(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shanda McCloskey. At the start of this peculiar book, we are shown the six simple machines: lever, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, screw, and pulley. Then we meet an impishly grinning boy, presumably Rube Goldberg (1883-1970), on the title page; next it's on to a convoluted table of contents over two spreads (a veritable Rube Goldberg machine of its own) before the narrative opens with the birth of Goldberg. Over the course of the book, readers learn more about him, his life, and his cartooning legacy—it's those cartoons that inspired a variety of machines, the main purpose of which is to do something simple in a very complicated fashion. Along the way, an accessible (if lengthy) text covers the laws of physics, the six simple machines, and advice on how to build our own Rube Goldberg machines. McCloskey's illustrations are equally adept at conveying concepts and humor, complementing Thimmesh's text and serving as a bridge between narrative and expository information.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. Goldberg (1883–1970) dreamed of becoming a newspaper cartoonist but initially studied engineering. Eventually Goldberg was hired as a cartoonist at the New York Evening Mail, where he concocted the "screwball contraptions" we now call Rube Goldberg machines. Aronson notes that Goldberg "drew comics to make us look closer"; fittingly, this thoughtful, playful picture-book biography does just that, with whimsical pencil, ink, and digital illustrations capturing the intricacies of the imagined machines. Bib.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Ed Steckley. George leverages the legacy of her grandfather, inventive cartoonist Rube Goldberg, to hustle for STEAM curricular tie-ins (classroom tips included). A drawn-out story follows bespectacled child Rube going to great lengths to avoid effort in his day with fourteen impractical feats of engineering (based on Goldberg creations), culminating in a gatefold. Using pen-and-ink and watercolor, Steckley skillfully emulates Goldberg but with a more child-friendly touch.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin