RUBE GOLDBERG'S BIG BOOK OF BUILDING

A compilation of zany Rube Goldberg machines for the dedicated aspiring inventor.

This book, co-authored by George, Rube Goldberg’s granddaughter, and Rube Goldberg Machine Contest champion Umperovitch, offers suggestions for everyday inventions in the spirit of Goldberg’s time-consuming machines that do simple tasks. The introduction describes simple machines and types of energy and offers tips and tricks for building. Each invention is broken down over several spreads that cover a description of the task it will perform, step-by-step illustrations and instructions, and a blank ruled page for readers’ building and testing notes. The projects are divided into chapters organized by level of difficulty from “Beginner (3-step)” to “Advanced (7+step),” with names such as (in increasing level of difficulty) “Apply a Band-Aid,” “Pour a Glass of Water,” “Dunk a Cookie,” and “Serve Fresh Popcorn.” The extensive backmatter includes facts about Goldberg, safety tips, suggestions for alternate materials to use, a glossary, and further resources. Steckley’s full-color artwork is fun and engaging and clearly depicts how the machines are supposed to work. While it’s debatable whether most of these projects will function in the real world, even with repeated tries, creative inventors may enjoy trying them anyway or coming up with their own improvements.

A decent selection of inventions for patient kids who enjoy tinkering.