Mechanimals

By Chris Tougas

When a tornado leaves a farmer with a heap of scrap metal and no animals, his neighbors are sure it's all over for him. But the determined farmer refuses to admit defeat. His plans are big, and when his neighbors dismiss them with the words, "When pigs fly," they grow bigger still. The farmer sets to work to turn that scrap metal into some rather surprising creatures. Mechanimals will help all of us believe in our dreams, despite what the neighbors may say.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Sep 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781459806269

Chris Tougas

Chris Tougas is an award-winning author and illustrator of several picture books, including Dojo Daycare (Owlkids, 2014) and Mechanimals (Orca, 2007). He has worked as a character designer and concept developer for such studios as Disney, Fox, The Jim Henson Company, Warner Brothers, Sesame Workshop and many others. Chris lives and works in Victoria, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.christougas.com.

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Reviews for Mechanimals

[mkaray1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a farmer, who lost all his animals in a tornado, and in return built animals out of the metal scraps that the tornado left behind. The farmer first began planning his animals by drawing what he imagined them to be. This planning aspect of the book is great for demonstrating to young children that before they begin a project, they need to sit down and make a plan. As a teacher, it would be great to ensure the students that their plan can always change, but it is initially important to be organized. The famer made different animals such as a "rooster-bot," "cow-bot," and a "sheep-bot." I like how detailed the pictures were, such as when the farmer was constructing multiple "chick-bots," because you can see the farmer screw driving nails into the metal chick that has buttons and lights on it. I also like how he explains why he is making each animal. For instance, he made numerous "chick-bots to help with all the heavy lifting." I would have liked this book more if it included more animals that children imagine on a farm. The central message of the book was to teach children that when something goes wrong, there is always a way to use the resources around you to make the situation better.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An inventive farmer does some extreme recycling. Short, silly and fun.

[ahanch1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I believe that this book is a great resource for a teacher to use with their students. The farmer in the story had to clean up metal debris on his farm by creating farm animals to help him clean. For example, the farmer made multiple chick-bots to help with all the heavy lifting in the cleaning up process. He also created a cow-bot to help with all the lube and fueling. This book teaches children about creativity. I believe it also teaches children that they shouldn't limit their goals. If students work hard, they have a very good chance of achieving their goals just like the farmer did in this book.Summary: Mechanimals takes place on a farm. In the beginning of the book, a large tornado ripped through the farm causing a lot of destruction. The tornado caused a lot of scrap metal and machine parts to form a large pile on the man's farm. The farmer knew he had to think of a way to clean up the mess. He created a plan to use the scrap metal and machine parts to create animals to help him clean up the mess. After creating a variety of farm animals out of metal, he was finally able to clean up all the debris that the tornado had caused.