Crazy concoctions A mad scientist's guide to messy mixtures

Review by Booklist Review

Providing invaluable guidance for any young experimenter aiming to become a Wizard of Ooze, science educator Brown offers instructions for about two dozen kitchen chemistry concoctions, from bogus barf and various sorts of glop to homemade pickles and Jell-O that glows eerily in black light. Along with a continual emphasis on careful preparation and safety, he clearly explains the physical and chemical processes that each project illustrates, introduces such phenomena as polymers and non-Newtonian fluids, and adds historical sidebars with headers like Oops! Accidents in Chemistry. Capped by a set of terrific general challenges, such as making something that looks disgusting but smells nice, and festooned with entertainingly silly cartoon illustrations and interpolations from supposed ex-cowriter Dr. Viskus von Fickleschmutz ( If at first you don't succeed, don't skydive ), this is hard science with a smile or, more accurately, maniacal laughter.--Peters, John Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-6-Following a thorough discussion of safety, this book introduces budding scientists to a host of gross and gooey projects. A final chapter encourages them to create their own concoctions. Brown writes in an engaging, conversational style that is full of silly humor. A running gag is that Dr. Viskus Fickleschmutz was originally hired as a coauthor and, while his services were no longer needed, he somehow managed to add his thoughts (and artistic touches) to the book. In general, the experiments are familiar, such as making glop with cornstarch and water and making raisins swim using soda. Each activity has a "Stuff You Need" box; detailed, numbered steps; and a concluding "Hmmm. What's Going On?" section that explains the science behind the project. A specific icon indicates an activity that requires "an adult minion," and boxed areas are used to highlight cool facts and key individuals. Cartoon illustrations demonstrate concepts and add humor. A fun addition.-Maren Ostergard, King County Library System, Issaquah, WA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Science activities and cartoonlike illustrations exploring chemical properties and reactions are given a gee-whiz overlay, encouraging kids to unleash their inner "mad scientist" stereotype as they look at "slime," "puke," gassy explosions, and gross foods. A fictional Dr. von Finckelschmutz doodles and scribbles even more bad jokes onto the pages, adding to the potty humor and even further detracting from the science. Glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

(Nonfiction. 7-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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It Jiggles! It Glows!   What's that jiggling, glowing thing on the table? Oh, it's dessert. This experiment needs an adult minion!   Stuff You Need * nonstick spray * 1 cup tap water * 1 cup cold tonic water * 1 package of blue or green Jell-O or other brand of flavored gelatin * rectangular mold OR glass pan * saucepan * stove * oven mitts * wooden spoon * cookie cutters (optional) * cookie sheet with edges OR sink (to fill with warm water to loosen set gelatin) * black light (available in hardware stores, costume shops, or online)   Steps 1. Spray your mold or glass pan with nonstick spray. 2. Pour 1 cup of tap water into a saucepan. With a grown-up's help, bring it to a boil on the stove. 3. Using oven mitts, take the pot off the stove and set it on a heat-safe surface. Stir in the gelatin powder with a wooden spoon until completely dissolved (about two minutes). 4. Stir in 1 cup of cold tonic water. Pour into your lightly sprayed mold or glass pan. 5. Refrigerate until the gelatin has set (about four hours). 6. If you'd like, cut the gelatin into shapes using cookie cutters. Rest the bottom of the pan or mold in some warm water, in either a sink or a cookie sheet with edges. This will loosen the gelatin. Then remove the cutouts or flip the gelatin over onto a serving plate. 7. In a dark room, shine a black light on the gelatin to make it glow. 8. If you want your gelatin to really glow, stick it inside a nuclear reactor!   Hmmm... What's Going On?             The secret stuff that makes this Jell-O glow in the black light is quinine. That's one of the ingredients in tonic water. Quinine is a chemical that comes from the bark of the cinchona tree.             In the 1600s, people discovered that quinine helped treat a terrible disease called malaria. By putting quinine in tonic water, scientists were able to help fight malaria in India and Africa. Quinine is similar to some of the chemicals used in sunscreen. These chemicals, like quinine, absorb the UV light and keep your skin from absorbing it.             Black light gives off one kind of light we can see (visible light) and another we cannot. The light that is invisible to our eyes is ultraviolet light (sometimes called UV light). When tonic water is put under a black light, the quinine in the tonic water absorbs the UV light. This energizes the quinine's electrons. (Electrons are the itty-bitty, invisible particles that move around the outside of an atom.) These excited electrons give off their extra energy as blue light (depending on the Jell-O color). Excerpted from Crazy Concoctions: A Mad Scientist's Guide to Messy Mixtures by Jordan D. Brown All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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