Death by Whoopee Cushion
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Death by Whoopee Cushion
Narrated by:
Nissae Isen
Buy Now for ₹611.36
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Narrated by:
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Nissae Isen
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Written by:
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Vicki Grant
The best Halloween costumes. The funniest pranks. An endless supply of chocolate fudge that looks exactly like dog poo. Most kids would love it if their parents owned a joke shop.
But twelve-year-old Manya isn't like most kids. She’s an aspiring scientist. The cheap laughs at Pranks-A-Million don’t interest her — but the science behind the pranks does. After all, even edible snot and stink bombs rely on chemical reactions.
Manya and her best friend, Isaac, are thrilled when their parents agree to sign them up for Serious Science. The after-school class is everything they’ve ever dreamed of: the science is fascinating, their teacher is supersmart, and none of the experiments he gives them is designed to stink, explode, or embarrass anyone.
Things are looking up until one day Manya comes back from Serious Science to find two police officers in the store. A trick cigar bought at Pranks-A-Million burned off a customer’s eyebrows. Later, one of their Toe Jam Donuts makes someone sick. Just a couple of pranks gone wrong? Maybe. But when a whoopee cushion kills an innocent person, the joke is over. The cops swoop in and arrest Manya’s parents for murder.
It's up to Manya now to prove their innocence. Suddenly, the science behind all those embarrassing pranks becomes very important indeed.
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Critic Reviews
A 2026 Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Award for Fiction Nominee
A 2026-2027 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Nominee
A 2026 Saskatchewan Young Readers Choice Diamond Willow Award Nominee
A 2026–2027 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award, English Fiction, Nominee
Shortlisted for the 2026-2027 Maine Student Book Award, Grades 6-8
Shortlisted for the 20XX Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing, Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book
A Canadian Children’s Book Centre's Best Book for Kids & Teens, Spring 2026
"The book opens with the plight of a kid with joke-shop parents and evolves into a cliff-hanger that hooks readers and keeps them engaged with short chapters and lots of gross-out prank shop item descriptions. The science woven into the plot is an interesting means of teaching some basic concepts, such as confirmation bias and chemical reactions, with a murder mystery/joke shop backdrop. . . . [A] short, humorous take on murder mysteries." —STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal
"[S]teady tension, high personal stakes, and uniquely rendered relationships drive the story forward as Grant explores one preteen’s complex feelings about her 'embarrassing' parents and their lives before her across bouncy first-person narration." —Publishers Weekly
"The economic reality of keeping a small, struggling business like Pranks-A-Million going grounds the story within the overall goofiness. . . . An enjoyably wacky and science-centered mystery." —Kirkus Reviews
"It should be exciting to have parents who own a joke shop, but in Vicki Grant’s Death by Whoopee Cushion, Manya is embarrassed. . . . When whoopee cushions start to explode, and kill people, Manya and a friend work to discover what’s behind the face paint and gags. . . . A fun, educational novel for magicians and pranksters, ages 9-12." —Winnipeg Free Press
A 2026-2027 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Nominee
A 2026 Saskatchewan Young Readers Choice Diamond Willow Award Nominee
A 2026–2027 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award, English Fiction, Nominee
Shortlisted for the 2026-2027 Maine Student Book Award, Grades 6-8
Shortlisted for the 20XX Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing, Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book
A Canadian Children’s Book Centre's Best Book for Kids & Teens, Spring 2026
"The book opens with the plight of a kid with joke-shop parents and evolves into a cliff-hanger that hooks readers and keeps them engaged with short chapters and lots of gross-out prank shop item descriptions. The science woven into the plot is an interesting means of teaching some basic concepts, such as confirmation bias and chemical reactions, with a murder mystery/joke shop backdrop. . . . [A] short, humorous take on murder mysteries." —STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal
"[S]teady tension, high personal stakes, and uniquely rendered relationships drive the story forward as Grant explores one preteen’s complex feelings about her 'embarrassing' parents and their lives before her across bouncy first-person narration." —Publishers Weekly
"The economic reality of keeping a small, struggling business like Pranks-A-Million going grounds the story within the overall goofiness. . . . An enjoyably wacky and science-centered mystery." —Kirkus Reviews
"It should be exciting to have parents who own a joke shop, but in Vicki Grant’s Death by Whoopee Cushion, Manya is embarrassed. . . . When whoopee cushions start to explode, and kill people, Manya and a friend work to discover what’s behind the face paint and gags. . . . A fun, educational novel for magicians and pranksters, ages 9-12." —Winnipeg Free Press
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