Funny, chock-full of science, and wonderfully complicated—like its subject matter.
Rube Goldberg’s comics inspired contemporary designs.
Goldberg (1883-1970) imagined how ordinary objects might do extraordinary things. He channeled his ideas into comics, and along the way, the name Rube Goldberg became an adjective: “doing something simple in a very complicated way that is not necessary.” Take Goldberg's comic "Professor Butts and the Self-Operating Napkin”—a man takes a spoonful of soup, which triggers a catapult that eventually leads to a scythe cutting a string, allowing a napkin to wipe the man’s mouth. Thimmesh’s narrative encapsulates this over-the-top spirit. Her opening two spreads, hilariously illustrated by McCloskey, offer brilliantly convoluted suggestions for reading this book. A biographical section on Goldberg follows, along with several spreads examining the ways contemporary people have built three-dimensional Goldberg contraptions. Having connected the past to the present, Thimmesh makes a more important point: “Beneath the whimsy lies the science.” Six simple machines that come up in Goldberg’s comics—the lever, the wheel and axle, the inclined plane, the wedge, the screw, and the pulley—each get their own page of explanation and comic treatment. Guidance on building a Rube Goldberg machine is followed by amusing, thoughtful tips. Balancing humor, creativity, and science, Thimmesh has crafted a work Goldberg himself would approve of. McCloskey’s exuberant cartoon illustrations make the science easy to grasp; human characters vary in skin tone.
Funny, chock-full of science, and wonderfully complicated—like its subject matter. (afterword, glossary, sources) (Informational picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781452144221
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
