Heard of Rube Goldberg? Discover how he became an award-winning artist, an inventor who never actually invented anything at all and even got himself in the dictionary in this delightfully barmy and hugely inspiring picture book biography. From an early age, Rube loved to draw. He had his sights firmly set on being a great newspaper cartoonist for one of the large publications. His father frowned upon such life choices and so Rube found himself studying to become an engineer and getting a job mapping sewer pipes. The creative spirit was not to be extinguished and soon Rube had his foot in the door at a newspaper where he would work his way up, creating cartoons that would amuse the masses. As well as his cartoons, people would fall in love with his Rube Goldberg machines that encompassed many parts and completed the most simple of tasks in the most elaborate and outlandish ways… Just Like Rube Goldberg is a fascinating, funny and insightful story that tells the tale of a passionate artist, disgruntled engineer, committed newspaper cartoonist and inventor of the crazy. It is a story of perseverance, passion and pursuing one’s dreams even when others are guiding you in another direction. It is about getting your foot in the door, doing the dirty work (quite literally in Rube’s case) and working your way from the bottom to the top. It is committing yourself to your end goal, giving everything and making sacrifices to achieve. We all know a child that loves to draw and Rube was one such chap who turned his passion into a career. As a cartoonist he was funny and smart. In the shape of his alter ego, an inventor who dreamt up impossibly intricate machines that defied the laws of physics, he would probably best be described as a nutty professor. His ideas and designs were wonderfully outrageous and his bonkers contraptions solved problems in the most farfetched, overly complicated and joyful of ways. Putting holes in doughnuts involved a goat, a carrot, a cuckoo, a ghost, an archer and a cannon. Turning off a light needed a whoopee cushion, a fan, a chimpanzee, a banana, wheels, a jack-in-the-box, a bowling ball, a see-saw and a small child. Cutting your own hair made use of a cat, a mouse, a boxing glove, cogs, pulleys, another goat, an old lady, a rocking chair and a boot. This was imagination and creativity at its free-flowing, unstoppable best. His contraptions were the kind of things you would expect to see in Wallace & Gromit, the children’s game Mouse Trap or that brilliant Honda Accord advert, ‘Isn’t it nice when things just…work?’ It turns out that the aforementioned kids’ game was actually inspired by Rube! Whilst none of his ideas were practical in the real world, that kind of wasn’t the point. Rube was all about drawing outside of the lines, tickling brains, making people think, and of course, giving everyone a good laugh. In his words his contraptions were, ‘a symbol of man’s capacity for exerting maximum effort to accomplish minimal results.’ Detailed back-matter adds a a further layer of interest and includes commentary on Rube’s very interesting life, some of the curious choices he made - including heading to France to observe the First World War close up and causing trouble when he made fun of US president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiatives, and his awards and accomplishments. The endpapers are brilliant too, they feature several of Rube’s zany contraptions with black and white artwork and accompanying notes. I personally love his ideas for the mosquito exterminator, the best way to lick a postage stamp and how to not miss your train stop.
Follow your dreams kids! If there’s anything that we can learn from the inventor who is famous for not actually inventing anything it is to have fun in life, to do what you love and to most definitely step outside of the box. To stay inside the lines is fine but, ‘You have to have courage to be a creator.' Young creatives, those with a passion for STEM, inquisitive inventors and anyone who enjoys doodling will love spending time in the whimsical imagination of Rube Goldberg. Delightful stuff! Recommended for 6+.
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