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The Everything Machine
With the Everything Machine, life is so easy for the Quirkians that on most days they don't need to get out of bed. But on one fateful day, all of that changes -- when the maching stops working! Readers will discover through the Quirkians' story that though difficult at first, life is much more interesting when you know how to do things for yourself.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 28, 2014
The overall color of this book is white. On the cover the title is red and at a slant. The illustration on the cover isn't too animated. On each page in the book there's illustrations but they're not too animated.
This book is about the a machine that did everything. On a Planet called Quirk they had this machine. They didn't have to get out of bed. One day the machine stopped working at the people had to learn how to do stuff on their own.
This book is about the a machine that did everything. On a Planet called Quirk they had this machine. They didn't have to get out of bed. One day the machine stopped working at the people had to learn how to do stuff on their own.
October 16, 2009
A cautionary tale.
August 30, 2024
I think I've seen some other illustrations by this author. Not "cute" ... definitely a unique style of drawing. I don't know how much small children are up for "discussion" on concepts like a traditional book club :) This is a "cautionary tale" ... as one would think "wouldn't it be great if there was a machine that could do everything for us? All the work? Except that "everything" also includes some fun, coloring, etc. While the people in the pictures here don't appear as overweight blobs, as in the Disney movie Wally ... it's the same concept. They just stay in bed, they don't have skills ... and that's a problem when "The Everything Machine" breaks down. They learn to help themselves again, cooking, gardening, painting ... so what happens when the machine is repaired?
Simple story, not a ton of talking - no rhymes.
Simple story, not a ton of talking - no rhymes.
November 13, 2018
Fun story with a good message.
September 18, 2022
Great message.
December 14, 2024
Absolutely love this book. Good book to read to kids in the midst of all this AI nonsense.
February 26, 2015
This book is about a city that is dependent on a machine to do everything for them. When the machine breaks, they have to learn to do things on their own. Once it is fixed, they no longer want its assistance because they realize how much enjoyment they get out of doing things on their own. As a result, they make a park around the machine and the machine still does some things for them, like scratch their backs, but it does not do everything for them anymore.
I really enjoyed the colorful illustrations in this book. I think that they really helped to liven up the book. I personally was not the bigges fan of this book, as I felt as if it was a little short and the plot was a little thin and predictable. Although there was a story line, I do not think that there were many solid characters that could be characterized as the main character. Although I was not too pleased with the development and characters of the book,I do think that this book gave a good message that doing things for yourself is rewarding and can be beneficial, especially in the society that we live in today where people are looking more and more towards technology to do things for them.
One way that I think I could incorperate this book into a lesson would be to help teach about machines and how they work. I remember doing a unit in school about simple and complex machines and I think that this would be a good book to introduce that. If the class was going to come up with their own inventions, I also think this would be a good book to read to give kids an idea of something that they could make. I think this book would be best for children in grades K-2. It uses language such as "repairman" and "announced" that would provide a vocabulary challenge for the students. I think that students of this age group would enjoy the concept of an everything machine and would enjoy the colorful illustrations of this book.
I really enjoyed the colorful illustrations in this book. I think that they really helped to liven up the book. I personally was not the bigges fan of this book, as I felt as if it was a little short and the plot was a little thin and predictable. Although there was a story line, I do not think that there were many solid characters that could be characterized as the main character. Although I was not too pleased with the development and characters of the book,I do think that this book gave a good message that doing things for yourself is rewarding and can be beneficial, especially in the society that we live in today where people are looking more and more towards technology to do things for them.
One way that I think I could incorperate this book into a lesson would be to help teach about machines and how they work. I remember doing a unit in school about simple and complex machines and I think that this would be a good book to introduce that. If the class was going to come up with their own inventions, I also think this would be a good book to read to give kids an idea of something that they could make. I think this book would be best for children in grades K-2. It uses language such as "repairman" and "announced" that would provide a vocabulary challenge for the students. I think that students of this age group would enjoy the concept of an everything machine and would enjoy the colorful illustrations of this book.
July 18, 2014
“The Everything Machine” is just that, a machine that does everything for you that you find difficult or boring. (I wouldn’t mind the machine coming and doing my job for me today so I could stay home and sleep! LOL). There is a planet called Planet Quirk and on that planet that is exactly what they have. In fact this machine does so many things for those Quirkians (that’s what people on planet Quirk are called) that they don’t have to do anything but sleep all day. The Quirkians were very happy and content that the machine took care of everything for them. And because there was nothing for them to do most days they just lay around all day.
Imagine having a machine that cooks your breakfast, mows your lawn, does your homework, and washes your dishes. I wish I had a machine that could help me do all the things that I hate doing. Don’t you?
WELL. . .
Excerpt: One day the machine just stopped. (Can you imagine that? It just stopped working.) There was no Chug! Chug! Or Puff! Puff! “My lawn needs mowing.” “Where is my breakfast?” “My book needs coloring” They all began to shout. They tried to fix it. They talked to it. They even kicked it but nothing happened. Until… Someone discovered a small label. What do you think the label said?
Well you are going to have to read this book to find the answer to that question and what the Quirkians did next.
My PreK and Kindergarten students just loved this book. The really enjoyed the rhyming words which tend to sound musical. It is a definite good read.
Imagine having a machine that cooks your breakfast, mows your lawn, does your homework, and washes your dishes. I wish I had a machine that could help me do all the things that I hate doing. Don’t you?
WELL. . .
Excerpt: One day the machine just stopped. (Can you imagine that? It just stopped working.) There was no Chug! Chug! Or Puff! Puff! “My lawn needs mowing.” “Where is my breakfast?” “My book needs coloring” They all began to shout. They tried to fix it. They talked to it. They even kicked it but nothing happened. Until… Someone discovered a small label. What do you think the label said?
Well you are going to have to read this book to find the answer to that question and what the Quirkians did next.
My PreK and Kindergarten students just loved this book. The really enjoyed the rhyming words which tend to sound musical. It is a definite good read.
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March 30, 2015 The Everything Machine, written by Matt Novak, is about a town that has a machine that does literally EVERYTHING! The machine cooks, cleans, mows yard, colors, and whatever you name, the machine does. Well one day the machine break and the Quirkians were forced to do all the work themselves. This book teaches students the lesson of being independent. This is a good lesson to start teaching at a young age so students learn to become more responsible for themselves. Being reliant on an elder could end up hurting the child in the end.
The illustrations in the book were also done by Matt Novak. I found the illustrations to be very fun. They appear to be extremely bubbly. The use of bright colors makes for a fun time. The colors remind me somewhat of a carnival. Those are usually a good time for a kid so putting good color to a not-so-great story makes it better. The amount of detail is amazing and honestly I feel like it took Novak quite a bit to make all the illustrations.
The text in the book is fun. The author makes up new creatures in which appear to be alien like, called Quirkians. Seeing as the illustrations are all over every page, the author puts the text where it fits. The main layout of the book is block and panel. It is set up as though it were a comic book. I think this book will be fun for kids to read however it may get a little confusing as to what line they are supposed to read next.
The illustrations in the book were also done by Matt Novak. I found the illustrations to be very fun. They appear to be extremely bubbly. The use of bright colors makes for a fun time. The colors remind me somewhat of a carnival. Those are usually a good time for a kid so putting good color to a not-so-great story makes it better. The amount of detail is amazing and honestly I feel like it took Novak quite a bit to make all the illustrations.
The text in the book is fun. The author makes up new creatures in which appear to be alien like, called Quirkians. Seeing as the illustrations are all over every page, the author puts the text where it fits. The main layout of the book is block and panel. It is set up as though it were a comic book. I think this book will be fun for kids to read however it may get a little confusing as to what line they are supposed to read next.
December 8, 2015
The Everything Machine did everything for the Quirkians, and the people became lazy. When the machine breaks, they find pride in their work and when it’s fixed, realize how lazy they have been. Since this is science fiction, believability is relative, but the idea that a group of people would become very lazy if a machine did everything for them is extremely believable. The conclusion was very satisfying, as the people realized they were better off without the machine, along with a nice element of tension as the people were unsure in their own abilities at first. The use of cadence was good in this book, the sentences had a natural flow with occasional rhyming. There was a decent use of “sound” words but they didn’t weaken the story I feel. For a book with a science fiction base, it did a great job of teaching a lesson without stating it. You read about a group of people realizing they enjoy doing their own work. Not a story of how a bunch of lazy people ruined their lives or how a bunch of people learned their lesson through misfortune. The people just come to find out they like it better without the machine. this is a really creative story that teaches children that materials are not everything and that we need to work for what we want.
Novak, M. (2009). The everything machine. New York: Roaring Brook.
Novak, M. (2009). The everything machine. New York: Roaring Brook.
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October 6, 2016 This book is about a town who was given a machine to do everything for them from someone from a different planet. It was given to them because they work to hard and want to live more fulfilling. The everything machine literately did everything for the town, it cook, mowed lawns, and colored peoples books. one day it broke down and the towns people had to do everything by themselves. They liked working for themselves and doing every day things that the machine had did for them. When the machine was up and running, the towns people still wanted to continue doing their daily activities. The machine was adjusted so that it will only scratch people's back since that was the only thing hard for them to do.
Subgenres in this book where about future technology that does everything for people and coming in contact with others from different plants. A lesson I thought that was in the book is about not relying on technology for everything. There are things we can do for ourselves that is simple and technology doesn't really have to be used. Also this teaches to use technology when we really need it, in this case the machine was used to scratch backs. This book also predicts future life because we rely so much on technology so much that one day we won't do anything because we will have robots to do everything for us.
Subgenres in this book where about future technology that does everything for people and coming in contact with others from different plants. A lesson I thought that was in the book is about not relying on technology for everything. There are things we can do for ourselves that is simple and technology doesn't really have to be used. Also this teaches to use technology when we really need it, in this case the machine was used to scratch backs. This book also predicts future life because we rely so much on technology so much that one day we won't do anything because we will have robots to do everything for us.
October 6, 2016
The Everything Machine by Matt Novak is about a very futuristic society on the planet Quirk that has a machine that does everything for them. It cooks, cleans, and even colors for the Quirkians so they won't have to work. One day The Everything Machine stops working and the Quirkians try fixing it themselves until they find a sticker that tells them to call someone from planet Bing Bong to come fix it, and it ends up taking the repairman months to fix the machine. The Quirkians, slowly but surely, start to do everything that the machine did for them on their own. They begin to cook, and clean, and garden. At first they don't like it because it is too much hard work for them, but then they begin to enjoy doing simple everyday tasks like cooking and gardening. When the repairman finally fixes The Everything Machine, the people are happy, and they try to throw a party, but The Everything Machine does everything that they want to do. They want to keep the machine but they don't want it to do everything the way it did before. So they decide to assign it to just do back-scratching.
December 6, 2015
The everything machine is about how a machine did everything for people called the quikians. The people became lazy because this machine did everything for them. When the machine breaks they actually have to do the work themselves, they enjoy doing a lot of the work. When the machine gets fixed they realized how lazy they have actually been, they no longer require the machine to do all the tasks that they know enjoy doing. This book used a great cadence that I really liked because rhymes are fun and a great way for kids to learn. The teachable moment that I would take away from this book, is that you should not let something or someone else do the work for you because it is much more rewarding to do it yourself. As the qukian people learned in kind of a hard way that the reward of doing something yourself pays off and it is fun.
November 19, 2012
“The Everything Machine” written by Matt Novak tells the story of an amazing machine from the planet Quirk. This machine does everything from cooking to cleaning to even coloring. The machine seems to make life much easier for the inhabitants of planet Quirk until one day the machine breaks down. The people must learn to survive on their own without their beloved machine! However, the townspeople learn to love doing things on their own and no longer see the need for such a machine. This book is so well written that I would love to have it in my classroom. The pictures are so wonderfully done and the story line is fantastic.
February 23, 2014
I loved this story! The Everything Machine does exactly what it sounds like-everything! The people of Quirk do not work or do chores because the machine does it all. One day, the machine ceases to work. It's broken! The Quirkians become hysterical because they do not know how to do anything. It takes months to repair the machine. In the meanwhile, the people of Quirk learn to do their own work and begin to actually enjoy it and find hobbies. You have to read the story to discover the rest! This is a great book that can help children predict what technology possibly could do and what effect it can have on our future.
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December 8, 2014This book tells the story of a planet full of lazy people who let this wonderous machine do literally everything for them. One day, the machine breaks down and the once pathetic people learn to take care of themselves and their things. The machine gets fixed but the people find that they enjoy doing things for themselves and would rather the machine left them alone. This book has a nice gentle way of suggesting that doing something for yourself is good for you without being didactic.
Reading level: Grades K-2
http://www.mattnovak.com/emachinesing...
Reading level: Grades K-2
http://www.mattnovak.com/emachinesing...
September 28, 2015
The machine does everything for everyone. It mows, cooks, cleans...it even colors in your coloring books! No one has to do anything until the day the machine quits working. While it is being repaired, the town's people discover that there are things they really love doing for themselves. What will they do when the machine is fixed? Cute story for children - and maybe a cautionary tale for the rest of us!
September 24, 2012
This is about how work is tied up in the meaning/joy we find in our lives. The machine does everything for them until it breaks. They re-learn everything and then decide they like working better than not. Fun story.
July 4, 2014
The people of Quirk become lazy because they have a machine that does everything for them. When the machine breaks down they have to learn to take care of themselves. This is a longer book so it is best for an older audience.
December 6, 2014
Love it. very creative and something that will create kids minds to ponder and expound. Illustration is great and again i really like the idea behind a machine being capable of everything and the thought provoking things it could do for the youth
November 3, 2016
The everything machine by Matt Novak sets place in a futuristic society. In the planet of Quirk there is machine, called the everything machine, that does EVERYTHING for the Quirkians who live there. It cooks, it cleans,
October 28, 2009
I love the illustrations on this one, and the story is fun as well.
April 14, 2010
What if you had a machine to do everything for you? What if it shut down? Maybe you might even like doing things yourself....
Quibble: very weird globby illustration style.
Quibble: very weird globby illustration style.
April 17, 2010
self sufficency, work ethic, moralistic but not preachy
August 5, 2010
Thinly veiled message: don't be a lazy bum!
August 8, 2012
Fun read, suitable moral lies there...to quote another fun read.
December 19, 2012
Hilarious. The thrills of going back to nature and decreasing the dependence on technology.
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November 22, 2016Mama read this to me the other night. I love machines and robots so it was really funny to me to see a machine doing everything for everyone!
January 12, 2017
Wish you had a machine that did everything for you? Well...be careful what you wish for...this cute story will help you see why. :)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews