Showing posts with label engineering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label engineering. Show all posts

Early Book Review: Built by Animals: Meet the Creatures who Inspire our Homes and Cities by Christiane Dorion, Yeji Yun

Built by Animals: Meet the Creatures who Inspire our Homes and Cities, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Yeli Yun, is currently scheduled for release on May 3 2022. Meet the animals behind the most amazing building tech, brought to life by Yeji Yun and expertly explained by WWF educator Christiane Dorion. This book dives into the world of biomimicry and answers questions like: How can we use more solar energy to power our homes? How can we grow plants in the desert? How can we pump water to the top of very tall buildings?How can we clean polluted rivers? From the bee’s honeycomb shape that strengthens structures to termites’ that build their nests with natural air con, these creatures did it first! And, at the end of the book, find out who wins big at the Animal Builder Awards! Will it be the prairie dog, the peacock, the beaver, or the firefly?

Built by Animals is an educational and entertaining read. I thought the illustrations were absolutely charming and did a great job of holding the reader's interest while helping to clarify the text on each page. It is worth giving the book a look through just to fully appreciate the skill in the illustrations before or after reading the book as a whole. I thought the information shared in this book was well chosen, and I liked the way it tied in the animal's hard work to the efforts some people have been making to make more sustainable or efficient things based on the skills found in nature.I thought the variety of creatures included, and that plants got their mention as well.  I loved the creativity and thought that has obviously gone into this book, and think it is a valuable read for interested readers. I think it would be an asset to classroom, school, and public libraries as well as the personal collection for young readers. 

Book Review: Super Structures by Ian Graham

Super Structures by Ian Graham teaches readers about some of the most amazing structures around the world. From the Ancient Pyramids to the Eiffel Tower, get ready to take a close-up look at some awesome man-made structures. This unique, interactive book traces the history of the world’s most impressive, man-made mega structures from ancient times to the modern age, but also explores the science behind these incredible engineering feats. Discover the science of architecture behind different types of super structures, including bridges, domes and towers, then use this knowledge to have ago at creating your own from the model kit! Using card pieces, plastic connectors and string, you can make the different types of constructions – including an Egyptian pyramid, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Eiffel Tower - and then conduct tests to see how they work!
Super Structures not only explores fantastic structures, but goes through the planning and work that is involved in going from an idea to completed project. The engineering involved in the structures is explained, and the dimensions and details of the materials is all given. The book explains everything concisely and understandably without talking down to the reader.  I will admit that I thought some of the pictures were aimed at a younger audience than the text and interest level, but that could have been because I was looking at a digital copy rather than the physical book. I like that the print copy of the book comes with the model kit, so the instructions and images that guide readers to build their own structions and test their skills and understanding show exactly what it should look like. In many building books the readers are supposed to use items they have or find, which makes proportions and whatnot more difficult. 

Super Structures is an interesting and well put together book. I think this could be particularly useful in classroom or homeschooling environment. I think this will be a favorite for young readers fascinated by buildings and building.

Book Review: Ellie Engineer by Jackson Pearce

Ellie Engineer is a middle grade novel by Jackson Pearce, and is the first book in a new series about a girl who loves to build. Ellie is an engineer. With a tool belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can’t wear a dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop. Together with her best friend Kit, Ellie can make anything. As Kit’s birthday nears, Ellie doesn’t know what gift to make until the girls overhear Kit’s mom talking about her present—the dog Kit always wanted! Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans grow so elaborate that she has to enlist help from the neighbor boys and crafty girls, even though the two groups don’t get along. Will Ellie be able to pull off her biggest project yet?

Ellie Engineer is a wonderful story about friendship and being yourself. It also covers the changes in friend groups and friendship dynamics in those in between years when boys and girls tend to separate. Ellie and Kit are different, but they are still best friends with a love of building. When things are not going according to plan Ellie needs to adjust, and keeping her doghouse a secret from Kit- and getting help from those she does not ordinarily spend time with during the summer, leads to a series of problems. I liked Ellie's flexibility ith her projects, and how she gets things done, and I sympathized with her attempts to keep everyone happy, when she should have just been honest with everyone from the beginning. I think young readers will relate to at least one character in the story, even if it is not Ellie. Some might connect with Kit feeling left out, or those helping Ellie but being kept a secret from each other. I love that the book includes information about the tools Ellie uses in the story, and those that readers might get access to, and permission to use. The how-tos and information just might get readers making their own inventions, and testing or repairing gadgets of their own.

Ellie Engineer is a fun middle grade read that encourages friendship and ingenuity outside the normal limits most kids feel constrained by. I found the emotion and social queues to be on point, and I loved the message of the story. 

Early Book Review: Princess Lila Builds a Tower By Anne Paradis

Princess Lila Builds a Tower is a picture book by Anne Paradis that is currently scheduled for release on May 16 2017. Princess Lila lives in a beautiful castle and has everything she could ever desire—well, almost. She yearns to venture beyond the forest, explore her country and meet people her own age. But the forest is off limits. Resourceful and ingenious, Princess Lila sets to work building a tower to catch a glimpse of the forbidden land. Thus begins a thrilling adventure: she becomes the manager of a vast construction project involving an impressive number of materials, obstacles and solutions. At last, with the help of the castle’s staff, she constructs a tower that extends above the trees. After the plucky princess takes matter into her own hands, will she find what she was looking for?


Princess Lila Builds a Tower is a great story for any child that is tired of the limits imposed on them. Lila is a princess that is bored and lonely, and tired of being stuck on the castle grounds all the time. When she has the idea of a tower, so see can see beyond the walls, she does not just order it done. She takes part in the engineering, the ideas, and the hard labor of making it happen. I really like that she was so fully involved, and that readers got to see just how involved the building process can be. When she, and her crew, finish building she gets her chance to see far in the distance, and finds a young boy on a matching tower looking back at her. I think this was a nice touch, showing that anyone can work hard to achieve their goals.