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SMASH, CRASH, TOPPLE, ROLL!

THE INVENTIVE RUBE GOLDBERG―A LIFE IN COMICS, CONTRAPTIONS, AND SIX SIMPLE MACHINES

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

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PRICELESS FACTS ABOUT MONEY

From the Mellody on Money series

A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information.

Two youngsters embark on a journey peppered with history, trivia, and skits while teaching money lessons.

Meet Mellody and John, the young stars of this currency showcase. Their very first dialogue offers a taste of the intriguing information to come, from the ancient Mayans’ use of cacao beans as payment to the origins of the piggy bank. The book offers a chronologically and geographically broad timeline of the history of money, encompassing the past 3.9 billion years (starting with meteorite crashes that scattered metals—“the very first bank deposit”) and referencing practices across five continents. Readers will find themselves eagerly sharing the facts gleaned here, including the centuries-old origins of terms and expressions still used today. Mellody and John’s fun banter crucially reflects their experiences with money, such as their families’ differing attitudes toward allowances. Both are savers as well as givers, sharing stories about giving to charity. In one especially entertaining section, a cat and a bunny converse in money-related catchphrases that are separately defined at the bottom of each page. Stevens’ watercolors are appropriately realistic and appealing, whether depicting Mellody’s pretend bank or Elizabeth II’s butler ironing a 10-pound note. Messages about money’s use as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, ensure that readers will think about their own purposes for their savings. Mellody and John are Black.

A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781536224719

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024

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1001 BEES

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

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