with a classroom learning about the scientific process-- making hypothesis and conducting experiments. Here a girl uses her resources to make predictions about ketchup as a food source, dogs liking glitter, and de-stinking stinky cheese. LOVED THIS. A new favorite.
2013 North Carolina Children's Book Award nominee. It was cute and funny, but honestly I was more concerned that it would give children ideas to try that they really shouldn't (like putting glitter on the dog that could potentially be hazardous to the dog, or throwing bologna in the cafeteria...).
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