The Wizard's Workshop

by Jennifer K Clark

[sstaley]

I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to review The Wizard's Workshop. This new book is a science activity book for children and tweens, and adults like me that love science experiments and magic. I also teach 2nd grade, so I was excited to take this book to school and see what my students thought of it.

At first they screamed out it was Harry Potter. I told them it was just as cool and that we all could use magic together. The students loved how the book was presented to the reader by a former student wizard. The book is full of things that will make kids laugh and imagine themselves as wizards. The book is very detailed with excellent instructions. It tells about each potion, ingredients needed, Adult wizard info, step by step instructions(numbered), how long it will take to make, and pictures for each potion. There is a potions ingredients list at the back of the book.

I told my students that we would make some potions the last few weeks of school. They are so excited!! We are planning to make:
Goblin Goo: which will look like green slime. It used to be referred to as Troll Snot, but now it's illegal to collect snot from trolls.
Wishing Potion: which will look like colored droplets that streak down through a jar of liquid forming amazing bursts of color. You can wish for anything you want except to live forever.
Exploding Fog Fluid: which is a liquid that erupts into expanding foam. It was made famous by using it as a sport of putting the liquid into the drinks of giants and then drawing mustaches on their faces once they're asleep.
I can't wait to do this with my class! I love this book and I know kids will be enchanted by The Wizard's Workshop. I do advise that all experiments be done with Adult Wizard supervision. Have a fun time and let your child's imagination run wild. It's encouraged to wear wizarding robes and have wands ready to use while making the potions.