Invent Machines Like Rube!

Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll!: The Inventive Rube Goldberg―A Life in Comics, Contraptions, and Six Simple Machines 

by Catherine Thimmesh; illus. by Shanda McCloskey 

60 pages; ages 8-12

‎Chronicle Books, 2025 

Rube Goldberg was born in 1883 – on the brink of technological revolution. During his life he saw inventions and machines that were meant to make life simple. But… (as many of us have discovered with today’s tech) too often those inventions left folks befuddled. The tech was Just Too Complex!

Rube’s response? Draw his own contraptions – crazy, complex machines that went through multiple steps to achieve a simple goal. 

Starting with a Table of Contents that is, itself a Rube Goldberg contraption, we get drawn into Rube’s world of cartoon and satire. There's a section on becoming an artist the "Rube Goldberg way" and great sections that describe how each type of machine works. And a wonderful bit about Rube's invention cartoons. Back when he drew them, those crazy contraptions captured the imagination of kids and adults. Even today, more than 100 years later, people are designing and building “Rube Goldberg Machines” and posting videos online. Why? Because it’s fun. These machines do such ordinary things in unexpected ways. Even Honda got in on the action with their 2009 ad that uses car parts in an elaborate machine that rolls out their newest model. 

Rube Goldberg machines are, by design, whimsical - like the plant-watering machine. But the science behind them is real. Most are powered by gravity (things rolling, falling, swinging) and some combination of the six basic simple machines: lever, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, screw, and pulley that are introduced on the front endpaper.

Back matter includes a section on How to Build a Rube Goldberg Machine in eight simple steps. My favorite is step 8: embrace Murphy's Law. You know - the one that says if anything can go wrong it will. Something will happen, writes author Catherine Thimmesh. "Something will fall off its track. Count on it." Just be ready to troubleshoot and fix it. There's also a glossary and lists of resources for curious inventors.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Sneaky Spiders

 I've got some Very Sneaky Spiders hanging out in my garden and surrounding area! They don't advertise their presence by spinning sticky webs that net unsuspecting fliers. Instead, they hide in and under flowers, waiting for dinner to come to them - to settle on the flower for a sip of sweet nectar - and then they POUNCE! 

 

Do you have sneaky spiders in your flowers? 

  

Plant some Flowers for Your Pollinators!

 

My Pollinator Garden: How I Plant for Bees, Butterflies, Beetles, and More (Books for a Better Earth) 

by Jordan Zwetchkenbaum; illus. by Kate Cosgrove 

40 pages; ages 3-6 

‎Holiday House, 2025

theme: garden, pollinators, ecology

My garden is full of flowers. I like the pretty colors. I like that they smell good.

Those lovely flower smells attract animals that take pollen from one plant to another, so the flowers can make seeds. And those animals, from bees to birds, butterflies to bats, are called pollinators.  Spread by spread readers learn how flowers attract pollinators and how different pollinators carry the pollen. At the same time, we are introduced to a diversity of native bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds and bats, flies, beetles, and wasps.

What I like about this book: It’s fun to look at the different pollinators and flowers on each page. There are short-tongued bees and long-tongued bees. Some bees shake the flowers to release the pollen. There’s a fun fact about each of the featured pollinators: what colors they see; whether they fly during the day or night; what attracts them to a particular flower. Back matter includes and author’s note, how to plant for pollinators, a short glossary, sources, and an index to pollinators and their plants.

Beyond the Books: 

Plant some pollinator flowers that are native to your region. You can find a list of plants for your region here at XERCES. If you don’t have a large space for a pollinator garden, plant a way station. A way station flower spot could be as big as the area inside a hula hoop or a few pots on the balcony.

Make sure to have a watering spot for your pollinators. I use a shallow dish with rocks in it. The rocks serve as landing islands once I pour in water. Make sure you keep it filled, especially on hot and sunny days. 

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.