Basher Science: Engineering: Machines and Buildings

Basher Science

by Tom Jackson, Tom Jackson

How does a 3D printer work? What stops a skyscraper from falling over? Where does a smart phone store information? Welcome to the world of engineering! Discover how the familiar machines and buildings in today's world are constructed, and how they function. How do scientists choose the right materials for the right job? Which scientific principles lie behind each machine or structure?Basher's highly original books explain difficult scientific concepts in ingenious ways, making them tangible, understandable and even lovable. Chatty first-person text and stylish, contemporary character illustrations give a voice, personality, and story to each topic -- it's a truly brilliant way to communicate science.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Engineering, Childrens, Education

133 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2017

About the author

"I'm a non-fiction author and project editor (plus I do a bit of journalism). I'm available for project development, writing, project management and I also work as a packager. Click on the links above to see examples of my work.

But first some background: Over the last 20 years, I've written books, magazine and newspaper articles, for online and for television. I get to write about a wide range of subjects, everything from axolotls to zoroastrianism. However, my specialties are natural history, technology and all things scientific. I've worked on projects with Brian May, Patrick Moore, Marcus de Sautoy and Carol Vorderman and for major international publishers, such as Dorling Kindersley, National Geographic, Scholastic, Hachette, Facts on File and BBC Magazines.

I spend my days finding fun ways of communicating all kinds of facts, new and old, to every age group and reading ability. I live in Bristol, England, with my wife and three children. I studied zoology at Bristol University and have had spells working at the zoos in Jersey and Surrey. I used to be something of a conservationist, which included planting trees in Somerset, surveying Vietnamese jungle and rescuing buffaloes from drought-ridden Zimbabwe. Writing jobs have also taken me to the Galápagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest, the coral reefs of Indonesia and the Sahara Desert. Nowadays, I can be found mainly in the attic."
~http://tomjackson.weebly.com/

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows the familiar pattern of the Simon Basher books--cute illustrations coupled with witty self-introductions of various scientific ideas or items. In this book, aspects of engineering such a simple machines and materials are covered. This is not the best of the series, but my kids still enjoyed it.

[Caden · Rating 4 out of 5]

      Going into this book, I knew I was not the target audience but I was surprised how many facts I was able to learn. Now that that is out of the way I would like to view this book from that perspective. The book is split up into sections that are extremely easy for any child to read. The articles themselves are extremely easy for a child to understand. It even has a glossary for any words they may find confusing.
     My main problem with this style of book is that it has a big problem keeping young readers attention. Other than that though, I think that this is great for any child to get into engineering. The art in the book is clean and vibrant; perfect for children. Overall, I believe this book is great for teaching kids about machines and buildings, but can have a hard time keeping attention.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book
Snippets make this a good resource
Too long to do a cover to cover
Cartoon illustrations instead of real ones