My new book

I must have one of the best jobs in the world, writing pop-up books about the extraordinary planet we live on. Having explored the natural cycles of the earth in my first two books, I decided to look at how we make everyday products, from t-shirts to burgers and rubber ducks.

This book took me on an exciting investigation, talking to experts involved in the design, production and disposal of all that stuff we buy and use. Where do burgers come from? What are rubber ducks made of? How do we turn trees into paper? What’s the link between gorillas and mobiles phones? These are some of the questions I explore in How We Make Stuff. I also look at how our fellow creatures have been building amazing structures and creating incredible substances over millions of years, without producing any waste.

Can we do things differently? Working in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, we have developed a website to complement the book and explore further how we can learn from living systems and rethink the way we design, make and use our stuff. The website is aimed at parents and primary teachers who want to encourage children to explore new ideas in the way we make everyday things. After all, they are the future designers and engineers of tomorrow!

I hope you enjoy the book and have fun exploring at www.made2bmadeagain.org!