Levers. (Simple Machines). Jennifer Howse. New York, NY: AV² by Weigl (Distributed in Canada by Saunders Book Company), 2014. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $12.95 (pbk.), $23.99 (hc.). ISBN 978-1-62127-431-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-62127-425-4 (hc.). Subject Heading: Levers-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Barbara McMillan. **1/2 /4

	Pulleys. (Simple Machines). James De Medeiros. New York, NY: AV² by Weigl (Distributed in Canada by Saunders Book Company), 2014. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $12.95 (pbk.), $23.99 (hc.). ISBN 978-1-62127-432-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-62127-426-1 (hc.). Subject Heading: Pulleys-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Barbara McMillan. **1/2 /4

	Wheels and Axles. (Simple Machines). Erinn Banting. New York, NY: AV² by Weigl (Distributed in Canada by Saunders Book Company), 2014. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $12.95 (pbk.), $23.99 (hc.). ISBN 978-1-62127-435-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-62127-429-2 (hc.). Subject Headings: Wheels-Juvenile literature. Axles-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Barbara McMillan. **1/2 /4

excerpt:

There are six simple machines, including the inclined plane, the pulley, the screw, the wedge, and the wheel and axle. All simple machines make work easier. They do not have batteries or motors. They do not add any energy of their own to help people do work. Instead, simple machines work by changing the forces that are applied to them. (From Levers & Wheels and Axles.)

In science, work happens when a force is used to move an object over a distance. For work to happen, the force that is applied must be in the same direction that the object is moving. … Simple machines make doing work easier. They do this by changing the amount and direction of the force needed to move the object. Though less force is needed, simple machines require moving a greater distance. (From Levers, Pulleys & Wheels and Axles.)

The inclined plane and the lever are the most basic of all simple machines. In fact, all six simple machines can be seen as one of these two most basic machines. … Simple machines can be combined to make other kinds of machines. When two simple machines are combined, this new machine is often called a compound or complex machine. (From Pulleys.)

I had high expectations for the three books I was asked to review in Weigl’s “Simple Machine” series. It is difficult to find a variety of suitable books to supplement the teaching of physics topics in Early Years classrooms, and the “Simple Machine” series is one of Weigl’s AV2 Media Enhanced Books. These AV2 books come with a code and security question that enables access to animated and live action video, websites, worksheets, a matching word-definition activity, and quizzes. Unfortunately, the live action videos seem dated, and too many of the links lack an exuberance about learning that one hopes to see in on-line resources for young children and youth. The focus is more often fact-based assessment than scaffolding an understanding of simple machines that are used each day in a variety of occupations and the ways in which these simple machines make this work easier. Regardless, what will likely be beneficial for a number of students is the audio book feature of these audio-visual enhanced books. Children, who have logged on to the www.av2books.com website, can select any of the two page spreads they would like to hear, click on the headphone icon, and listen to a recorded passage from the text that is accompanied by a written transcription. I’m not convinced, however, that this feature alone is sufficient to make the books a worthwhile purchase.

With respect to design features, each book is illustrated with carefully selected stock photographs primarily sourced from Getty Images. These full colour images can cover from one-third to an entire page in the first half of a book. In the latter half, under headings like “Three Classes of Levers”, “Wheels and Axles in Action”, “Levers Timeline” and “Seven Facts about Pulleys”, three to seven photographic images have been used to illustrate the information in the text or associated captions. Each book also has a preferred colour: magenta in Levers, blue in Pulleys and green in Wheels and Axles. The book covers are bright, with colourful titles positioned between a photographic image of a teeter-totter, red runners, or pinwheels at the top sixth of the cover and a photographic image of an oil derrick, a complex pulley system, or a clockwork of gears at the bottom half.

     As one would expect, each book in the series, whether by author Howse, De Medeiros, or Banting, follows a nearly identical form which begins with the table of contents on page 3 and ends with five pages that contain (a) facts bout the simple machine the book is focused upon, (b) 10 “Brain Teasers” with answers, (c) an action project for building a simple ruler and eraser lever, CD and colour marker wheel and axle system, or string and doorknob pulley, (d) a page with “Key Words” and “Index”, and (e) a full page illustrated description of how to navigate “AV2 Online.” Between pages 3 and 12, one encounters paragraphs of identical or nearly identical text (see excerpts above) about simple machines, force, gravity, mass versus weight, and work (“force over distance”). This changes between pages 12 and 20 given that the content is more specifically focused of the simple machine captured by the book’s title. Still, headings such as “Overcoming Friction” and “What is a Mechanical Engineer” are identical in De Medeiros’ Pulleys and Banting’s Wheels and Axles. I appreciate a series for children having an specified structure. When it comes to the content of each book in a series, however, my preference is to encounter little or no duplication, particularly when written information about scientific concepts can’t be well understood by reading or listening. It’s for this reason that I assumed the books would be media enhanced with some of the excellent materials currently available to teacher and learners with access to the internet. Unfortunately, they weren’t.

Recommended with Reservations.

Barbara McMillan is a teacher educator and a professor of science education in the Faculty of Education, the University of Manitoba.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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