WELCOME TO AUSTRALIAN USED HOMESCHOOL BOOKS!
SCIENCE - HOW THINGS WORK, MACHINES & ROBOTS
DK The NEW Way Things Work (David Macaulay) $12 HB EC This popular guide to the workings of machines has been updated to include the digital world. Of the 80 new pages advertised on the cover, 60 are found in the added section on computer technology. Macaulay's clear and comprehensible drawings are accompanied by Neil Ardley's explanations, while the bemused woolly mammoth of the original edition continues to demonstrate his prehistorically simple ideas on such concepts as heat, pressure, fire fighting, sending messages, etc., adding whimsical entries to entertain browsers. Highly recommended! 9+ http://www.philnel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/The-New-Way-Things-Work.jpg
DK The Way Things Work (David Macaulay) $10 HBDJ EC, $8 PB VGC, $6 HB GC (Ex lib) Packed with information on the inner workings of everything from the World Wide Web to windmills, the remarkable and humorous book guides readers through the fundamental principles of machines. Gorgeous line drawings in Macaulay's familiar style, enhanced with watercolours, combine with virtually encyclopedic coverage of how things work to create this absolutely captivating look at the world's technology. Subjects are arranged into four broad categories: units on mechanical devices (simple machines, friction); the use of the elements (wind, water, heat), waves (light and sound); and electronics include both the immense (space shuttles) and the miniscule (an automobile's thermostat). Whimsical woolly mammoths appear to demonstrate principles, take credit for inventions, and speculate on the causes of their own extinction. 9+ http://www.xes.cx/pics-misc/book-thewaythingsworks.JPG
Knowledge Master Plus “How Things Work” Book & CD-Rom Set (Chris Oxlade) $5 PB VGC (Ex lib) Explains how familiar gadgets, machines and work. Find out what makes a clock tick, or a light bulb work, or even how an aeroplane flies. These are just some of the fascinating questions this book answers in a fun but detailed way. Comes complete with a fully interactive CD-ROM including exciting internet links that will take children to the most interesting and informative sites on the net. 7-11 YO http://i43.tower.com/images/mm107281827/knowledge-masters-plus-how-things-work-chris-oxlade-paperback-cover-art.jpg
Knowledge Masters “How Things Work” (Chris Oxlade) $5 HB BRAND NEW Haven't you ever wondered how a plane stays up in the air, what makes a clock tick, or a light bulb work? This great book explains how familiar gadgets, machines and work. These are just some of the fascinating questions this series answers in a fun but detailed way. 9+ http://www.libertybooks.com/site/media/products/thumbnail/02022008005328_kmhtw.jpg
Usborne Understanding Science “Machines” (Clive Gifford) $4 PB EC A brief introduction to the historical, current, and future developments in the field of machinery. Each chapter has a short introductory article accompanied by a time line from the past to the future superimposed on a montage of related images. The text describes machines in industry (robots, factories, nanotechnology, and new materials); power production (fossil fuels, nuclear fission and fusion, and other energy sources); the military (spying, weapons, delivery systems, and battlegrounds); and "Near and Far" (for domestic use, shopping, banking, and underwater and space mining/exploration. Lists of Web sites and museums conclude the volume. Filled with stunningly realistic illustrations with cutaways and explanatory diagrams. 11+ http://cdn3.fishpond.co.nz/9780746019627-crop-325x325.jpg
DK Machines at Work “Crane” (Fleur Star) $5 HB EC Have you ever wondered what it’s like to operate a crane that’s over 20 storeys high? Or control a machine that can carry objects that weigh thousands of tonnes? Explaining how cranes help people on farms, construction sites, other busy places, even in space, this book answers childrens’ questions with bright, interesting, full-colour photos of machines in different situations to explain how they work and what they do. Recommended! 6-11 YO http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5127Y93MPHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Make it Work! “Machines: The Hands-On Approach to Science” (David Glover) $4 PB VGC Why do bicycles have gears? What makes a pendulum swing? How do pulleys make heavy loads lighter? Offers activities involving rocket power, steam engines, gears and pulleys and pendulums. Build some machines of your own and discover what makes them work – from a popcorn dispenser and a drawing enlarger to a marble-operated clock and a real-life rocket! Bright and colourful two-page spreads are displayed for each project, with large photographs and several informational paragraphs. 7-11 YO http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/1958056-L.jpg
Usborne How Machines Work (Christopher Rawson) $3 PB GC A simple introduction to the world of machines and motors, looking inside the machines to illustrate how they work and what they do. Great illustrations and layout children love! 7-10 YO http://images.betterworldbooks.com/086/How-Machines-Work-Rawson-Christopher-9780860201977.jpg
Ears, Gears & Gadgets (Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki) 45 PB VGC Dr Karl fills your head with funny facts about science and technology, landscape and people and the erratic path of invention and discovery. Find out what the mouse thought about Interscan, the connection between the Hills Hoist and the lemon, and what the periscope did for the rifle at Gallipoli. 10+ http://www.qbd.com.au/products/l/6102/9780207196102.jpg
Learn About “Machines” (Chris Oxlade) $4 PB EC From sophisticated computers to a simple pair of scissors - we are surrounded by machines. This lively and practical book looks at the enormous variety of machines and how they work. 23 practical projects that help children discover how machines work. Over 250 illustrations – photographs and explanatory artwork. Recommended! 8-12 YO http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xT13zU-mL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Everyday Machines: Amazing Devices We Take For Granted (John Kelly) $5 HB EC, $4 HB GC How does a microwave cook your food? How does a telephone carry your voice? How does a television make pictures move? Everyday Machines supplies the extraordinary answers to these questions and more. Here curious children and adults alike can discover how an electric motor powers a hair dryer or what an electromagnet does inside a doorbell, and why each home has a siphon. Once you look inside, you will never again take these amazing machines for granted. Amusing colour illustrations use familiar objects to reveal how these machines work. A glossary explains difficult words or technical terms. Recommended! 8+ http://cc.pbsstatic.com/l/55/1555/9781570361555.jpg
Cool Facts “Machines” (Colin Hynson) $3 HB EC What is a television picture? Who invented the machine-gun? What are the world's biggest ships? How old is the cannon? What was the first machine in space? Who built the helicopter? You'll find the answers to these and over 100 other intriguing questions inside this superbly illustrated book. 8-12 YO http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GfJOuvBgL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
How Things Work “Simple Slopes” (Andrew Dunn) $3 HB EC Focusing on simple slopes, this book explains the principle of inclined planes and describes the many everyday uses of this most basic of machines - for cutting (scissors and ploughs), lifting (ramps, jacks), fastening (zips, keys) and drilling. Illustrated with colour artwork and photographs that aim to de-mystify the scientific theory and expose the workings of each machine. 7-11 YO http://www0.alibris-static.com/isbn/9780750209557.gif (Cover different)
What Do Ramps and Wedges Do? (David Glover) $3 HB VGC (Ex lib) How are a water slide and a ski jump alike? Why is pushing something along a ramp much easier than lifting it in the air? Why do skis zigzag down a hill? How can a simple wedge stop an airplane? This book answers these questions and shows you how different kinds of these two simple machines are all around you to make your work and play easier. 5-9 YO http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71QS2VB8WGL._SL500_AA300_.gif
DK Inside Guides “Robot” (Clive Gifford) $6 HBDJ EC Robots can carry golf bags, spray paint cars, and assist in an operating room. They’ve also been taught to pour drinks, pump fuel, and mow lawns. Find out how a robot’s computer “brain” works, how robots see the world, and how they move. You’ll also learn about the fantastic possibilities for tomorrow’s robots - researchers are already working on nanorobots which will work at an almost atomic level, repairing everything from equipment to people! Wonderful photography and interactive layout! Recommended! 9+ http://covers.openlibrary.org/w/id/2593924-L.jpg
DK Robot File (Sue Leonard) $4 PB VGC From the depths of the deep blue sea to the mysterious world of space, robots are up to the task of exploring, travelling, saving lives, or making life easier for human beings. Explores mobility, manipulation, programming, intelligence and construction of robots in all facets of our life. Gorgeous layout with brilliant photos and simple text. 7-11 YO http://www.exodusbooks.com/imgmini/24939.jpg
Action Robots: A 3-D Working Pop-Up Book (Tim Reeve) $5 HB GC All kinds of robots are being used today in science, industry, and medicine. Each page in this exciting, fact-filled pop-up book has a three-dimensional figure with tabs that the reader can push, pull, or move to simulate the action of these remarkable, almost-human machines. 16 full-colour illustrations; 6 3-D pull-tab pop-ups. 7-11 YO http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71lz7ZXmrGL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Making Robot Warriors From Junk (Stephen Munzer) $3 PB EC If you love Robot Wars and would like to make your own table-top battling robots then this is the book for you. Cyber Sid, your robo-guide shows simple step-by-step instructions on how to make five brilliant battling bots from household junk. Spray them in metallic paints and add customised stickers (included with the book) for stunning results. There are also rules and instructions for challenges and games you can play plus technical details on how to add motors, buzzers and lights in the Electra-Extra section. 32 pages of riveting fun for all budding roboteers. As Cyber Sid himself would say... A pile of junk...some odds and ends...You've got the basic parts. Now set to work and make them fit...That's when the real fun starts. 9+ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514C6TQPYRL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
(Last update November, 2011)
