bookshelf

HOW MACHINES WORK

Name: HOW MACHINES WORK
Author: David Macaulay
ISBN: 978-1-4654-4012-9

ZOO BREAK!

by David Macaulay ; illustrated by David Macaulay ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2015

“So clever!” murmurs the elephant shrew, admiring himself in a mirror. No argument here.

bookshelf

A pair of would-be escapees discovers the uses and misuses of simple machines in this slapstick STEMwinder.

Bored with their confines, Sloth and Sengi (aka “elephant shrew”) concoct a series of unlikely devices designed to get them over or under the walls. With Sloth providing the muscle (when awake), Sengi proves himself a small, furry engineering genius by inventing an inclined plane, a springboard, a wedge, a winch, single and double pulleys, a tunneling auger, and more from miscellaneous found materials. Macaulay depicts each project with his customary casual exactitude and festoons them with descriptive notes. These point out significant elements such as “fulcrum” and “spur gears,” joining directional arrows and lucid explanations of how each uses mechanical advantage to redirect effort or force. Some, such as the heavy-duty gear-driven lift under a window on the front cover and a seesaw that requires assembly, are working models. With much use of flaps, pop-ups, and inset booklets, the author also expands on the comical plotline with glimpses of construction machinery, hydraulics, and several types of levers in action. He also includes simple machines in various combinations—in a bicycle, a crane, and, in a big climactic foldout, a truly Rube Goldberg–ian construct that almost works.

“So clever!” murmurs the elephant shrew, admiring himself in a mirror. No argument here. (glossary, some unattached pieces) (Pop-up fiction/nonfiction hybrid. 7-9)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4654-4012-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
CROSSING ON TIME
by David Macaulay ; illustrated by David Macaulay

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WAY THINGS WORK NOW
by David Macaulay ; illustrated by David Macaulay

- BOOK REVIEW
TOILET
by David Macaulay with Sheila Keenan ; illustrated by David Macaulay

bookshelf

ADA LACE, ON THE CASE

From the Ada Lace series , Vol. 1

by Emily Calandrelli & Tamson Weston ; illustrated by Renée Kurilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 2017

The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the...

bookshelf

Using science and technology, third-grader Ada Lace kicks off her new series by solving a mystery even with her leg in a cast.

Temporarily housebound after a badly executed bungee jump, Ada uses binoculars to document the ecosystem of her new neighborhood in San Francisco. She records her observations in a field journal, a project that intrigues new friend Nina, who lives nearby. When they see that Ms. Reed’s dog, Marguerite, is missing, they leap to the conclusion that it has been stolen. Nina does the legwork and Ada provides the technology for their search for the dognapper. Story-crafting takes a back seat to scene-setting in this series kickoff that introduces the major players. As part of the series formula, science topics and gadgetry are integrated into the stories and further explained in a “Behind the Science” afterword. This installment incorporates drones, a wireless camera, gecko gloves, and the Turing test as well as the concept of an ecosystem. There are no ethnic indicators in the text, but the illustrations reveal that Ada, her family, and bratty neighbor Milton are white; Nina appears to be Southeast Asian; and Mr. Peebles, an inventor who lives nearby, is black.

The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the chapter-book world. (Fiction. 7-9)

Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4814-8599-9

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ADA LACE SEES RED
by Emily Calandrelli with Tamson Weston ; illustrated by Renée Kurilla

bookshelf

THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF SPACE

by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Olivier Latyk ; translated by Robb Booker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2016

A launch-pad fizzle.

bookshelf

Flaps and pull-tabs in assorted astro-scenes reveal several wonders of the universe as well as inside glimpses of observatories, rockets, a space suit, and the International Space Station.

Interactive features include a spinnable Milky Way, pop-up launches of Ariane and Soyuz rockets, a solar-system tour, visits to the surfaces of the moon and Mars, and cutaway views beneath long, thin flaps of an international array of launch vehicles. Despite these bells and whistles, this import is far from ready for liftoff. Not only has Antarctica somehow gone missing from the pop-up globe, but Baumann’s commentary (at least in Booker’s translation from the French original) shows more enthusiasm than strict attention to accuracy. Both Mercury and Venus are designated “hottest planet” (right answer: Venus); claims that there is no gravity in space and that black holes are a type of star are at best simplistic; and “we do not know what [other galaxies] actually look like” is nonsensical. Moreover, in a clumsy attempt to diversify the cast on a spread about astronaut training, Latyk gives an (evidently) Asian figure caricatured slit eyes and yellow skin.

A launch-pad fizzle. (Informational pop-up picture book. 7-9)