Auckland Council Libraries: Go mechanical

Go mechanical

Read about an invention that goes over, under or upside-down.​

Izzy Gizmo

Pip Jones

Picture book

Izabelle Gizmo loves to invent, but her inventions never work the way she wants them to. That makes her really cross! When she finds a crow with a broken wing she just has to help. Will she be able to put aside her frustrations and help it fly again?

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Jabari tries

Gaia Cornwall

Picture book

Jabari is inventing a machine that will fly all the way across the yard! But making it go from CRASH to WHOOSH will take grit, patience, and maybe even a little help from his sister.

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How to build a hug

Amy Guglielmo

Picture book

Presents the story of Grandin's "squeeze machine", describing her childhood love of building and design, as well as her sensitivities.

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Miss Todd and her wonderful flying machine

Frances Poletti

Book

The real life story of Miss Lily Todd the first woman in the world to build and design an airplane. At a time when becoming sky-born is already a challenge, Lily has more than gravity holding her down. Will she fly?

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Mechanical Harry

Bob Kerr

Picture book

When Harry Newton's breakfast arrives, it hits the lever, which strikes the match, that lights the fuse, that fires the cannon, that knocks over the jug, which pours milk onto his cornflakes.

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Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters

Andrea Beaty

Book

Rosie Revere is no stranger to flops and fails, kerfuffles and catastrophes. After all, engineering is all about perseverance! But this time, Rosie has a really important project to tackle--one that feels much bigger than herself.

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Frankie Sparks and the class pet

Megan Frazer Blakemore

Book

Frankie Sparks, the self-proclaimed "best inventor in the third grade", does research and creates a tool to try to persuade her classmates that a rat would make the best class pet.

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Mariella

Eoin Colfer

Book

Mariella loves nothing more than inventing but bedtime keeps getting in the way of all her brilliant ideas!

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Tunnels

Sally Spray

Book

Tunnels link people and places through the trickiest terrains all over the world. But how do we build them and prevent them from collapsing?

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Balloon to the Moon

Gill Arbuthnott

Book

Before anyone had designed a rocket, the Montgolfier brothers were making hot air balloons. In 1783, they became the first people to experience controlled flight. Balloon to the Moon starts there and leads to Neil Armstrong's 'small step' and beyond.

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Crazy contraptions

Laura Perdew

Book

Presents machines designed by Goldberg, which were based on complicated chain reactions and used to accomplish simple tasks.

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Build your own chain reaction machines

Paul (Paul G.) Long

Book

With Build Your Own Chain Reaction Machines, you'll create twelve zany and awesome mechanical contraptions using stuff from around the house.

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Auckland Council Libraries:Book list Recommended reading lists about different topics and genres to help you find new books to read.