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How Things Work

A book probably isn't the best place to learn how things work. Taking apart a toaster, changing spark plugs on a car engine, or building a crystal radio is going to give you a far better sense of the inner workings of technological systems than words and pictures on a page. Books can be a good place to start, though, especially if you don't have the resources to hand your kids as many old appliances as it would take for them to teach themselves electrical engineering.

How many kids have gone on to become mechanics whose fathers forbade them from entering the garage? Or carpenters, whose parents didn't want them getting wood chips in their hair and clothes? How often does a couch potato learn to fly airplanes in virtue of her laziness? While there are exceptions of course, kids who aren't allowed to investigate it will generally end up ruled by technology, unable to comprehend its "mysteries."

Mechanical devices—from cars and trucks to microwaves and waffle irons that double as lawn mowers—fascinate children....that is, until we attach all kinds of limitations to them and snuff out any genuine interest. Half the reason we have a population of inept adults is that, increasingly, children are prevented from learning how to actually do anything. The best remedy for this uniquely modern malady is for parents to allow and guide their children in all kinds of practical endeavors, from working on the family car to building a bookcase to figuring out why the toaster no longer toasts.

But what do you do when you (the parent) don't know how to do those things yourself? While you could just dive in, a better option might be to get a book and start at the beginning. Our section is regrettably limited, but we're always looking to expand it with helpful and appealing titles—if you know of any, don't hesitate to send titles or series our way. In the meantime, we encourage you to teach your kids what you know, have a friend teach them practical skills beyond your ability, and just let them have a good time learning on their own, whether it's taking apart a small motor or putting it back together again.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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58 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
About Paper
by Anabel Dean, illustrated by Bob O'Malley
from Melmont Publishers
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
All About Engines and Power
All About Books #45
by Sam & Beryl Epstein
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$6.79
Amazing Story of the Combustion Engine
Max Axiom STEM Adventures
by Mari Bolte, illustrated by Pop Art Properties
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
Basher Science: Engineering
by Simon Basher, Tom Jackson
Reprint from Kingfisher
for 2nd-6th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$8.49 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Basher Science: Engineering
by Simon Basher, Tom Jackson
KiwiCo from Kingfisher
for 2nd-6th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
Basher Science: Technology
Basher Science
by Simon Basher, Dan Green
Pap/Pstr from Kingfisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$7.64 $5.03 (1 in stock)
Beacons of Light: Lighthouses
by Gail Gibbons
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Canals and Dams
Build It Yourself
by Donna Latham, illustrated by Andrew Christensen
from Nomad Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Cobblestone "The Panama Canal"
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
DK Findout! Engineering
by Emily Hunt
from DK Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Do It Yourself: Simple Machines
by Buffy Silverman
from William Heinemann
for 3rd-5th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
Erie Canal
by Peter Spier
from Doubleday & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Finding Out About Things that Fly
Usborne Explainers
by A. Thomas, Karen A. Little
from Usborne
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
First Book of Automobiles
by Jeanne Bendick
from Franklin Watts
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
How and Why Wonder Book of Machines
by Dr. Jerome J. Notkin and Sidney Gulkin, illustrated by George J. Zaffo
from Charles E. Merrill Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
How and Why Wonder Book of Machines
by Dr. Jerome J. Notkin and Sidney Gulkin, illustrated by George J. Zaffo
from Wonder Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
How Do Airplanes Fly?
Ask Isaac Asimov
by Isaac Asimov and Elizabeth Kaplan
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
How Super Cool Tech Works
2nd edition from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How They Were Built
from Barnes & Noble
for 3rd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
How Things Work: Everyday Machines - Coloring Book
by Scott MacNeill
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Miscellaneous Coloring Books (Location: COL-MISC)
$5.09
How Things Work: Vehicles - Coloring Book
by Scott MacNeill
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$4.24
How to Build a Motorcycle
Technical Tales
by Saskia Lacey, illustrated by Martin Sodomka
from Quarto Knows
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
Incredible Cross-Sections
by Stephen Biesty
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
Lighthouses of North America!
by Lisa Trumbauer, illustrated by Michael Kline
from Williamson Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$5.20 (2 in stock)
Make it Work! Machines
by Andrew Haslam & David Glover
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
Mechanical Engineering and Simple Machines
Engineering in Action
by Robert Snedden
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ocean Engineering and Designing for the Deep Sea
Engineering in Action
by Rebecca Sjonger
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
See How It's Made
from DK Children
for 3rd-7th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$7.60 (2 in stock)
Shape: The Purpose of Forms
Science At Work
by Eric Laithwaite
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Story of Cotton
by Alice Turner Curtis
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$5.94
Story of Glass
by Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$7.64
Story of Gold and Silver
by Elizabeth I. Samuel
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$6.79
Story of Industry - 10-book Set
by Alice Turner Curtis, Elizabeth I. Samuel, and Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
Story of Iron
by Elizabeth I. Samuel
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$6.79
Story of Leather
by Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$7.64
Story of Lumber
by Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$6.79
Story of Porcelain
by Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$8.49
Story of Silk
by Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$6.79
Story of Sugar
by Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$6.79
Story of the Panama Canal
by R. Conrad Stein
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
Story of Wool
by Sara Ware Bassett
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Story of Industry (Location: SCI-CMIND)
$6.79
Teaching Technology Through Interest Projects
by Jennifer Katherine Brooks
from Critical Thinking Books
for 3rd-12th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$14.99
Transformed: How Everyday Things are Made
by Bill and Jim Slavin, illustrated by Bill Slavin
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Trucks - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
Ultimate Book of Cross-Sections
by DK Publishing
from DK Children
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
Usborne Look Inside: How Computers Work
Usborne Look Inside
by Alex Frith and Rosie Dickins, illustrated by Colin King
from Usborne
for 1st-3rd grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.80 (1 in stock)
Usborne Look Inside: How Things Work
Usborne Look Inside
by Alex Frith and Rosie Dickins, illustrated by Colin King
from Usborne
for 1st-3rd grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne See Inside Bridges, Towers & Tunnels
by Struan Reid, illustrated by Annie Carbo
from Usborne
for 1st-3rd grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne See Inside Famous Palaces
by Megan Cullis, illustrated by Barry Ablett
from Usborne
for 1st-3rd grade
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Vision: How, Why and What We See
Golden Library of Knowledge
by Janette Rainwater
from Golden Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Walt Disney's How It Works in the Home
from J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
We Read About Taking Pictures
Webster Junior Science Series
by Harold E. Tannenbaum, Nathan Stillman, illustrated by Robert Cassell
from Webster Publishing Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
We Read About Television and How It Works
Webster Junior Science Series
by Harold E. Tannenbaum, Nathan Stillman, illustrated by James Cummings
from Webster Publishing Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
What Is the Panama Canal? (What Was...?)
What Was?
by Janet Pascal
1st edition from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1877-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
$5.09 $3.20 (2 in stock)
What Makes a Car Go?
by Scott Corbett, illustrated by Leonard Darwin
5th printing from Atlantic Monthly Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
What's Inside? Great Inventions
What's Inside?
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Writing it Down
by Vicki Cobb, Illustrated by Marylin Hafner
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
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