Klutz: The Book of Impossible Objects product reviews

I was really excited about this book because as a kid I was very interested in how the brain works and optical illusions were a special focus for me. I even did a science fair project on them. What I like about them is they show us how our brain can be manipulated, and there are just so many wacky things you can do with a few angled lines. The cover of this book set is no exception, because the zig zagging black and white design does things to your eyes. The eyes popping out are really striking too.

Inside the book and with all the bits and pieces, you have the makings of 25 different projects allowing you to mix science and brain magic. There is a TV programme we watch at the moment called Brain Games, and this book has a lot of the same stuff. So if you are watching that show, I recommend this as a good lead on to the Klutz book. They even have a 3D dinosaur that is similar to one in the show. These are really freaky because they are not 3D at all, but because of the angle of the drawing and how you put it together, your brain actually makes it 3D. It's quite difficult to see it the way it truly is.

The spinners were a lot of fun, and got a lot of giggles once we got them working okay. I wasn't sure what kind of coin to use, but with some experimentation a 50 cent piece seemed to be the best. The acetate animations were probably my favourite. The thing with these types of illusions is that they are quite simple. But they are still quite different to other illusions you typically see in books like this. There is a definite freshness in the projects you are creating here. We still haven't quite had a dry enough day to try the impossi-pix, but we plan to do a series of spider climbing pictures very soon.

Love the mix of fun, "magic" and science here. There is plenty to learn, and the book offers some explanations which are well written but accessible for kids and adults alike. This would be great for the curious kid, the science geek or even just as some school holiday fun.

I asked to review this book as my son is increasingly becoming more and more interested in these sorts of activity's and doing fun and different things at home. I used to love doing things like this at home with my mum as a child, so I was quite excited to be giving a go at these with my own child.

His first pick was the Stare-O-Saurus as he is a big dino fan. I did find the instructions a bit confusing and so when I got to the end and popped it up on the shelf, it simply didn't work that well. Thankfully my mum was on hand to re-read it and we just had to turn the head inside out. Once we did this it worked wonderfully and it was at a perfect height for my son. It is now sitting proudly in his room on the shelf above his bed.

Mirror Monster Multiplier uses a hinged mirror and a cardboard, double-sided, monster. My son took great delight in holding up the monster and the slowly folding the mirror closed to create more monsters (also great for his counting skills), he was so pleased to reach eight monsters, the book says the most someone has done is 28!!!! It was nice and easy to follow the instructions and he managed to make a 'circle' of monsters and turned the grumpy Cyclops into a grinning, two-eyed monster.

Acetate Animations is something that I have always enjoyed so I picked it as the next activity. These was some protest from my son as he thought that it looked boring, but once we started moving the sheet backwards and forwards he was so excited over it that he was shifting it a little too fast. A big hit.

The front cover features a pair of eyes. Included in the book is a page that has a dog on it, with no eyes. You place it over the cover so that the eyes are peering out at you, shift from side to side and it feels like the eyes are watching you, flip it over and there is an Easter Island head. Lots of fun and thoroughly delighted my son.

All in all this is a great book and we're only halfway through. It's a big hit with my son and if treated right it will last long enough for my other children to enjoy it too.