Just Tricking! facts for kids
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| Author | Andy Griffiths |
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| Illustrator | Terry Denton |
| Cover artist | Terry Denton |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | Just! |
| Genre | Short story collection |
| Publisher | Pan Macmillan Australia |
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Publication date
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1997 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 137 |
| ISBN | 0-330-36141-4 |
| Followed by | Just Annoying! |
Just Tricking! is a funny book by Andy Griffiths. It's the first book in his popular Just! series. This book is a collection of short stories, all about the silly and wild adventures of a boy named Andy.
Around the world, this book has different names. In the United Kingdom, it's called Just Kidding!. In North America, it's known as Just Joking!.
Contents
Hilarious Stories from Just Tricking!
Andy's Prank: Playing Dead
In this story, Andy tries to skip school. He lies in bed, pretending to be dead. He keeps his eyes open and tries not to blink or breathe when his parents look.
Surprisingly, his parents seem to believe him! Andy's dad even starts digging a grave near their lemon tree outside. He puts Andy in the hole and reads a serious speech. Andy soon realizes his parents are just playing a trick on him too.
He decides to end the joke. Andy jumps out of his "grave," which really scares his parents! They then burst into laughter. In the end, Andy gets what he wanted: a day off from school.
The Cockroach Chaos
Andy and his parents go to his dad's boss's house, Mr. Bainbridge, for dinner. Andy is told very strictly not to play any jokes. During dinner, Andy sees a cockroach in the salad bowl!
He wants to tell everyone, but he's worried it will look like a prank. Andy tries to get rid of the bug himself. This leads to a very funny and messy situation. Andy ends up in a very awkward spot, stuck in the bathroom window. He hopes he can sell the story later to make up for losing his pocket money!
Gorilla Suit Mayhem
Andy gets a big gorilla suit in this story. He wears it to his sister Jen's sixteenth birthday party at a restaurant called La Trattoria. Inside, he causes a lot of funny trouble.
After the party, Andy goes to a seafood restaurant nearby. He pretends to be a gorilla eating with a knife and fork, copying an old couple. But then, a manager from another restaurant calls the police because of "Andy the gorilla." Andy tries to take off the suit to show he's a person, but it doesn't work. When Jen arrives, Andy tries to get her to help him, but she tells the police and the zoo about him instead!
The Mystery of the Nick-Knockers
Andy is home alone while his parents are at school for parent-teacher interviews. He's worried about his school report, so he decides to clean the house. He hopes this will make his parents less angry.
While cleaning, he hears a knock at the door, but no one is there. This keeps happening, and it starts to annoy him a lot. Andy thinks his best friend, Danny Pickett, is playing tricks on him. He fills a bucket with a gross mix of food and plans to throw it on Danny.
When he hears another knock, Andy quickly opens the door and throws the mix. But he makes a shocking discovery: he has accidentally thrown it all over his own mum! Andy's dad gets ready for a serious talk with him.
A Tricky Hike: Tell Ya Mum I Saved Ya
Andy is at a school camp with Roseanne O'Reilly, who he finds very annoying. She loves playing silly practical jokes. After falling for one of her pranks, Andy decides to get her back.
He asks Danny to fill Roseanne's backpack with rocks before their hike. But the joke goes wrong! Danny puts the rocks in Andy's pack by mistake. Andy ends up with a sprained ankle. He has to rely on Roseanne's help to finish the hike.
The Fake Sick Prank
Andy is flying alone on a small plane to visit his grandparents. Before the plane takes off, he puts a fake item on the seat next to him. He likes to have the seat empty so he can put his feet up.
However, a blind old lady sits next to him anyway. Andy tries to make her move, not knowing she can't see. He pretends to be sick by putting some "emergency corn relish" in his mouth. He spits it into a bag, pretending it's vomit, and then acts like it tastes good to gross her out. Oddly, she doesn't mind! After many tries to get her to move, Andy finally realizes she is blind.
Winning Big on Beat the Bomb!
Andy enters a radio game called "Beat the Bomb" on Triple B station. In the game, a listener gets a call, and a clock ticks faster and faster. Money increases as time goes on. The listener can stop the clock to win the money. If they wait too long, an explosion sound is heard, and all the money is lost.
Andy and Danny use special equipment to create their own version of the game. They prank a boy named Martin Bonwick. Martin plays their fake game and wins $500. He tells them he really needed the money because his family was having a tough time.
Later, the real Triple B DJ calls Andy and Danny. They are worried Martin might have called the station. But Andy and Danny are happy when they are invited to play the real "Beat the Bomb" on the radio! Andy wins $502. Even though he hates John Farnham's music, he has to listen to it afterward. Andy then feels bad about the prank on Martin. He decides to give Martin $500, just like he promised, and splits the remaining $2 with Danny.
The Tattoo Trick
Andy buys a fake rub-on tattoo from a store. He wants to scare his enemies, Steve Lik and Robert Leech. Andy used to hang out with Steve until Robert came along.
At first, Steve and Robert are scared of the tattoo. But then, surprisingly, they invite Andy into Steve's house for a milkshake. Andy asks for a chocolate one. While they make the shake, Andy watches TV. When he finally gets his milkshake, Lik and Leech want to watch him drink it. They also show him tattoos that look almost like his. The story ends with a surprising twist about what was in Andy's milkshake!
The Invisible Prank
At the school library, Danny keeps bothering Andy about wanting to be invisible. To get Danny to stop and leave him alone, Andy pulls out some round candy balls. He tells Danny they are "invisipills" and can make people invisible. He offers one to Danny.
Danny believes he is invisible and starts causing a lot of trouble in the library. During this, Mrs. Wharton, the school librarian, takes Andy's candies. She then stops Danny's antics by twisting his ear. Both boys are thrown out of the library and sent to the principal's office. As they walk there, Danny actually seems to turn invisible! This makes Andy run straight to the sick bay.
Christmas Card Chaos
Andy gets an idea to mess up his sister Jen's Christmas cards. She is ready to send them to her friends for the holidays. Andy wants to turn the happy Santas on the front into ugly, mutant ones.
To make sure Jen doesn't notice, he offers to mail the cards for her. But once they are all in the mailbox, Andy changes his mind. He remembers that Santa only brings presents to good children. He thinks making mutant Santas was a bad prank to play before Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, Andy dreams about a mutant Santa who gives him a rotten potato as punishment. For the next few days, Andy worries that Jen will lose all her friends. He decides to bravely confess to her. But he finds out that all of Jen's friends loved the mutant Santas! Jen is even keeping the prank a secret.
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