Today I browsed through the New Book section of the library, and found a gem of a book titled, The Everything Machine, by Matt Novak. It was published in 2009. The story takes place on a planet called Quirk. The people on Quirk were given a machine that does everything for them, so they spend most of their days sleeping. One day, the machine breaks down and takes months to fix. The Quirkians slowly learn how to do things for themselves, and find they like to do things. So, the machine becomes a problem when it is fixed. But, the Quirkians come up with a clever solution in the end.
I read the book to Josh, age 6, tonight. He enjoyed it, and found the colorful pictures quite humorous. Before reading the story, I read the title, and asked him what sorts of things the machine would do. When I reread it to him, I will ask some questions that connect him to the story, such as:
1. If you could have an everything machine, what would you want it to do for you?
2. What jobs do you want to do for yourself? Why or why not?
There are a few words in the books that you might have to explain to your young child. They are:
- lulled
- provided
- anxious
- caressed
- exhilarating
- dismantle
- adjustments
