How Big Machines Actually Work: Discover 60 Amazing Engineering Discoveries Behind the World's Biggest Machines for Curious Kids Ages 6-12
Paperback
Science & NatureTransportation
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 6 2026
Pages: 186
Weight: 0.98
Height: 0.40 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
Every day, incredible machines build our cities, rescue people in danger, transport food around the world, generate electricity, and even explore distant planets.
But how do they actually work?
This exciting STEM adventure takes curious young readers behind the scenes of 60 of the world's most amazing machines, revealing the fascinating engineering ideas that make each one possible.
With colorful illustrations, kid-friendly explanations, real-world facts, and hands-on engineering activities, children will discover that every giant machine is built to solve a problem and that every great engineer starts by asking questions.
Whether your child loves construction equipment, powerful vehicles, airplanes, trains, ships, or space exploration, this book transforms complex engineering into an exciting journey of discovery.
Inside this full-color adventure, kids will discover:- 60 incredible machines organized into easy-to-follow themed sections
- Simple explanations of how each machine works-without confusing technical language
- Friendly engineering vocabulary that builds STEM confidence one concept at a time
- Fascinating facts about construction machines, transportation, rescue vehicles, giant ships, energy systems, aircraft, rockets, and space exploration
- Large, engaging illustrations with labeled parts that help children visualize how real machines operate
- Fun Think Like an Engineer questions that encourage curiosity and problem-solving
- Hands-on Engineering Challenges at the end of every section
- A bonus activity section featuring machine quizzes, design challenges, engineering vocabulary, world machine records, and a printable Junior Engineer Certificate
Explore 8 exciting parts, including:- Machines That Help Us Every Day
- Machines That Build Our World
- Machines That Move People and Goods
- Machines That Save Lives
- Giants of the Sea
- Machines That Power Our World
- Machines That Reach for the Sky
- The World's Most Incredible Machines
From elevators and washing machines to bucket-wheel excavators, maglev trains, container ships, rockets, the James Webb Space Telescope, and even the Large Hadron Collider, every page is filled with discoveries that inspire children to look at the world with new curiosity.
Instead of simply naming machines, this book helps young readers understand why they were invented, how their major parts work together, and the engineering ideas behind them.
By the final page, children won't just recognize these incredible machines they'll begin to think like the engineers who designed them.
If your child enjoys asking How does that work?, this book is ready to turn that curiosity into a lifelong love of science, engineering, and discovery.
Open the first page and start exploring the amazing world of big machines today!
Also from
Thibodeau, Bruce M.
Also in
Science & Nature
Up Close and Incredible: Human Body: An Interactive Adventure with a 3× Magnifying Glass
Thomas, Isabel
Hardcover
A Little Book of Slime: Everything That Oozes, from Killer Slime to Living Mold
Twist, Clint
Hardcover
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs
Hughes, Catherine D.
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Fourteen Ways of Looking at Jellyfish: (A Picture Book Exploring Ocean Life, Marine Science, and Underwater Wonders for Ages 6-8, Grades 1-3)
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Hardcover
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space, 2nd Edition
Hughes, Catherine D.
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Spooky Rivers: 25 Strange and Mysterious Rivers That Snake Across Our Planet
Rutherford, Geo
Hardcover
Paint by Sticker Kids (Official): Outer Space: Create 10 Pictures One Sticker at a Time! Includes Glow-In-The-Dark Stickers
Workman Publishing
Paperback
National Geographic Kids Science Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition: Atom Smashing, Food Chemistry, Animals, Space, and More!
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
We Need to Talk about Cancer: An Important Book for Patients, Family, and Friends
Neon Squid
Juneja, Sanjay
Paperback
A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out
Day, Nicholas
Hardcover
Reading the Bones: Homo Naledi and the Mysteries of Human Evolution
Aronson, Marc
Mead, John S.
Hardcover
When Twilight Comes: The Animals and Plants That Bring Dawn and Dusk to Life
Atkins, Marcie Flinchum
Hardcover
We Can Hear Without Ears: And Other Things You Didn't Know We Plants Could Do
Peters, Lisa Westberg
Hardcover
Cryptids: Uncover the Secrets Behind the World's Most Baffling Beasts and Curious Creatures
MacFarlane, Tamara
Hardcover
The Big Book of Pi: The Famous Number You Can Never Know
Aubin, Jean-Baptiste
Lehmann, Anita
Hardcover
National Geographic Little Kids First Encyclopedia of Almost Everything
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Eyes, Knees, Boundaries, Please!: My First Book about Private Parts and Consent
Playforth, Krupa Bhojani, MD
Hardcover
An Anthology of Beetles: A Collection of Brilliant Beetles from Around the World
Jones, Richard
Hardcover
An Anthology of Flowers: A Collection of Flowers from Gardens, Mountains and More, with Fascinating Secrets
Bailey, Maddie
Hardcover
Why Space Will Freak You Out: The Scariest, Strangest Parts of the Universe
Arcand, Kimberly K.
Watzke, Megan
Paperback
Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide
Workman Publishing
Paperback
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space
Hughes, Catherine D.
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Buffalo Ways: The Enduring Story of Buffalo and the First Peoples of North America
Havrelock, Deidre
Hardcover
Chasing Eruptions: How Volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft Helped Save 60,000 Lives-But Lost Their Own
Manley, Curtis
Hardcover
Planets (National Geographic Kids Readers, Level 2)
National Geographic Kids
Carney, Elizabeth
Paperback
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Why: Questions and Answers about the World for Curious Kids
Shields, Amy
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Don't Call Me a Star!: A Fun, Fact-Filled Adventure That Sets the Record Straight!
Guillain, Charlotte
Hardcover
Zombie Spiders and Asteroid Blasters: 16 Incredible Ways That Scientists Are Changing the World
Okereke, Maynard
Hardcover
Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka Con La Papa: Join the Quest with Peru's Famed Scientist and Potato Expert
Fajardo, Sara Andrea
Hardcover
National Geographic Kids Why?: Over 1,111 Answers to Everything
Boyer, Crispin
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Glass: Looking In, Looking Out: (A Nonfiction Book about the Science, History, and Everyday Uses of Glass for Ages 7-10)
Theule, Larissa
Hardcover
Beasts from Before the Dinosaurs: Extraordinary Forgotten Creatures from 250 Million Years Ago
Lerwill, Ben
Hardcover
How to Survive an Apocalypse: The End of the World Doesn't Have to Be the End of the World
Hardy, Cameron
Coonradt, Coby
Hardcover
