Book Review and Giveaway: THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition

CLOSED.

Rules for entering this giveaway

are at the bottom of this post.

THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition

by David Borgenicht, Nathaniel Marunas, and Robin Epstein

Publisher: Chronicle Books

6 x 8 in; 128 pp ; 1-color throughout, ages 8 and up
Guided Reading Level: Q
Paperback
Published in September, 2010
ISBN 9780811875707
ISBN10 0811875709

Description (from the publisher):
Leave it to the authors of the best-selling Worst-Case Scenario series to serve up a hilarious and totally "gross" handbook that will guide kids through all things slippery, slimy, and stinky. Find out how to survive boogers, bloody noses, barfing emergencies, and more. The tips in this book will have kids laughing out loud, while gearing them up to tackle all that's utterly disgusting in life, Worst-Case Scenario-style!



Click image to enlarge.

 My Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars - Kids will love it - you will, too!

My Thoughts:  Want something to grab and hold the interest of your reluctant middle-grade reader - especially boys? Have I got the book for you!  THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition is so chock full of disgusting yet worthwhile information that no boy on earth will be able to put it down. O.K., so realistically, I can't guarantee that claim, I can only speak for myself and what I witnessed with my 10 y.o. nephew. I breezed through it in one sitting (I am, after all, an adult). It took him a few more.

When reviewing a book, one has to consider not only whether it lives up to one's expectations but also whether it lived up to it's own claims. Let's take the most attention-grabbing claim first. Right on the front cover, THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition claims it will tell the reader how to survive: Nightmare Boogers (check - see page 12); Barf Emergencies (check - see page 16); and the School Bathroom (check, check - see page 82). In all, the book discusses 30 of the grossest situations a kid (or anyone -- even you!) could find themselves in. Everything is discussed in kid-friendly language. If you cringe when a nearby child uses words like "fart" and "poop" and "nose loogie", well, then, cover your ears because the authors do not mince words. If your kid doesn't know enough variations on the word "vomit", this book will quickly bring him up to speed, offering an alphabetical listing of alternatives from "blow chunks" to "yak." So, yes, this book definitely covers all things gross.

But is grossness enough for me to recommend this book to you? Of course not - we are, after all, civilized, as well as maybe just a bit snooty. Many would argue as to the value of purposeless play -  our jobs as adults is to educate the younger generation and foster their survival. Exposing our children to a whole tome of grossness just for the sake of entertainment would be a waste of precious educational time not to mention just plain irresponsible. But wait! What is the secondary claim put forth by the authors? The one that will initially slip past the attention of kids as they race to find the grossest of all possible gross scenarios? Ah, yes. It was "survival" wasn't it? See, it's right there in the middle of the title: THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition. This book not only details most gross situations, it explains to kids how to survive them. So the reader is not just going to become comfortable with terms such as "nose loogie" but will also learn what exactly is a nose loogie, why they exist, and what to do about them. In the guise of entertaining grossness, kids will learn lots of useful information about health and hygiene.

Both my nephew and I had a lot of fun reading THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: GROSS Junior Edition. It's appealing to kids because the subject matter is gross and the illustrations are funny. Adults will be happy to know the kids are learning exactly why it's a bad idea to stick a wad of chewed gum under your desk. This book is a great way to sneak a little education into your kid's entertainment. We plan to check out more titles in this series.

About the authors (from the publisher):
David Borgenicht is a writer, editor, publisher, and co-author of all the books in the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series. He lives in Philadelphia.

Nathaniel Marunas is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York.

Robin Epstein is the co-author of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Middle School. She lives in New York City.

I have one (1) copy to offer for giveaway. Here's what to do:

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. The publisher is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• PLEASE NOTE: One win per household. If you win this title in another contest hosted at another blog, the publisher will only send one copy per household address.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, October 16, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Lara
at Chronicle Books

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.