
Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll!
The Inventive Rube Goldberg-A Life in Comics, Contraptions, and Six Simple Machines
Catherine Thimmesh(Author)
Chronicle Books (Publisher)
Published on 6. May 2025
Book
Hardback
56 pages
978-1-4521-4422-1 (ISBN)
Description
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!
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!
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
San Francisco
United States
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 8 to 12 years
Dimensions
Height: 278 mm
Width: 247 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
518 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4521-4422-1 (9781452144221)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Catherine Thimmesh is an award-winning author, speaker, and creativity educator. Her creative children's nonfiction titles have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Sibert Medal for Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon and a Sibert Honor for Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild. Madam President was a New York Times Notable book, and her bestselling Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women won the IRA Children's Book Award and was followed by Girls Solve Everything: Stories of Women Entrepreneurs Building a Better World. You can watch her discuss the importance of creativity in her TEDx Talk, "Creativity in the Classroom (in 5 minutes or less!)," on YouTube or her website, catherinethimmesh.com. Catherine lives near Minneapolis, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Shanda McCloskey is the award-winning author and illustrator of STEM-friendly picture books like Doll-E 1.0, a 2019 NSTA Best STEM Book Winner, and T-Bone the Drone, a Sunshine State Young Readers Award Jr. Nominee. She lives in Ball Ground, Georgia, and enjoys visiting schools. Learn more at shandamc.com.
Shanda McCloskey is the award-winning author and illustrator of STEM-friendly picture books like Doll-E 1.0, a 2019 NSTA Best STEM Book Winner, and T-Bone the Drone, a Sunshine State Young Readers Award Jr. Nominee. She lives in Ball Ground, Georgia, and enjoys visiting schools. Learn more at shandamc.com.