How to buy this book
Buy this book at Usborne Books and More or in local bookstores.
Quicklinks
Click on the links to visit the recommended websites.
Websites to visit
Website 1
Spot simple machines in a virtual house.
Website 2
See how simple machines were used by Leonardo da Vinci, a 15th-century artist and inventor. (Click on each of the sections at the bottom of the screen.)
Website 3
Watch video clips of how diggers work. (Click on "Friends of a hydraulic excavator", then click on the clips on the right of the screen.)
Website 4
Explore a town and find out how vehicles work. (Click "Start" to begin then search for a bicycle, car, boat or train.)
Website 5
Try a quiz about inventions that helped shape today's world.
Website 6
Make your own musical instruments.
Website 7
See instruments up close and hear what they sound like.
Website 8
Follow the journey of thousands of gallons of water in New York City. (NB A tap is called a "faucet" in American English.)
Website 9
Find out what happens after you flush the toilet.
Website 10
Can you fly a helicopter? (Click on "Rockface Rescue" then follow the instructions.)
Website 11
Explore a clickable diagram of how submarines work.
Website 12
Find out how planes are made to be light but sturdy. (Click on "Weight and strength" and "Materials".)
Website 13
Fly a hot air balloon over a mountain.
Website 14
See inside a torch (flashlight) and a doorbell and find out how electricity makes them work.
Website 15
Watch animated movies about how things work. (Visit often to find different topics and click on a movie that interests you!)
Website 16
Online activities about inventions. (To see how earlier ideas inspired later inventions, click on "Time Machine".)
Website 17
An A to Z guide to everyday inventions.
Important!
Internet safety
Children, make sure you follow these three simple rules when using the internet:
- Always ask an adult's permission before using the internet.
- Never give out personal information, such as your name, address, school or telephone number.
- If a website asks you to type in your name or email address, check with an adult first.
For more tips, see Internet safety for children.
Adults - we recommend that children are supervised while on the internet. The content of a website may change at any time and Usborne Publishing is not responsible for content on sites other than its own.
For more on internet safety, see Internet advice for adults.
Using a tablet?
Websites with interactive content and video clips may not work on your tablet, but you can view them on a computer.
About this book
See Inside
See inside how things work
- An amazing flap book packed with inventions, machines, gadgets and devices, and facts and information about how they work.
- Over 90 flaps reveal the insides of car engines, toilets, escalators, submarines and microwaves and many, many other machines.
- Includes internet links to websites with animations, games and experiments.
“Perfectly pitched for Key Stage 2, a mix of facts, humour and novelty flaps...This series is proof that the right non-fiction still sells.”
The Bookseller
“...excellent and wide ranging series.”
Parents in Touch
“A hands-on science lesson!”
Lancashire Evening Post
Press Reviews
A super collection of information books from Usborne, which really engage the reader by providing interesting information, colourful graphics and plenty of flaps with yet more information.
Parents in Touch
These days youngsters don't want to just hear about the mechanics of life, they want to see for themselves exactly what makes our world tick...So Usborne have come up with the perfect answer ... a beautifully designed and illustrated book with over 90 flaps to lift and make exciting discoveries. How Things Work is literally a hands-on science lesson!
Lancashire Evening Post
A big bright book with robust pages. Familiar objects, from domestic to industrial, are described on every page and then you lift the flap to find out how they work. So, look inside the piano to see the hammer action, lift the flap on the loo to see how ballcocks work. Check out zips and ballpoint pens. Large machines, like excavators, have more than one flap and a lot of information is packed into small spaces. A book to talk about and maybe follow up on the related website.
Carousel
This is a thoroughly modern information book: highly visual, interactive and linked to websites. In each example the main picture shows the external structure and you lift the flap for an explanation of how the machine works. The copious yet clear annotation shows young readers the importance of the verbal as well as the visual in texts that explain...deserves a place on the Primary school science shelf.
Books for Keeps
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