How Machines Work: Zoo Break! (DK David Macaulay How Things Work)

Our 4 and 6 year boys can’t get enough of this book!

Waht a book! So thoroughly thought out and designed! My 7 yrs boy keeps browsing and flipping thro it .. the author did an amazing job!

I bought this book for my 6yr old son as a Christmas gift. It just recently arrived today, when I opened the box containing the book, I was immediately surprised to find that the gears and lever on the front cover of the book actually move! You turn the gear on the far right and everything else on the cover moves, the pages are also filled with various pop-ups and little tid-bits about the history of when, who, and why the simple machine was invented. Even I learned a few things from the book.I can't wait to give this book to my son, and I hope he will enjoy reading and flipping the pages as much as I did!P.s. - there's even a page that explains simple levers and lets the reader build a simple lever from the page inserts and launch things over a pop-up fence. So the reader can actually attempt and use the same machine that is being used by the characters in the Zoo that are trying to escape.

I love David Macaulay's work but most of it is above my 5 year old's head and most of his books are very matter-of-fact. This one introduces the concept of simple machines through the gripping (and hilarious) story of Sloth and Senghi's various attempts at going on the lam, with awesome pop-ups and interactive elements. My 5 year old laughed hysterically through the first reading and still finds it funny. He loves to play with the various mechanisms. I think the subject matter is a little advanced for him but we really enjoy reading the story together and he's internalized some of the simpler concepts. I also gave the book to my 6-year-old nephew and cemented my reputation as "the aunt who sends the best books."

This is the second one my son has gotten. The first one our cat used to throw up on. My son is really into how things work and loves this book. I was kind of glad to get the new one since the old books little cardboard characters and lever had been ripped. He had just turned 5 when he got the first one, now at almost 6 he is much more careful with it. So keep that in mind for whomever you are purchasing it for. Overall this is an engaging book with fun interactive parts.

Fun story integrated with great engineering fundamental knowledge. My 5-yr old enjoyed the first few reads very much, then seemingly lost interest. Will bring it out after some time.

What a wonderful new book from David Macaulay. I had The Way Things Work growing up and spent hours upon hours lost in it, so I was super excited to see this new publication. This will be a present for my son who's a bit of a reluctant reader but loves inventions and building things. I think this book will be a great way to get him more interested in reading (it seems a little less daunting than The Way Things Work) while also appealing to his more hands-on nature.

My 5 year old nephew lovessssss this book. He has lots of fun reading and playing with all the fold-out parts of the book. I wish they have more of this type of books!

My two kids like this book as it has some “little toys” inside to play with, but be aware that some of them are not made from thick paper, so it will not be tough enough to play for a long time. I have never seen a book talking about mechanics for kids, so it would be nice to have one of this kind at home.

Excellent book for 7-9 year olds. Very informative and fun.

Este libro no lo encontrábamos en bibliotecas ni librerías de aquí. Lo encontré en amazon a buen precio. Nos llegó un primer ejemplar con la contraportada rota, y tras reclamarlo nos enviaron otro en perfecto estado.Explica el funcinamiento de las máquinas báscias de un modo manipulativo y muy entendible para los peques. Sigueindo el hilo de la historia de unos animales que quieren escapar del zoo. A mi peque de 5 le encanta. Le encantaba desde los 3.

The front cover is thick, containing gear wheels with sprockets that should move, bit they aren't on the same plane - missing each other - so they malfunction.

My 3 year old son loves the seasaw in it! Quite fun to read. My 6 year old can get a sense of mechanics of pulley, leverage etc. Read for both of them at least 20 times since we had the book.