Wrighty's Reads

This is one book that I'm keeping away from my kids but I can't wait to pass it on to my nephews!This little book is exactly what it says it is, a mischief maker's manual. The first page welcomes young pranksters to their training and advises the reader to work through the book from beginning to end. There are illustrations, charts, instructions, advice and handy tips.The book marks itself as the ultimate handbook for pranks, practical jokes, stunts, tricks, and large scale hoaxes. It appears to be a very accurate description.The Table of Contents lists everything you need to perfect the art of making mischief. It's broken down into broad categories The Basics, Prank Moves, Do-It-Yourself Gags, Experts Only, Trouble and About M3 (Mischief Maker's Manual). Each category also has a corresponding symbol to mark the pages (fake dog poo, a slingshot, etc.) and descriptions and supplies to perform the pranks. Never again will you have to wonder how to place a Whoopie Cushion (body functions and noises are always funny) or put a bug into an ice cube. With experience you can achieve more impressive stunts like making your own crop circles and faking aliens landings. The most impressive stunts to aspire to are the ones achieved by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students over the years. This is considered the greatest engineering school in the world so the feats are all creative, amazing and each attempt tries to outdo the last. Crowned the Perfect Prank, students in the spring of 1994 placed a police car with flashing lights atop a famous domed building on campus. It was 15 stories tall and there was no way to drive it there and no helicopters had placed it there. Only a narrow trapdoor allowed access to the roof. You'll have to read the book to find our how they did it and they've remained anonymous to this day! (Or leave a message that you really, really want to know and I'll tell you how. I'm not that cruel!)This really is a fun book and the design is very clever and makes the reader feel like they are part of an exclusive club. I think it's interesting reading it now and I would have loved it as a kid.The Prankster's Code - these will greatly improve your odds of staying out of trouble.A: Always be careful.B: Don't be a Bully.C: Be Creative.D: No lasting Damage.E: Excellence in pranking.F: Be Funny.** Special note to parents - Although most of these pranks appear harmless and are intended to be so, I would advise you read this before you pass it on. There are also more complicated pranks that are much more involved. Recipes for smoke bombs, using dry ice and firecrackers are mentioned but are not items for children to handle themselves.Thank you to Shelf Awareness and Penguin for this ARC.website: www.mischiefmakersmanual.com