Howard Had a Shrinking Machine

Howard #4

by Steve Lawhead

Howard tries out his grandfather's shrinking machine, which allows him to reduce to the size of DNA

29 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1988

About the author

also writes under the name Stephen R. Lawhead

Reviews

[Vicki Kier · Rating 1 out of 5]

When Howard's grandfather offers him a shrinking machine that looks like a wrist watch, Howard wastes no time trying it out. Controlling his size with a dial on the machine, he eventually shrinks smaller than a cell. Photographs provide proof to youngsters of things not visible with their naked eyes, but the incorporated cartoonish Howard is distracting and more than a bit corny. As well, his appearances do not always fit the descriptions given, nor do the descriptions accurately relate proper proportions in the scales given. For example, on a page which illustrates Howard sailing through the air on a dandelion seed, roughly his length, the accompanying text indicates that a fruit fly "looked as big as an eagle to tiny Howard."

References to God's hand in creating the natural world support a Christian viewpoint that not all readers will appreciate. Stephen Kramer's Hidden Worlds: Looking through a Scientist's Microscope offers a more appealing alternative.