If you grew up in the 90s, you probably remember the original version of this book sitting on a library shelf or your cool cousin’s desk. David Macaulay is essentially the patron saint of "taking things apart so you don't have to."

The Way Things Work Now is the 2016 updated version of his classic. It keeps the soul of the original—using massive, clumsy woolly mammoths to demonstrate physical principles—but it adds a massive section on the digital world. We’re talking about how bits and bytes work, how sensors in a smartphone know you’re tilting the screen, and how Wi-Fi actually travels through your walls.

It’s a massive, 400-page beast of a book, but it’s designed to be dipped into. You don’t read this cover-to-cover unless you’re a very specific type of kid (we see you, future engineers). For everyone else, it’s the book you pull out when your kid asks why the toaster pops up or how the "Cloud" actually stores their Roblox data.

We talk a lot at Screenwise about "digital wellness," and a big part of that is moving kids from being passive consumers to active understanders.

Right now, most kids treat technology like magic. You press a glass square, and a video of a guy in a toilet appears. That’s "black box" thinking. When tech is magic, it’s harder to set boundaries with it. When tech is mechanics—when a kid understands that a touchscreen is just a grid of electrical sensors reacting to the conductivity of their finger—the "magic" becomes a tool.

The Way Things Work Now bridges that gap. It connects the physical world (levers, inclined planes, gears) to the digital world. It shows that even the most complex AI or VR headset is built on the same fundamental principles of physics and logic that govern a see-saw.

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At this age, they aren't going to sit down and read the technical description of a nuclear reactor. They are here for the mammoths. Macaulay uses these animals to show how weight, force, and motion work. Sit with them and look at the "Great Mammoth Cleanup" to explain how a vacuum works. It’s a great way to build "schematic literacy"—the ability to look at a diagram and understand what’s happening.

This is the sweet spot. This is when they start getting curious about the gadgets in their pockets. Use the "Digital Domain" section of the book to explain things like:

Even for teens, this book is a top-tier reference. If they are starting to get into Scratch or Roblox Studio, understanding the logic gates explained in this book is a massive leg up.

If your kid sparks to Macaulay’s style, you can lean into that curiosity with other media that isn't "brain rot." Here is what we recommend to keep that momentum going:

If The Way Things Work Now is the tech bible, StoryBots is the tech gospel for the younger set. It’s fast-paced, genuinely funny for parents, and explains things like "How do computers work?" in a way that sticks.

Don't dismiss this as "just a game." If you want to see the principles of Macaulay’s book in action, look at Redstone. Kids are building functioning computers, calculators, and automated farms inside Minecraft using the exact same logic gates (AND, OR, NOT) that Macaulay explains in his digital section. Learn more about how Minecraft teaches engineering

For the physical side of things—levers, force, combustion—MythBusters is the gold standard. It shows the "trial and error" side of engineering that a book can only describe.

Mark Rober is basically the modern, video-version of David Macaulay. He’s a former NASA engineer who builds crazy contraptions (like the famous Glitter Bomb) to explain science. It’s high-energy, but it’s "high-calorie" content—it actually leaves them smarter.

Let’s be real: this book is dense. If you just hand it to a kid who is used to the 15-second dopamine hits of TikTok or YouTube Shorts, they might look at the wall of text and "nope" right out of there.

The Strategy: Don't make it "required reading." Leave it on the coffee table. Leave it open to the page about how a toilet flushes (kids always want to know about the toilet) or how a touchscreen works.

Also, be prepared: you will likely realize you’ve been explaining things wrong for years. I didn't actually understand how a quartz watch worked until I read the mammoth version. No judgment—modern tech is designed to be invisible. This book makes it visible again.

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When your kid is looking at the book, ask them questions that bridge to their real life:

The Way Things Work Now is one of those rare "buy it once, keep it forever" books. It’s the perfect antidote to the "magic black box" problem of modern childhood. It encourages kids to look under the hood, ask questions, and realize that the world—both physical and digital—is something they can understand and, eventually, build themselves.

It’s not "brain rot." It’s "brain fuel." And honestly, the mammoths are just funny.

Next Steps:

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