Klutz PressCritiques

Costumes

My nine-year-old daughter and I have had so much fun with the activities in this book. The Encyclopedia of Immaturity is filled with pranks, tricks, useless skills, and so much fun.

With this great book as a resource growing up really is an option we can ignore.

Best of all, most of the pranks are harmless and not too messy. If you are not careful, you might even learn a little practical math, science, and language skills.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who believes life is too fun to take seriously.

Gift from Donna Netschert

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Learn about electricity and circuits using specially formulated clay and LEDs to make sculptures that light up and glow.

In this nonfiction book, young readers will learn what makes a star and how those stars form pairs, groups, clusters, and galaxies. The stories of seven constellations, each easily found in the night sky, are also included.

Readers [ages eight and up] can turn their bedrooms into a planetarium using the removable glow-in-the-dark stars included with this book. Shining a flashlight through each of the special projection pages will create a constellation pattern showing the proper placement of the stars.

This book is certain to delight young readers who are interested in science, space, or astronomy.

Highly recommended.

I wouldn't consider myself a crafter and by no means am I artistically talented. But I've had my eye on Klutz products for a while now. There are so many really cool Klutz products and activities out there, all of which come with all the supplies you need in a box!

I finally got my hands on a copy of Klutz String Art after seeing this cool retro craft splashed over Pinterest? Me and my sister sat down to have a Klutzy crafternoon together with String Art! And it was great! For two inexperienced crafters, we're both extremely proud of our string art and making them was easy, quick, and fun!

Overall, Klutz String Art comes with simple instructions, tons of pins, colourful string, pretty mounting paper, and lots of traceable patterns to create different designs in various sizes. You can make flowers, an owl, words, a whale, and more!

My only complaint is that the number of designs outnumbers the number of mounting boards you get. On the plus side, the mounting boards are just thick pieces of cardboard so you can definitely get more of your own.

For a couple of amateur crafters, I have to say they turned out pretty good! We taped some ribbon to the backs and hung them on the wall!

A simple and fun activity for kids ages 10 & up. You can find tons of other great craft ideas from Klutz on their website!

I really enjoyed this book as a kid and got a lot of mileage out of the not-too-naughty pranks and tips. One of my favorites was learning to balance a quarter on the tip of a coathanger and swing it in circles over your head without the quarter falling off. I also liked the tip on how to hide over adults' heads in doorways, and of course the upside-down glass of water trick was also a classic.

I used this book as a child and found it easy to read, easy to follow and wonderful for learning to cook.

This review is for the Wishing Stars point-of-sales purse [ISBN 157054560X]. This item comes packaged in a roughly 2.5" X 3" press studded clear plastic wallet accompanied by a folded piece if paper with 13 step instructions only! It does not contain the 30 page Wishing Stars Book [ISBN 1591743052]. Okay as a booster set; but, if you are expecting a proper book beware! Especially if purchasing over the Internet. Otherwise, the instructions are sufficient for you to get the idea of how to make them.

Summery: This book is a cookbook for kids.

Reaction: I wish I had had this book when I was younger because I tor my mothers kitchen apart cooking all the time.

Extension #1: We could make snacks for the class.

Extension #2: I could have them bring their own recipes to share with the class.

Jake's Review: This was so totally sic (mom's note: that means it is cool or awesome to us old people) I had so much fun playing with this book. It was loud and messy and made mom jump and made the little midget cry (mom's note: that would be his little brother). I want a whole bunch of books like this for me and my friends to play with. I wish our teachers used experiments like this to teach us science instead of the boring things they make us do. I wish the book was longer and had more things with it that we could experiment with. The only other thing I didn't like was that mom made me clean up everything after we were done while she sat in the front room reading and drinking a glass of wine - not fair, she was playing too!

Jake's Rating: 9/10

Mom's Review: I have to agree with Jake this book was so much fun and that kids would be far more interested in science if they had the opportunity to try experiments like the ones in this book. There are tons of bright colours, funky fonts and silly pictures to grab the children's attention and encourage them to keep looking through the book. The experiments are easy to follow and use items that most people either have available in their own homes or can easily pick up at the dollar store. This is a fabulous book to use during a rainy day and something the whole family can do together. I love that kids will learn science in such a fun and interesting way and they won't even know that they are learning something -- nothing better than tricking the kids : ) Take note teachers, if you want kids to learn make it fun and hands on, it will make your job a lot less stressful. Also the experiments are easy for the kids to clean up afterward so you can enjoy some time to yourself while the little heathens tidy up.

Mom's Rating: 10/10

Upstairs

Jake's Review: I like almost all of the recipes in this book, except for the nasty salad ones. The pictures are awesome and the directions are easy to do. I barely needed Mom to do anything except that I think I should be allowed to take things out of the oven, and she doesn't. I cannot wait to make more of the recipes from the book. I liked making the cookies and kept sneaking some of the batter. It was also tons of fun to make the play dough. It was my idea to add the blue food colourin...moreJake's Review: I like almost all of the recipes in this book, except for the nasty salad ones. The pictures are awesome and the directions are easy to do. I barely needed Mom to do anything except that I think I should be allowed to take things out of the oven, and she doesn't. I cannot wait to make more of the recipes from the book. I liked making the cookies and kept sneaking some of the batter. It was also tons of fun to make the play dough. It was my idea to add the blue food colouring which is how we got that awesome colour. We are going to make the Personal Pizza's recipe tomorrow. I also like that I know have my very own measuring spoons.

Jake's Rating: 10/10

Mom's Review: I really enjoyed this book too. There was a great selection of various types of recipes. Basically there was something for everyone to enjoy. The recipes were easy to follow and didn't have too many ingredients in each one. The pictures were adorable and really added some interest to the pages. My only complaints being that since the book is sold in both the US and Canada it should have both measurements -- I know its picky, but even adults have a hard time figuring out how much a 12 oz bag of chocolate chips is. Also for the cookie recipe it really should mention how far apart to set the cookies -- the picture is ok, but having it said up front would be good. I had tons of fun with Jake from picking the recipes we were going to make, shopping for the ingredients and actually making them. I think this is a great book for every parent to have. Its a wonderful teaching tool and also a wonderful way to bond. Also when he gets to University he will know how to make more than Raman noodles and Kraft dinner -- also chicks dig a boy who can cook.

Mom's Rating: 9/10

We Received this from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review, if you want to see pictures from some of the recipes we made check out
http://raymentsreadingsrantsandramblings.blogspot.com/2011/01/mom-and-me-mondays...

This book will make anyone feel like a kid. It includes many neat stuff like experiments, tricks, jokes and pranks. They are funny and entertaining. After finishing a page I would always want to keep turning the page to see what interesting things lies next.
A great book for pastime.½

Books For Keeps

This book has been called the 'Bible for Grown up's who never want to grow old,' and once you've read this book, it's hard to argue.

When I saw this book on the shelf, I couldn't stop think "Oh My God this is cool!" Let me remind you I was 8 back then. But now, even when i read it I feel as If I am a little kid again.

This book is filled with over 400 pages kinds of stuff: from pranks to experiments to magic tricks to brain teasers. Some are fun, some are gross, some are wildly funny, but all are safe and designed so that no one gets hurt.

This book may not be for every reader, but for those who hate reading long, detailed novels, this book is perfect for you. From learning to skip stones to learn how to ride a unicycle, this book will teach you all the things that kids love, and all the things most adults have forgotten.
4 ½ stars

Many hours of fun.

A fine Klutz book, if a little artsy.

A book for kids, by kids. Klutz knows its readership well. One of my personal favorites.

Chock full of silly pranks and factoids that you just can't live without. I mean, really, how can a person be successful in life without knowing the correct procedure for shaking ankles or hanging a spoon from their nose?

Highly entertaining and recommended for all age groups, especially those who take themselves too seriously!

This book is filled with tricks, pranks jokes and trivia. Some are worth reading, others not so much. I'll tell you one thing, though. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when some of these pranks were played on unsuspecting parents! At times boring, but mostly funny. Your kids will love it!

Tricky Video collects some classic short film effects gags and teaches readers how to achieve the effects, complete with suggested storylines. Much of what's here can be viewed in YouTube, either as a result of this book or simply because they are fairly common, and Klutz even has some specially made links that show the effects in action. There's the faked fight scene, the tiny person in the palm of your hand gag, pixilated drag races, and, of course, talking fruit. Sound effects are covered, as are the finer points of camera placement and staging. It's a good place to start for an aspiring middle grade movie director. Even comes with it's own clapper, thought totally unnecessary in this day and age when sound is recorded with the video or added as an effect in the editing. Naturally, active young filmmakers will quickly master these scenes and come to create other, more complex gags and set-ups.

I realize that Klutz isn't the place, but this kind of book – with it's clear color photo instructions and online video links to show you what the final result looks like – could do with a couple solid follow-up guides. Like one on making tricky horror effects videos, and especially on writing good movie stories, whether comedy, horror or drama. It is too easy to just grab a camera and shoot gags and share them for a quick laugh. It's also too easy for budding filmmakers – and some professional ones as well – to stop at the image and learn nothing about crafting good stories.

That's the truly tricky part.

This book will give you great ideas for art projects. This is a great way to encourage your students and get them excited about art. There are also projects that go along with lessons that would be a great assett to your curriculum.

A handy little guide for recognizing common backyard bugs. As is typical of Klutz products, it is well made, sturdy, colorful and kid-friendly. Basic information along with some interesting facts plus a write-on/wipe-off check list make a nice summer project for kids or a helpful tool for curious adults.