The Book of Whys

Factual as well as whimsical, andhumorously illustrated, this is the first English-language publication of theanswers given by one of Italy’s greatest and most beloved children’s authors to children’s questions about animals, nature, technology, and culture.

Gianni Rodari is widely regarded as the father of modern Italian children’s literature. A firm believer in the great intelligence of children, he worked both as a teacher and a journalist. For a number of years, children across Italy sent their questions to his weekly newspaper columnquestions Rodari answered, most inventively, with rhymes and little poems.Why didn’t he reply with facts alone?Because he wanted to provoke children into thinking about questions, norms, and language itself.The Book of Whyscollects a selection of these questionsfrom “Why does an elephant have a trunk?” to “Why does a car need fuel?” to “Why are we born?”along with Rodari’s answers, which beautifully serve to highlight the complexities, simplicities,and absurdities of our world.

With a fresh translation from Antony Shugaar, who also translated Rodari’sTelephone Tales(the 2021Batchelder Award winner), and playful illustrations in colored pencils from artist JooHee Yoon (Beastly Verse;The Tiger Who Would Be King, aNew York TimesBest Illustrated Book of 2015;Inside Out and Upside Down),The Book of Whysis a playful, surprising, and poetically informative book forall those who are curious about the world and ready to play withthe ways things are.