Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll!: The Inventive Rube Goldberg―A Life in Comics, Contraptions, and Six Simple Machines

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

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?)

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This book will be released on May 6, 2025. You can preorder here:

Shanda McCloskey, Children's Illustrator & Author