I love gadgets and gizmos. The idea for Levers, Ramps, and Pulleys was to make a whimsical balloon popping machine out of ordinary toys. Because the theme of this book was "School Days," I used the kind of toys found in a typical classroom. I wasn't sure what to do at first. With the toys piled on a table, I began to experiment.

After about two weeks of trial and error, my contraption started to come together. I continued for several more days to refine the design.

When the balloon popper was finally complete, I took the final picture and Jean Marzollo wrote the riddle. I then decided to see if the machine would work. Do you think it worked?