How Does It Work?: Explore machines and objects, from fridges to fire engines!

About this book

Children are curious about how things work – and fortunately Maddie Moate is too, which is why she’s written this book packed full of information about how the everyday and not so everyday things around us function.

Organised into four different adventures – Race Around The House, The Birthday Party Dash, The School Trip Catastrophe and The Great Holiday Adventure - How Does It Work? takes readers on a journey each time, exploring different environments and the various objects, machines and technology that might be found on the way. 

In the Race Around the House chapter, on a quest to find a remote-controlled car to race, Maddie explains how a dishwasher and a blender work while she’s making breakfast, and how TV works when her nephews and nieces are lounging around. 

In The Birthday Party Dash chapter, Maddie explains how barcodes in supermarkets work, how microwaves cook food, and even how all the fun rides at the playground make you feel dizzy.

There’s a detailed glossary of quite complex terms at the end of the book (definitions of terms such as 'phosphorescence' and 'the electromagnetic spectrum'), as well as the answers to various puzzles that have been posed in the chapters. 

The book is bright and well-designed, with lots to look at, meaning that it would take quite a long time to read cover to cover and might be best to be dipped into from time to time.