Machines and machinery are an important part of our daily lives; while we know what machines like TVs and cars do, we don’t know much about those machines without whom a lot of things might not be possible. Like machines that help grow food, build buildings, help with travel and help your pet animals get better.

What Do Machines Do All Day? is one such book that helps you understand the names and the business of over 100 machines you might have seen, but might not know about. Written by Jo Nelson and illustrated by Aleksandar Savic, this book is cleverly divided into 14 sections, each covering an important location such as home, farm, seaside, or film set. What’s more important is that each and every machine mentioned in the book talks to you, the reader, and introduces itself.

Let’s start with machines that are active in our homes, and then visit all the places where machines help man make things better. Ever wondered how we get hot water in our taps during winter, or why a vacuum cleaner can clean our mess? How does a refrigerator work, and what makes the washing machine an important part of our houses? This book explains the workings of all these machines, as well as those functions of which you might or might not know.

If we branch out beyond our homes, we will see a lot of machines everywhere. A traffic signal is a machine and so is a printer, a cash register, or even an ATM. Let these machines explain to you in simple language what they do all day long and how it helps you.

The clever division of 14 places where you might find lots of machines will also help you and your friends get to know these places as well as the machines. It could be one working on the road, working on buildings, working at the seaside, at the theme park, or even in a mine. The large, colourful scenes accompanying these chapters, as well as the double spread featuring eight machines, would help you understand how they work and why they are important. You’ll be amazed by the range of machines at work.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 17th, 2026