This is very kid-funny and adult-clever. My sons liked the obvious silliness. I liked the simple text that made it easy for them to "read" it. I also liked the subtle touches, like how the colors change from scene to scene, with the kids in pink shirts, or brown shirts or yellow shirts.One word of warning-- it's not a great bed time book, since the silliness keyes up the audience and demands they re-read it. But probably good for class visits. Children, and adults too, wonder how things work. Here a little girl asks how things work and a little boy uses his imagination to come up with the answers. A steamroller works because inside of it is a parrot tickling two bears who roll with laughter. A train works because a bunch of monkeys run on a treadmill toward a big pot of soup. And on and on go the creative answers to "How?" I was annoyed that it was always the little girl asking How and the little boy answering, until I got to the end. You'll see.
The boy's explanations for how everyday things work made me think a bit of Rube Goldberg machines.
—Shiloh
Going to pair with an episode of "How It's Made" that is geared toward kid-friendly product(s).
—Alex
Science versus imagination. Read this to kids and then booktalk, "The Way Things Work."
—Theif
Fun pictures how animals inside machines make them work. --Monty K.
—manju
Somebody get that boy a David Macaulay book quick!
—Aaron
