Kathy Wollard

This book has some of the best explanations of natural phenomena I’ve ever encountered. Take the simple question, “why is the sky blue?” I have googled this and come up with many many hits, but none really made sense to me. This book, however, explains it in a way that gives you an “aha” moment. Even the questions she poses are great: Why, for example, does a mirror reverse images from side to side but not top to bottom? What do you really hear when you put a seashell to your ear? show more How do fish breathe underwater? Why do songs get stuck in your head? How does arm hair know to stop growing? Why does scratching make an itch feel better? Why can’t we tickle ourselves?

All of the questions in the book were submitted by real kids all over the world to Newsday’s “How Come” newspaper column.

Kids and parents alike will love the fun and plentiful cartoon-like color illustrations by Debra Solomon.

Evaluation: This is a terrific resource both for curious kids and for the parents who get posed all the questions from curious kids. Additionally, it will be a great help for kids who don't get full answers in school. Originally published in 1993, this is an updated version with more precise answers and twenty new questions. show less

This book was all about answering questions that kids had asked a newspaper column. It's split into four sections: turbulent Earth, safari, body works, and factory field trip. In turbulent Earth, the section went over the questions on how things worked on planet earth, like why we don't have ice ages anymore. In safari, the book talks about the goings on in the animal and plant kingdom, like why dogs bark. Body works discusses why the body does certain things, and explains others, like why show more acids in the stomach don't destroy the stomach. Factory field trip, however, talks about how things from factories work and are made, like glue. In addition, the book has extra little tidbits of information when it relates to the answer of a question.

I enjoyed this book, since it answered some of my own questions. I didn't like, however, that is answered some obvious questions, like "if you dug all the way through Earth, would you end up in space?" I also enjoyed the funny drawings, though I didn't understand a few of them. My favorite section was safari, but my favorite question was "why do fingers get wrinkled after soaking in water for a long time?" since I had been wondering this subconsciously myself. The fact that the book is split into sections, then questions is another thing I like, since it makes the information easier to understand. The pictures were practically comics, so that helped the book not feel like some science book, even though that's what its focus was primarily on. In all, I give this book four stars since it was helpful, but some questions are just so obvious people! show less

I thought this book was really interesting. It was easy to read because every few pages posed a question and then answers to the question. It was something that a curious teen would enjoy as well as an adult.

A book about questions kids ask all the time, the "how come..?" and "why does...?" Lots of information and sparks even more questions that aren't in the book.