A joyfully illustrated picture book biography of Rube Goldberg for STEM-loving children and the many people who enjoy doing simple tasks the hard way.

Award-winning author Catherine Thimmesh’s irresistibly engaging text and artist Shanda McCloskey’s energetic, cartoon-style artwork introduce readers to the life and creative legacy of Rube Goldberg, the world-famous inventor of crazy contraptions. A rollicking educational kids' book that is part biography, part inspiration, and part physics how-to, Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll! posits the ultimate question … why do anything the simple way? (Especially if, for instance, there is a catapult option?)

Because, of course, there are lots of things you can do the simple way:
Set an alarm,
flip a switch,
open a door,
toast some bread . . .
 
But what if, instead, you did things the Rube Goldberg way?
Endlessly entertaining,
needlessly complex,
and achieving a delicate balance of physics, humor, and excitement!

The book includes an overview of the six simple machines that power most of Goldberg’s inventions and puts the tools for making real-life Rube Goldberg machines right into readers’ hands. It’s the perfect thing to spark the imaginations of budding inventors, artists, and thinkers of all ages—because the most promising relationships with science start not with a textbook but with the willingness to break stuff and ask silly questions!