Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Captivating look at the things that power our world.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Macaulay divides the nonfiction THE WAY THINGS WORK NOW into five parts: "Mechanics of Movement," "Harnessing the Elements," "Working with Waves," "Electricity & Automation," and "The Digital Domain," a section new to this edition. The Digital Domain looks at a wide variety of things we take for granted in the 21st century, including touchscreens, games controllers, bits and bytes, robots, and virtual reality. The epilogue has very brief illustrated histories of inventions from gears and turbines to rockets, mirrors, and electric lights. And for those not fluent in all things mechanical, there's a section devoted to defining technical terms found in the book.
Is It Any Good?
This wildly imaginative and entertaining exploration of how things work makes the complicated world of machines and technology accessible to every reader. And it's filled with visual puns and delightful illustrations. For kids who find all things scientific intimidating or even just plain boring, Macaulay's witty and user-friendly explanations -- a woolly mammoth having its tusks trimmed is used to illustrate a section on levers -- make tricky theories easily understood.
For visual learners, the heavily illustrated text should be of particular help in processing the large and wide-ranging amount of information. Granted, this information can be found online but certainly not in a way as fun and engaging to readers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how science has changed their lives. What things in The Way Things Work Now do you take for granted that weren't invented when your parents were your age?
Do you have a favorite movie or TV show with characters who are scientists?
What invention in Part 5 ("The Digital Domain") do you think has made life in the 21st century more interesting, more productive, or more fun?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : David Macaulay
- Genre : Science
- Topics : Transportation ( Cars & Trucks , Trains ) , STEM , Robots
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Publication date : October 29, 2016
- Number of pages : 400
- Available on : Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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