New Releases by Catherine Thimmesh

A 2025 Science Friday Best Science Book for Kids A joyfully illustrated picture book biography of Rube Goldberg for STEM-loving children and the many people who enjoy doing simple tasks the hard way. Award-winning author Catherine Thimmesh’s irresistibly engaging text and artist Shanda McCloskey’s energetic, cartoon-style artwork introduce readers to the life and creative legacy of Rube Goldberg, the world-famous inventor of crazy contraptions. A rollicking educational kids' book that is part biography, part inspiration, and part physics how-to, Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll! posits the ultimate question ... why do anything the simple way? (Especially if, for instance, there is a catapult option?) Because, of course, there are lots of things you can do the simple way: Set an alarm, flip a switch, open a door, toast some bread . . . But what if, instead, you did things the Rube Goldberg way? Endlessly entertaining, needlessly complex, and achieving a delicate balance of physics, humor, and excitement! The book includes an overview of the six simple machines that power most of Goldberg’s inventions and puts the tools for making real-life Rube Goldberg machines right into readers’ hands. It’s the perfect thing to spark the imaginations of budding inventors, artists, and thinkers of all ages—because the most promising relationships with science start not with a textbook but with the willingness to break stuff and ask silly questions! SCIENCE MADE FUN: Sure to excite students, teachers, and parents looking for a playful, hands-on way to dive into the sciences and connect to STEM and STEAM efforts in schools, where Rube Goldberg machines are already in use, this book offers a fun way to approach the sometimes-daunting subject of physics. INSPIRATIONAL AWESOMENESS: There are more and better opportunities for kids to embrace and explore a love of science and engineering today, and Rube Goldberg was an artist, too! This is the perfect book to encourage the scientist and artist in every kid. POPULAR SUBJECT FOR KIDS: There are over 1 million views of various Rube Goldberg videos on YouTube featuring overly complicated ways to turn a page, pass the salt, water a plant, and more. Perfect for: Young makers Parents, grandparents, and caregivers encouraging budding engineers and artists Classroom book or gift for teachers Rube Goldberg fans of all ages

Brave women from diverse backgrounds make the world a better place through their businesses in this inspiring companion to the best-selling Girls Think of Everything by Sibert-winner Catherine Thimmesh and Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet. For fans of Women Who Dared and Women in Science. Women all over the globe are asking questions that affect lives and creating businesses that answer them. Like, can we keep premature babies warm when they're born far from the hospital? Or, can the elderly stay in their homes and eat a balanced diet? Women are taking on and solving these issues with their ingenuity and business acumen. How did they get their ideas? Where does the funding for their projects come from? And how have some of these businesses touched YOUR life? Girls Solve Everything answers these questions, inspiring today's kids to learn from entrepreneurs and take on some of the world's biggest problems, one solution at a time.

"Connects babies across our ecosystem with compelling photographs and a poetic text that shows how the everyday milestones babies take parallel animals' in the world." -- Amazon.com.

A mesmerizing exploration of unlikely and beautiful animal friendship, told with remarkable photos and simply poetic words.

Sibert medalist Catherine Thimmesh unravels the mystery of how we bring to life a creature that no one has ever seen before. Strikingly illustrated with full-color images of some of the most beautiful and accurate dinosaur art available.

Discusses how a collection of old bones revealed a mystery that brought scientists from around the world to study their ancestral connection to the human race in this chronicling of the discovery of the world's most famous hominid.

"This behind-the-scenes look at the first Apollo moon landing has the feel of a public television documentary in its breadth and detail" ( Publishers Weekly, starred review). Here is a rare perspective on a story we only thought we knew. For Apollo 11, the first moon landing, is a story that belongs to many, not just the few and famous. It belongs to the seamstress who put together twenty-two layers of fabric for each space suit. To the engineers who created a special heat shield to protect the capsule during its fiery reentry. It belongs to the flight directors, camera designers, software experts, suit testers, telescope crew, aerospace technicians, photo developers, engineers, and navigators. Gathering direct quotes from some of these folks who worked behind the scenes, Catherine Thimmesh reveals their very human worries and concerns. Culling NASA transcripts, national archives, and stunning NASA photos from Apollo 11, she captures not only the sheer magnitude of this feat but also the dedication, ingenuity, and perseverance of the greatest team ever—the team that worked to first put man on that great gray rock in the sky. Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award "An edge-of-your-seat adventure . . . Lavishly illustrated . . . This exhilarating book . . . will captivate." — Chicago Sun-Times "Thimmesh gives names and voices to the army that got Neil Armstrong and company to the moon and back. The result is a spectacular and highly original addition to the literature of space exploration." — The Horn Book "This beautiful and well-documented tribute will introduce a new generation to that triumphant time." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Shows the bravery and tenacity of women who have been in politics, showing how far women have come and how far they still have to go.

Tells the story of how women throughout the ages have responded to situations confronting them in daily life by inventing such items as correction fluid, space helmets, and disposable diapers.

This book presents brief accounts of the work of a variety of women scientists in such fields as astronomy, biology, anthropology, and medicine.

Thimmesh tells the story of how women throughout the ages have responded to situations confronting them in daily life by inventing such items as correction fluid, helmets, the windshield wiper, baby carriers, and disposable diapers. Full-color illustrations.