This resonates with my child self. I always hated kids books when I was a kid. From an early age I wanted details, schematics if possible. Same way I disliked when TV-shows had "relatable children" in them. No, go away Wesley Crusher, show me how to be an adult instead! I already knew how to be a child.
I was the same. Had loads of books with cross sections of battleships and tanks and castles. Real photos of ancient arms ans armour. Lots of stats. The only kids book I had was Full Moon Soup and that was a cross section of a Hotel so that checks out. There was something about thia stuff that perked my brain up and made me want to indulge for hours.
Testament to children's interest in construction equipment is the commercial success of the British theme park chain Diggerland[0]. I'm not affiliated with it, and I've never been, I just think it's an hilarious concept.
Great blog post, totally agree with it... except, "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go" condescending? If you think Richard Scarry is trying to keep kids engaged with "the false novelty of a carrot car" (!!!) you do NOT understand the appeal of that book to kids, despite the claim to the contrary.
Those illustrations are really cool. The detail is there but the sense of perspective isn't. I think this was a deliberate design choice on the part of the illustrator, reflecting the way an eight-year-old sees the world, unless they have a Stephen Wiltshire-like brain.
One of the explanations of Picasso's Cubist portraiture with its flat, simultaneous front and side perspective was that he was satirizing how "realistic" painters approached a three-quarter-view portrait, by sort of blending a full front view with a full side view. There's something about the human psyche that causes us to elide a full three-dimensional view of an object from our consciousness unless we deliberately practice looking for it.
My youngest is absolutely obsessed with construction trucks. We really love the "Construction Site" series by Sherri Duskey Rinker. Some of the later books in the series go into how roads are built, airports, etc. Really lots of fun for anybody else who has little ones interested in construction. https://www.goodnightconstructionsite.com/
Does anyone have recommendations for non-fiction books with a "how it’s made" or behind-the-scenes angle that also work as bedtime reading? Ideally something narrative-driven and informative, not dependent on pictures, with enough flow to read a chapter or section at night. Looking for that mix of interesting detail and relaxing storytelling.
This reminds me of the workshop tool scavenger hunt from Scope of Work. Even as an adult I still encounter new machines and tools that I've never heard of... and it's /fascinating/ to learn there are machines and tools to do such specific things!
I enjoy the "what does this thing do" of farm implements.
I heard these songs in Norwegian first and thought the tunes were really nice, and later realized it's produced in Sweden and has English lyrics too. For example:
Seth (famously from Berm Beak formerly Seth's Bike Hacks on youtube) had similar thoughts about bicycles, and published a book quite recently. It includes bicycles with correct details and terminology.
At around the age of two my son became totally obsessed with construction equipment. We would pull over and let him watch excavators and skid steers work at local job sites. Luckily there are some good youtube channels that cater to this which made it much easier to scratch his itch. He still loves heavy machinery, but at the age of 5 it’s a lot more mellow.
This book looks fantastic, just ordered a board-book copy for my 2 yo. Weirdly couldn't get anything on Amazon for less than £11 or delivered in less than 2 weeks, but found a new copy on ebay for less than £7 delivered in 3-5 days. Reminder to always try ebay first these days!
> ... going into detail about why cement mixers need to keep rotating so the cement doesn’t harden prematurely
Not to be the well ahkshually guy, but they rotate to keep the cement homogenized. It's a suspension of heavier and lighter materials of varying grain size. If you stop rotating it in transit you dont risk premature hardening so much, it's more that the concrete unmixes.
Even with a spinning container you need to pour it out asap. Can't keep it around for hours and hours.
Someone who thinks Jerry Pallotta's "Who would win?" books are a good example of science communication directed at children should not be taken seriously. I'd go into why, but here's an actual zoologist doing a much better (and entertaining) job of it than I could: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgtE7_5uJ2p5Oeied2x4L...
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[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 48.5 ms ] threadhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqci9VCugLs
[0] https://www.diggerland.com/
One of the explanations of Picasso's Cubist portraiture with its flat, simultaneous front and side perspective was that he was satirizing how "realistic" painters approached a three-quarter-view portrait, by sort of blending a full front view with a full side view. There's something about the human psyche that causes us to elide a full three-dimensional view of an object from our consciousness unless we deliberately practice looking for it.
[1] i.e. Non-fiction about machines, featuring drawings for kids with lots of accurate little details.
I enjoy the "what does this thing do" of farm implements.
[Scopeofwork.net]
I heard these songs in Norwegian first and thought the tunes were really nice, and later realized it's produced in Sweden and has English lyrics too. For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J18YqmygFa0 - Twinkle twinkle reimagined as a big digging machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGZyJb5Qc-o&list=RDoGZyJb5Qc... - Exavator song
https://cognativemtb.com/products/goodnight-bikes-hardcover-...
I believe there is a correlation of interest to construction equipment with certain traits and dexterities later.
Dorling Kindersley.
Not to be the well ahkshually guy, but they rotate to keep the cement homogenized. It's a suspension of heavier and lighter materials of varying grain size. If you stop rotating it in transit you dont risk premature hardening so much, it's more that the concrete unmixes.
Even with a spinning container you need to pour it out asap. Can't keep it around for hours and hours.
Much like Mamoko