Supersize Cross Sections: Inside Engines

Supersize Cross Sections: Inside Engines by Pascale Hedelin is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book is perfect for those with an inquisitive mind! The cross sections show all sorts of things that are just incredible! It is amazing to look inside and things are explained to the reader as to what things are. Very interesting! A great variety of cross sections too! From the Hindenburg to a tank, a submarine to an Airbus. 15 different cross sections. The title says engines but it shows more than just the engine.

Cross sections of 15 “supersize” vehicles such as an 18th century adventure galley, the Hindenburg, the Calypso, and the International Space Station detail the features of these vehicles and the various functions they perform. The cross sections are detailed, yet easy to read. A fine way to interest young readers and support their visual literacy.

This book provides an enjoyable way to learn about different vehicles that have been or are currently in use and is an excellent learning tool for children 7 years of age and up. Furthermore, the illustrations are great! I was surprised, however, when I started to read this book because the title refers to “engines”, but the book shows so much more. So, I would suggest a slight change be made to the title to reflect this. Apart from the title issue, I really enjoyed reading it and even learned some things about the various vehicles myself. Consider this an excellent gift idea for children (and even adults) with inquisitive minds as to how things work and how they look inside.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book that was provided by the publisher through Net Galley. However, the thoughts and opinions presented here are my own.

This may appear few in pages, but it is bursting with information of a wide range of transports and other items that contain feats of engineering. This will be perfect for anyone who likes to understand the parts that make the whole.

Erratum:
There is a spelling error on the Hindenburg page. Item 04, about the keel, misspells the word 'structure'

Supersize cross-sections are not exactly supersize on an iPad, so my being only the kind of reviewer who doesn't merit a print book for review, I can only guess at how the final copy will look, but viewed in relatively small scale on a medium sized iPad, it looked swell, and would have fascinated me as a child, because I always enjoyed reading the 'how things worked' books, and especially ones with cutaways.

Starting with a pirate ship to get the saliva flowing, this book also covers the Orient Express (now that would have been useful when I wrote my parody!), The Titanic, the Hindenburg, a Sherman tank, the Saturn V rocket (always my favorite - modern rockets have nowhere near the same class that one did), the International Space Station, a submarine, a fire engine, and a host of other items, including a circus and totaling fifteen in all.

The drawings are in color, are crisp and clear, and each important part is numbered, with a key by the side of the drawing explaining what was going on in that section. It's perfect, and I commend it whole-heartedly!

As soon as I saw this title I knew it was going to be a winner in our house. My six year old loves books which explore how things are put together and how they work. Cross sections are fascinating, and the ones in this book are really good. The illustrations strike the right balance between detail and simplicity, and cover a range of different subjects so that each page was poured over by my son for long intervals! We really enjoyed this book.

This book is a little shorter than I expected but it is jam-packed and very interesting. It reminds me of something like an Usborne book. I like that it shows a variety of vehicles from trains to zeppelins to subs and planes. Great for a young person interested in transportation!

From taking a peek at 18th century pirate galleys to exploring modern-day jumbo jets and space stations, Hedelin takes his readers on a fantastic adventure discovering some of humankind’s most impressive feats of engineering and construction, and giving an introduction to the working lives of the people manning these great machines.

Each incredibly-detailed spread shows an impressive depth of research, giving us a glimpse into the world as it was at these points in time - what was happening around the globe, how lives were changing with advances in science, and what it might have been like to be a part of the massive teams of people running these marvels of cutting-edge technology.

Numbered points of interests in the cross-sections allow readers to dive deeper into researching the various parts of engines working together to deliver the best experience for those on board, whether staff or passenger, scientist or performer.

Supersize Cross Sections is an absolute pleasure to pour over, challenge and inspire any inquisitive child, while remaining interesting enough to entertain accompanying adults too.

4★
“In 1697, the crew mutinied (revolted) because Kidd was not attacking enough ships! Because of the complaints from his men he started to attack every ship that crossed their path, becoming a feared outlaw. Kidd was eventually captured and was hanged in 1701 in London.”

A bit of history on every page, explanations, details and cutaway views that show the people working and living inside this wide variety of vessels. They are not engines, nor do all of them have engines. But they are all transports of one kind or another from Captain Kidd’s galley ship, the famous Orient Express train, the doomed Titanic and Hindenburg, a Sherman tank, the Saturn V rocket launcher, and two more ocean vessels – the Calypso and a modern fishing trawler, which is an ocean-going factory.

My Goodreads review includes: Illustration of Capt. Kidd’s galley

I always love the tiny interior views.

My Goodreads review includes: Illustration of part of the galley

There are explanations on each page about some of the details. See if you can spot the surgeon with a patient on his table (number 8 near the bottom left)

My Goodreads review includes: Excerpt from some notes about Capt. Kidd’s galley

The Orient Express holds fascination for many armchair travellers (and mystery readers). I didn't spot any murderers or bodies, but who knows?

My Goodreads review includes: Illustration of the Orient Express

And for fascination, there’s not much that beats the International Space Station.

My Goodreads review includes: Illustration of the ISS

Plus there’s a nuclear sub, an Airbus 380, and a circus. A circus? Yes!

My Goodreads review includes: Illustration of a travelling circus set-up

The circus has a school truck and other trucks for bathroom, bedroom and cooking facilities. They are pretty self-contained.

My Goodreads review includes: Illustration of close-up of a few specialist circus trucks

If you ever wanted to ride in a tunnel-boring machine, you can see that, too. All in all, it’s an interesting look at a wide variety of vehicles, vessels, and machinery. There is an extensive glossary for young readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Books for the preview copy from which I’ve borrowed a few illustrations to give readers an idea of what there is to enjoy. Amazon shows a few other illustrations and details.

This was very fun to read! I was always curious about how some machines work but when your a college student, you dont usually have a lot of time to deep dive about a lot of things outside your major and hobbies.

I'm sure children who are curious about machines would love this a lot.

An amazing book showing cross sections of inside of Engines. My husband and kids loved it! It's very short, but very informative and fun to learn from!