This is a pre-order for the book, with estimated shipping in November 2026.
If you find yourself saying, "Okay, I understand OR, XOR, and Multiplexing. But what does that have to do with me, a common pulley operator?"
Then this is the book for you.
Simple Machines Made Simple is a board book starring the six simple machines in demo form.
Wheel
Lever
Pulley
Inclined plane
Wedge
Screw
And like previous books, you can fight with your kids over who gets to go first.
Who is this for?
I'm embarrassed to admit that my kids, despite half of them having completed second grade, cannot recite any of Newton's laws or calculate a simple spring constant (I promise, I'm a decent parent in other ways). And this book won't help teach any of that either. But it will give your little ones a bit of intuition for mechanical advantage, and eventually when they get their first job working at NVIDIA, they'll come home and screw their first paycheck to the refrigerator.
This is for kids (and adults) who like to play, build, disassemble, launch crab apples, or just learn how things work.
But this isn't computer engineering...
I hear you saying, "We don't typically fraternize with non-ECEn folk." But hear me out. It's 2026. Our kids are going to hear about this stuff from their friends, or they can hear it from us. They're going to have a much more grounded sense of reality if we introduce the subject of mechanics in a safe environment, than if we just let them stumble upon this stuff out on their own.
You can expect an email update towards the end of every month until you receive your order. Pre-orders are currently expected to ship in November 2026.
So sorry about the trouble! Was it the little pulley wheel at the top? If it isn't lost, then it should be pop back in there without too much trouble. If it is lost, let me know and I will send you a replacement. I've redesigning it for the next run to not pop out so easily. But, in the meantime, I've found that you can just superglue the wheel in there to prevent it popping out again, and the rope will still slide over just fine. Just don't get any glue on the rope and it should be okay. Thanks!!
A
Ashley
Such a cool idea, could be more durable
Love the idea of a hands-on book like this, but a piece from the inclined plane page separated & now doesn't work as it should. My son had the book for not even a minute & it broke. Quite the bummer after waiting so long for it.
Ashley, So sorry about the trouble! Was it the little pulley wheel at the top? If it isn't lost, then it should be pop back in there without too much trouble. If it is lost, let me know and I will send you a replacement. I've redesigning it for the next run to not pop out so easily. But, in the meantime, I've found that you can just superglue the wheel in there to prevent it popping out again, and the rope will still slide over just fine. Just don't get any glue on the rope and it should be okay. Thanks!!
A
Arianna
Great concept but cheaply made
The pulley system broke the very 1st time we read it. I pre-ordered the book and waited months for it. Pretty disappointing.
If the pulley wheel isn't lost, it should be pop back in there without too much trouble. If it is lost, let me know and I will send you a replacement. I've redesigning it for the next run to not pop out so easily. But, in the meantime, I've found that you can just superglue the wheel in there to prevent it popping out again, and the rope will still slide over just fine. Just don't get any glue on the rope and it should be okay.
D
Dominica Loprete
Pulley string page broke quickly
Hello - Unfortunately, the page with the pulley on it broke quickly within a few minutes of practice by the child that received this book as a gift. The book was a great idea, though.
Was it the pulley wheel at the top? If it isn't lost, you should be able to pop it back in there. If it is lost, let me know and I can send you a replacement. I'm redesigning it for the next run to hopefully not pop out so easily. But I found that you can just superglue the wheel in there to prevent it popping out again, and the rope will still slide over it just fine. Just don't get any glue on the rope and it should be okay.
