Franz's Phantasmagorical Machine by Beth Anderson, Caroline Hamel
Published by Kids Can Press on May 3, 2022
ISBN: 1525303252
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads

Franz has always dreamed of inventions. He knows he wants to make something, but he doesn’t know what. As an adult, he finally begins to tinker and build a magical machine that grows to over 20 feet long. What does the machine do? This is the question that everyone asks, but simply existing and amazing is what the machine does.

This is a true story of Franz Gsellmann of Austria. In the early 1900s he built a fantastical machine that whizzed and spun and whirred but didn’t “do” anything in the traditional sense of the word. The digitally rendered illustrations are high color, and bring the complexity of Franz’s machines to life. This book is a little longer so recommended for readers 4 and up.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME