I was born in 1977, and remember a picture book with lots of detailed illustrations including cross sections of spaceships and people on conveyor belts being fed via mechanical arms from ceiling (I remember a woman tilting her head back to receive a giant claw full of salad). Also, a kind of altered lawn tractor that did everything, including cutting all the flowers off with a reciprocating hedge trimmer attachment. I thought I may be confusing this with “Little Monster Goes to Work”, which i also loved, but having recently looked through the latter, realized it is a different book. Please help!

This book captivated my imagination with colorful illustrations (I believe they were mixed media/collage/claymation – something unusual).  We see the boy growing up and the changes in his backyard/neighborhood.  I believe it focuses on the growth of the plants and changing that reflects him growing up, but also urban development, possibly construction or a dump.  There were themes of environmentalism perhaps regarding pollution.  I read this book in the late 90’s or early 2000’s.  I believe the boy was white with brown or blonde hair.  I think most of it focused on him in the window and the view outside.

Thanks so much!