The Encyclopedia of Immaturity: How to Never Grow Up: The Complete Guide

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 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!

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.