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Hidden Systems

Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day (A Graphic Novel)

Author Dan Nott
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Paperback
$18.99 US
RH Childrens Books | Random House Graphic
6"W x 9.06"H x 0.85"D  
On sale Mar 14, 2023 | 272 Pages | 9781984896049
Grade 7 & Up
Reading Level: Lexile GN1320L | Fountas & Pinnell Z
FOC Feb 13, 2023
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We use water, electricity, and the internet every day--but how do they actually work? And what’s the plan to keep them running for years to come? This nonfiction science graphic novel takes readers on a journey from how the most essential systems were developed to how they are implemented in our world today and how they will be used in the future.

What was the first message sent over the internet? How much water does a single person use every day? How was the electric light invented?

For every utility we use each day, there’s a hidden history--a story of intrigue, drama, humor, and inequity. This graphic novel provides a guided tour through the science of the past--and reveals how the decisions people made while inventing and constructing early technology still affect the way people use it today.

Full of art, maps, and diagrams, Hidden Systems is a thoughtful, humorous exploration of the history of science and what needs to be done now to change the future.
Dan Nott is a cartoonist, illustrator, and educator living in Vermont. Dan’s short comics and illustrations for investigative journalism have appeared in The Nib and Spotlight PA and in publications for WBUR and NJ Advance Media, among others. Dan graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies and was the lead writer and cartoonist for its free nationally distributed comic on US government called This Is What Democracy Looks Like. Dan teaches classes on making comics and comics history.  View titles by Dan Nott
  • SELECTION
    New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • AWARD
    NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
  • AWARD
    National Book Awards
  • SELECTION | 2024
    NSTA-CBC - Outstanding Science Trade Book
  • HONOR | 2023
    NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
"Hidden Systems is the book I’ll use to teach my kids how the internet works....incredibly readable." —The Verge

★ “The true power of comics is on display here, with complex, difficult-to-comprehend structures presented both through a variety of metaphors and by placing those metaphors in context with simplified renditions of their real physical appearance.” —Booklist, starred review

“Performs a valuable service.”— Kirkus Reviews

“A necessary introductory approach to everyday systems that briefly interrogates the bias and inequalities imbedded within them.” —Publishers Weekly
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additional book photo
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About

We use water, electricity, and the internet every day--but how do they actually work? And what’s the plan to keep them running for years to come? This nonfiction science graphic novel takes readers on a journey from how the most essential systems were developed to how they are implemented in our world today and how they will be used in the future.

What was the first message sent over the internet? How much water does a single person use every day? How was the electric light invented?

For every utility we use each day, there’s a hidden history--a story of intrigue, drama, humor, and inequity. This graphic novel provides a guided tour through the science of the past--and reveals how the decisions people made while inventing and constructing early technology still affect the way people use it today.

Full of art, maps, and diagrams, Hidden Systems is a thoughtful, humorous exploration of the history of science and what needs to be done now to change the future.

Author

Dan Nott is a cartoonist, illustrator, and educator living in Vermont. Dan’s short comics and illustrations for investigative journalism have appeared in The Nib and Spotlight PA and in publications for WBUR and NJ Advance Media, among others. Dan graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies and was the lead writer and cartoonist for its free nationally distributed comic on US government called This Is What Democracy Looks Like. Dan teaches classes on making comics and comics history.  View titles by Dan Nott

Awards

  • SELECTION
    New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • AWARD
    NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
  • AWARD
    National Book Awards
  • SELECTION | 2024
    NSTA-CBC - Outstanding Science Trade Book
  • HONOR | 2023
    NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children

Praise

"Hidden Systems is the book I’ll use to teach my kids how the internet works....incredibly readable." —The Verge

★ “The true power of comics is on display here, with complex, difficult-to-comprehend structures presented both through a variety of metaphors and by placing those metaphors in context with simplified renditions of their real physical appearance.” —Booklist, starred review

“Performs a valuable service.”— Kirkus Reviews

“A necessary introductory approach to everyday systems that briefly interrogates the bias and inequalities imbedded within them.” —Publishers Weekly

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

Additional formats

  • Hidden Systems
    Hidden Systems
    Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day (A Graphic Novel)
    Dan Nott
    $23.99 US
    Hardcover
    Mar 14, 2023
  • Hidden Systems
    Hidden Systems
    Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day (A Graphic Novel)
    Dan Nott
    Ebook
    Mar 14, 2023
  • Hidden Systems
    Hidden Systems
    Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day (A Graphic Novel)
    Dan Nott
    $23.99 US
    Hardcover
    Mar 14, 2023
  • Hidden Systems
    Hidden Systems
    Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day (A Graphic Novel)
    Dan Nott
    Ebook
    Mar 14, 2023

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