Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll!
The Inventive Rube Goldberg—A Life in Comics, Contraptions, and Six Simple Machines
-
- $17.99
-
- $17.99
Publisher Description
A 2025 Science Friday Best Science Book for Kids
A joyfully illustrated picture book biography of Rube Goldberg for STEM-loving children and the many people who enjoy doing simple tasks the hard way.
Award-winning author Catherine Thimmesh’s irresistibly engaging text and artist Shanda McCloskey’s energetic, cartoon-style artwork introduce readers to the life and creative legacy of Rube Goldberg, the world-famous inventor of crazy contraptions. A rollicking educational kids' book that is part biography, part inspiration, and part physics how-to, Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll! posits the ultimate question … why do anything the simple way? (Especially if, for instance, there is a catapult option?)
Because, of course, there are lots of things you can do the simple way:
Set an alarm,
flip a switch,
open a door,
toast some bread . . .
But what if, instead, you did things the Rube Goldberg way?
Endlessly entertaining,
needlessly complex,
and achieving a delicate balance of physics, humor, and excitement!
The book includes an overview of the six simple machines that power most of Goldberg’s inventions and puts the tools for making real-life Rube Goldberg machines right into readers’ hands. It’s the perfect thing to spark the imaginations of budding inventors, artists, and thinkers of all ages—because the most promising relationships with science start not with a textbook but with the willingness to break stuff and ask silly questions!
SCIENCE MADE FUN: Sure to excite students, teachers, and parents looking for a playful, hands-on way to dive into the sciences and connect to STEM and STEAM efforts in schools, where Rube Goldberg machines are already in use, this book offers a fun way to approach the sometimes-daunting subject of physics.
INSPIRATIONAL AWESOMENESS: There are more and better opportunities for kids to embrace and explore a love of science and engineering today, and Rube Goldberg was an artist, too! This is the perfect book to encourage the scientist and artist in every kid.
POPULAR SUBJECT FOR KIDS: There are over 1 million views of various Rube Goldberg videos on YouTube featuring overly complicated ways to turn a page, pass the salt, water a plant, and more.
Perfect for:Young makersParents, grandparents, and caregivers encouraging budding engineers and artistsClassroom book or gift for teachersRube Goldberg fans of all ages
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rube Goldberg (1883–1970) was born in an era defined by massive technological upheaval. But where others recoiled at the march of progress, Goldberg saw "the funny," writes Thimmesh in lucidly rendered short chapters. Employing his talent in cartooning and what he learned studying mining engineering, Goldberg created convoluted, comical contraptions with enduring cultural impact. Digitally colored ink drawings by McCloskey tip a hat to the subject's visual impishness (an opening how-to explains "The Simple Way to Read This Book"), and go on to chronicle his love of catapults and chain reactions, his brilliance in overcomplicating the principles of simple machines, and the delicious nerdiness of his step-by-step instructional captions, which "followed a narrative logic that made perfect sense in context (even if liberties were taken with the laws of nature and physics)." Young makers should find the final how-to chapter irresistible, "Because, really, why do something the simple way... if, instead, there is a catapult option?" Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 8–12.
