BEEP BEEP ROBOT!

Mechanics made easy for pint-sized engineers.

This ingenious, interactive volume offers the toddler set an entertaining and engaging introduction to working gears. A colorful, friendly-looking robot teaches a basic principle of mechanics by introducing children to a simple system of interlocking gears. Die-cut holes in the cover, and in each succeeding page till the last, progressively reveal seven working, interconnected gears of different colors and sizes. The book is well-designed—easy for young fingers to operate safely and durable enough to withstand the inevitable tugs and grabbing of inquisitive toddler hands. The book is set up so that at the beginning the child spins only the first, purple “master gear,” touching the side opposite the teeth of the hidden second gear; this arrangement doesn’t appear to allow space for even tiny fingers to get caught up in the mechanism. As the first gear turns, children can see the final gear turn, but they can’t yet see the series of connections that makes that possible. Each turn of the page reveals another gear, until the entire system is exposed. Rhyming couplets explain the process; along the way the gears teach children seven different colors. Day-Glo colors stand out against the black backgrounds. Astute children may notice that the system of gearing corresponds exactly to that visible in the body of the robot.

Sure to get a toddler’s gears turning, in more ways than one.