Customer Reviews

Why?

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Lila Prap's "Why?" is a scientifically sound question and answer book disguised as a silly riddle book. Each two page spread features an animal, a question, and several possible answers. "Why do kangaroos have pouches?" One ludicrous answer is "To hide their bellybuttons." The correct answer is marked with a star, always found on the far right of the page. The rest of the ridiculous answers follow kid logic and some adult logic, especially those adults driven quite mad by a little one's unending "Why?" questions. While the illustrations and short text are well-suited to preschoolers, older children will also fully enjoy the book's information and humor. A nice introductory book to the mysteries of the animal kingdom for ages 4+.

Recommended.

Kane Miller Book Publishers brings us challenging and imaginative titles from around the world. I adore this book from Slovenia. Humor and facts work together in this animal book. Silly and factual answers to questions are the framework.

Why do whales spout water?
They're watering the sea grass.
It's their runy noses! They always have colds.
For fun.
* Whales don't spout water but from a distance it might look as if they do...When they come to the surface of the the water, they blow the moist air out fo their nose--the blowhole on top of their head.

The illustrations are chalk or pastel and will inspire the artist in all of us. This is a book I would want to share with art teachers.

It is also an excellent model for a research or Big 6 product. Animal reports are a staple of research skills lessons. Students could illustrate their animal and surround it with facts they discovered through research.

I love the concept of this book and I think
parents and kids will have a lot of fun with it... and
there are just a few points of execution that would
make it even better.

Yes, the scientific "correct" answer is always
in the right hand column with a star next
to it... but the questions and the "wrong"
answers are scattered and not easy to immediately
discern.

Solution? Teach young children what makes a
question a question... and what makes a silly
answer just a silly answer... perhaps a note to
parents explaining this in the front of the book
would have been beneficial.

The illustrations are befitting the jungle
theme - whimsical, too - with the earthy tones
one delights to find.

My favorite question is "Why do rhinos have horns?"

Answers: You'll have to read the book to find out!

Inquiring minds want to know. Why do hyenas laugh? Why do hippos yawn? Why do crocodiles cry? The perfect animal book for curious children. Fourteen animal misconceptions are laid to rest, with clear scientific reasoning. Luckily for the reader, we are also provided with several nonsensical answers just for ... fun!

The format is visually pleasing - large scale animal drawings surrounded on all four sides by text in various fonts and sizes. The serious answer runs down the right hand column, clearly marked with a bold star. It's a smart way to present the competing responses without the pages appearing congested.

If Why? Why? Why? is often uttered at your house, this is an ideal book. This facade of silliness is masking the fact that kids are learning some very interesting truths about animals. Most enjoyable of all is hearing the responses these elicit from your child's imagination.

As a side note, our test group of kids found the animal caricatures in the front and back of the book to be uproarious. One animal's head paired with another's body results in new breeds such as a Snakamel (Snake + Camel) and a Walmonkey (Walrus + Monkey).

This is a great book for starting conversations, and discussing the difference between silly and fact. My four-year-old daughter loves this book.