The Perfect Machine

If you could build a perfect machine, what would it be? Would it be something that goes really fast, like a motorcycle, or something that uses sunlight to make fruit, like a tree? Or what about something that can write a book or paint a picture? In this picture book for children of all ages, artist Lance Letscher tells a beguiling story of a boy who sets out to build the perfect machine and makes a surprising discovery. Letscher illustrates the story through collages that are themselves composed of pieces of other stories—children's storybooks, old school books and exercises, boxes that once held games. These intriguing collages, with their many layers of detail, encourage us to ponder where creative ideas come from. An appealing way to introduce children to fine art, The Perfect Machine represents a new direction in Letscher's work, in which fragments of phrases in his collages summon up memories and associations without being specifically narrative. Combining images with a story for the first time, Letscher has created a delightful, thought-provoking book that adults and children alike will enjoy.