Min Makes a Machine (I Like to Read)

by Emily Arnold McCully (Author)

Min Makes a Machine (I Like to Read)
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
Series: I Like to Read
Min wants to play, but Ann and Bess say it's too hot. Using a pipe, a tube, and some glue, Min makes an Archimedes screw, a device that draws water, to get water from a well into a swimming pool. Features the same characters as "3, 2, 1, Go!" Full color.
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Publishers Weekly

Min, the ingenious, intrepid little pachyderm protagonist of the early reader 3-2-1-Go, is back to save the day with a new invention. The social dynamics are the same: Min, whose bright pink bow embodies her indomitable energy, wants to play with older elephants Ann and Bess, but they view Min as a pest at best. (Readers with older, too-cool-for-you siblings will instantly identify.) In this installment, it's a brutally hot day on the savannah, but Ann and Bess would rather sweat, sulk, and tell Min to "go play with someone else" than do anything to change their situation. Not Min: she figures out a way to flood an empty pool using water from a nearby well and an Archimedes's Screw (although it's not named as such), and suddenly the pages are awash in splashes of bright, almost palpably cooling blue. McCully (Caroline's Comets) breaks down Min's problem solving into digestible, replicable parts and acknowledges that every great solution takes hard work. It's a nifty lesson in both science and tenacity, but some may wish that McCully had slipped in an etiquette lesson as well: would it kill Ann and Bess to thank Min? Ages 4-8. (July)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1--Min is back and still solving problems like a pro. It is so hot that no one wants to play with Min. She makes a fan--still too hot for Ann and Bess. If only the old pool had water; playing in the pool would be perfect on such a hot day. Min (aka MacGyver) is on the job! First she finds an old well then, using only her STEM knowledge, a tube, a hose, and some glue, she siphons the water from the well into the pool. This amazing bit of science fills the pool and fun play in the cool water follows. McCully's illustrations are spare but perfect for the text and focus on the action at hand. Her depiction of Min's syphon is clear and easy to reproduce, if one should want. VERDICT This pachyderm's predilection for problem solving will delight readers who will want to try this for themselves. Sure to be popular for STEM lessons and a good addition for most collections.--Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

ex i love it

Emily Arnold McCully
Emily Arnold McCully was born in Galesburg, Illinois, and grew up "a daredevil child," always climbing trees or buildings. She made it to college intact, however, and received her B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. in art history from Columbia University.

Emily McCully's artwork has been included in the International Biennale at Bratislava, and she has won a Christopher Award for Picnic, one of the many picture books that she has both written and illustrated.

Writing also for adults, Ms. McCully has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. Her book, A Craving was nominated for an American Book Award.

The idea for Mirette on the High Wire began as a biography of real-life daredevil Blondin. But the author changed her mind to accomodate the tree-climbing child and risk-taking adult she was and is.

copyright ? 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780823439713
Lexile Measure
250
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Holiday House
Publication date
July 17, 2018
Series
I Like to Read
BISAC categories
JUV036000 - Juvenile Fiction | Science & Technology
JUV002080 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Elephants
JUV043000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Beginner
Library of Congress categories
Elephants
Water
Problem solving
Engineering
Women engineers

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