11 Experiments That Failed

Our protagonist is slightly less psychopathic in this book than in [b:17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore 196092 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore Jenny Offill https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1437753336s/196092.jpg 189656], and she shows a pretty good grasp of the scientific method. She even uses a control group when trying to find out if plants like Eau La La perfume better than water! She concludes that they do not. I love the endpapers that show her Rube Goldberg setup to put bologna on her sandwich and what actually happened when she tried it out.

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 back of closet.
4. Return in two weeks.

What Happened:
Experiment is still under way.” (Accompanying drawing shoes a tennis shoe with mushrooms growing out of it.)