Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Immaturity (Klutz)Volume 1

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wish I had known how to do some of the silly tricks and pranks in the "Encyclopedia of Immaturity" when I was growing up! Not only does it teach you how to do interesting skills like juggling, but you'll also learn foolish stuff like how to make your co-worker's mouse stop working, how to make all kinds of noises with parts of your body, paper fortune tellers, play creatively with your food and so on. It's a big book. The pictures and diagrams and the text are presented in a mock serious, deadpan style. The activities themselves can't be any funnier than their presentation.

I'm decades older than the target audience for the "Encyclopedia of Immaturity," and female, and most of these activities are aimed at boys -- at least boys are the ones I've seen doing these things over the years. But a younger brother received it for Christmas and I thumbed through it out of curiosity, and found myself rolling on the floor with laughter. Life is too short to be as serious and stodgy as I've always been. This fortysomething is going to get a copy for herself and try to have some harmless, giggly fun in the New Year!

This book is a lot of fun. I originally purchased it for my 6 year old son. It is filled with interesting/humorous facts, practical jokes, and fun activities.

We had so much fun with it that I bought 4 more copies and gave them friends and family.

They all like it so much that I ended up purchasing copies for my employees. I believe that everyone who has recieved this book from me has ended up buying at least one more copy to give to someone else.

The book is full of really funny and fun activities. Age ranges from 6 - 47 all really liked it. It is rare to find any product, let alone a book, that can be enjoyed by such a diverse group of people.

If you are looking for a fun (definitely immature) activity book I don't think that you can do any better than this.

Only one negative - they used a ring-binder. The pages get ripped out quite easily. Kids will mistakenly tear out the pages if they use it very often.

My husband and I ran across this book when a friend bought it as a birthday gift for his brother (in his late 20s). We read through it and loved it! It has so many different ideas that are terribly immature, but why do we all need to grow up? Life needs to be fun.

We decided to buy it for our nephew who is turning 16. He'll get a kick out of it and have fun doing a bunch of the ideas in the book. I'm sure my husband will get him started and make sure he does a few things right away.

This is a great gift for anyone who is young and heart and has a great sense of humor! I'm also thinking about getting it for my brother on his next birthday (he'll be 34), but I'm not sure he needs it since he is immature enough.

I would have to say that this gift is best for the boys, but some girls might like it, too. I think it is funny, but not nearly as much as my husband. The girlfriend of our friend's brother hated the book, but she didn't have much of a sense of humor.

"How to create a fake leg" to stick out of your parents' car trunk when they drive away. The plans to the world's greatest paper airplane that my 7-year old son could follow. How to make photographs of tiny people. From practical jokes to practical necessities (how to whistle with your fingers, how to make unseemly noises with your armpits), this book provides literally hours of laughter-induced tears and entertainment. My wife found it with me in mind, but we soon realized what a perfect gift it was -- as, apparently, did the rest of the United States, as we found copies in extremely short supply. Kudos to the Klutz folks. This is a pure masterpiece of sophomoric humor -- and stuff you really need to know (like how to balance the saltshaker at an improbable tilt. Bravo!

First, the bad news.

Much of the content in this book is from other Klutz books, so if you have a lot of their books, you may notice some repeats.

Also, as has been mentioned, the binding is poor. Klutz asks readers to rip out and cut apart pages, and the book seems to be designed for this, since the pages fall out of the book readily (To be honest, this is inconsistent--some pages say to photocopy--don't tear out). But some of us would like to keep the book intact for future pranking opportunities. I ended up rebinding the book; you may need to, as well.

And, where is the index? Maybe it's considered "grown-up" to have an index, but I'd sure like one so I can quickly find my favorites, in alphabetical order. (Eek! Can immature people be organized? Maybe not.)

Aside from those little beefs, this book is a gem, and it deserves the five stars for the content, if not the binding. A sampling of the content: optical illusions, jokes, magic tricks, pranks, and how-tos for skills you never knew you'd have (like faking a sneeze and knowing how to do cat's cradle). It offers immature activities and pranks for all ages and is incredibly fun. You're sure to find at least a few items of interest in here, and will learn how to drive everyone you know completely up the wall, while you have a blast (see p. 99). Have fun!

My 15, almost 16 year old son saw this book while holiday shopping. He wanted it, and reminded me frequently that he wanted it. I thought it would be silly, but when both he and his father BOTH loved the book upon our next shopping excursion, I knew it was a must have.
Several pediatricians over the years have told me that sibling interaction is very healthy, even if it seems negative to the parents. Kids learn positive and negative social interaction, learn their limits, and find out the consequences of going one step too far via sibling interaction. I must say this book fabulously guides such growth. Even I have to laugh if my son gets his younger sister to hold a paper cup of water against the ceiling with a broom stick. (OK, laughing stops if he doesn't clean up the consequences, but it's clean humor!)
I highly recommend this book. If the intended recipient is at an age to be offended by the title, give it to his/her parent & it's a safe bet the kids will pick it up & love it, and grow from it.

Strange look on daughters face when she opened it-but everyone had a blast trying some of the tricks. Favorite was the leg swinging clockwise trick. This is a book they will go back to again and again for more indepth fun. The perfect book for boy or girl that likes practical jokes, magic, science etc. This book will be loved for a long time.

This book has been sitting on the table ever since it was opened as a birthday present. Anyone who comes by reads something and laughs, whether it's kids or adults. And the 30-year-olds who've read parts of it are ready to try some not-growing-up tricks!

I ordered this as a gift for my my forty-something brother (who is still fond of fart jokes and the like) -- once it arrived, I was so impressed, I ordered another. It's nicely done, a substantial 410 pages, nicely illustrated with many photographs and a classy cloth binding and hard cover. Every page or two contains a trick or project -- how to "talk trash" like Shakespeare, uses for used gum, how to feign a cracked neck, what to do with a home-made barf bag, how to make fake dog barf -- you get the idea. Nothing very sophisticated here, but nothing off-color or too offensive, either.

Looking over the reviews, it looks like every reviewer except one (to date) has given the book five stars, and some of the reviewers indicated that they purchased additional copies for gifts. Assuming you're dealing with a ten year old boy or a forty year old wholly lacking in sophistication, you won't go wrong giving this as a gift.

I ordered this book for myself and my kids. They thought it was the coolest book ever. I think I could have written most of it. I then sent a copy to my brother for his 35th birthday. He has two sons and they both enjoyed it.