5 Clever Books for Young Pranksters
Every day is April Fools’ Day for practical jokers. Tons of fun for those playing the jokes but not so fun for the people dumping salt in their coffee rather than sugar or waking up to fake spiders on their pillows. Try filling those idle hands with some of our favorite books about young pranksters instead.
Pickle: The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School, by Kim Baker and Tim Probert
Kids will instantly feel like part of sixth-grader Ben Diaz’s League of Picklemakers when they start reading this book. And, as they’ll quickly learn, the whole pickle thing is just a clever cover for Ben’s “secret prank task team,” the Prank and Trick Association. It all started with a successful solo prank involving the balls from a ball-pit followed by the realization that an official club—say, one that makes pickles—could receive funding from the school, and thus the P.T.A. was born. And as the club members up the ante on their pranks, readers know they’re bound to get caught. But with likable characters and lots of laughs, it’s a fun ride while it lasts.
The Twits, by Roald Dahl
Mr. and Mrs. Twit, the hideous stars of Roald Dahl’s book, first published in 1980, are horrible people who literally hate everything, including each other. They constantly play mean practical jokes on each other—Mrs. Twit serves up worms to Mr. Twit for lunch, telling him it’s spaghetti, and Mr. Twit convinces Mrs. Twit that she’s slowly shrinking. Plus, the Twits are terrible to everyone else, including their pet monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps. But the monkeys have had enough and are out for revenge in this funny, disgusting book that kids will totally eat up.
The Terrible Two, by Mac Barnett and Jory John
“On your first day at a new school in a new town, you got to decide what kind of kid you were going to be. You could be the smart kid, or the kid who has cool shoes. You could be the kid who knows everything about old cars, or current events, or World War I.” But Miles Murphy wants to be the same kid he was in his old school: the prankster. But his new town, Yawnee Valley, already has an expert practical joker—Niles Sparks. Is there room for two pranksters in this sleepy town? Yes—if they join forces. See what Miles and Niles can do when they put their heads together in this witty book.
The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other), by Geoff Rodkey
Twelve-year-old twins Claudia and Reese Tapper are at war—Claudia believes it’s on par with World War I. But unlike WWI, the Tapper twins’ war all started with a toaster pastry. Reese thought Claudia ate his brown sugar cinnamon toaster pastry—an accusation Claudia staunchly denies—so he retaliates by embarrassing her in front of her sixth grade class. From there, it escalates into an all-out prank war. Told through interviews, text messages, photos, and emails, this clever book entertains from beginning to end.
The Prank List, by Anna Staniszewski
Rachel Lee thinks that life might be settling down now that eighth grade is over, but there’s trouble brewing as a rival cleaning company moves in and starts taking clients away from her mom’s business. The 14-year-old has to do something to help—otherwise, she and her mom might have to move to Connecticut, leaving behind Rachel’s best friend, crush/sort-of boyfriend, and her new pastry class. But are Rachel’s sabotaging pranks really the answer to solving her family’s financial woes? This sequel to The Dirt Diary has lots of heart—just like Rachel—and a nice message for tweens delivered in an engaging way.
Who are your favorite fictional middle grade pranksters?