Toilet: How It Works (My Readers) - Hardcover

Macaulay, David; Keenan, Sheila

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1596437790 ISBN 13: 9781596437791

Publisher: David Macaulay Studio, 2013

Synopsis

Celebrated author-illustrator and master explainer David Macaulay brings his unique voice and style to high-interest nonfiction books for newly independent readers.
Everyone knows what a toilet is for, right? But what exactly happens after you flush? Where does our waste go, and how is it made safe? With his unique blend of informative text and illustration, David Macaulay takes readers on a tour of the bathroom, plumbing, and the sewer system, from the familiar family toilet to the mysterious municipal water treatment plant.
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013

About this title

About the Author

David Macaulay received his bachelor of architecture degree from Rhode Island School of Design. In January 1973, Macaulay went to France to work on the first of his twenty-five books, Cathedral. He then constructed a colonial Roman town (City, 1974), erected monuments to the Pharaohs (Pyramid, 1975), dissected the maze of subterranean systems below and essential to every major city (Underground, 1976), built a medieval fortress (Castle, 1977), and dismantled the Empire State Building (Unbuilding, 1980). Macaulay is perhaps best known for The Way Things Work (1988). It was followed by Black and White (1990) for which he won the 1991 Caldecott Medal. A revised edition of The Way Things Work was published in 1998 followed by Building Big, Mosque, and The Way We Work (2008).

Sheila Keenan is an established author of fiction and nonfiction, including Greetings from the 50 States; Animals in the House: A History of Pets and People; O, Say Can You See? America's Symbols, Landmarks, and Inspiring Words; and Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters: A Book of World Mythology. Her work Dogs of War is a graphic novel of historical fiction based on the role of dogs in the military.

From Booklist

Toilets—our most fascinating home device? Probably—it’s rather magical how everything just disappears, isn’t it? In his signature squiggly style, Macaulay pulls back the curtain to show just how it all goes down (so to speak). Whether it’s the family dog’s bone, a dead goldfish, or human waste, the toilet makes it disappear. “Clever toilet.” The main event here is the authors’ annotated cutaways of toilets, showing how the handle pulls the stopper and so forth. Despite the easily understandable text, some concepts remain a bit elusive, though things get clearer and even more interesting when we move on to rural septic tanks, big-city sewer systems, and wastewaster treatment plants. Boldfaced vocabulary words would’ve helped readers refer to the closing glossary (though some intriguing words, like scum and digester, aren’t defined). While not as successful as Castle: How It Works (2012), this is high-interest stuff done in a just-humorous-enough way. Pair with Elizabeth Raum’s The Story behind Toilets (2009) for some extended bathroom reading. Grades K-3. --Daniel Kraus

About this edition

• Publisher: David Macaulay Studio
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1596437790
• ISBN 13: 9781596437791
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32