Giant Machines

Children's Literature - Amy S. Hansen

Part of the "How It Works" series, Parker pulls out the biggest machines used in our modern day life. Some of them are relatively common such as a Combine Harvester used on a large farm. Others are one of a kind such as the NASA Crawler Transporter used to move the space shuttle from the assembly building to the launch pad. All of these giants have many moving parts and Parker explains how many of these parts work. For the section on the concrete truck, Parker explains augers: "An auger is a screw-like spiral or twisted structure that, when turned, drills into an object or material or moves it along...The ready-mix drum has an auger...along the inside. As the drum spins, the blades mix and move the contents." Each vehicle is covered in a two-page spread with many pictures, long captions, and boxes of information. There are web links at the top of each double-page spread. While there is no strong narrative, Parker's tone is does a good job of pulling you into the exciting information. Backmatter includes an illustrated glossary, and index. Reviewer: Amy S. Hansen