From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Though at first glance this handbook may seem like a tween/teen version of William Powell’s The Anarchist Cookbook (Barricade, 1990), it’s actually a lot more like Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden’s innocuous The Dangerous Book for Boys (Collins, 2007). While the focus is on how to execute perfect pranks, and while there is definitely an illicit feel to the book design, there’s also strong emphasis on mischief-makers’ ethics as defined in a Prankster’s Code, which is repeated throughout the book. Among its prescriptions: Always be careful; don’t be a bully; do no lasting damage; and be funny. That last edict is a biggie. The book constantly emphasizes that, ultimately, pranks should be creative and harmless enough to be entertaining to parties on both sides of the equation–even if perpetrators have to return to the scene of their crimes to help clean up any lingering messes. (more…)

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