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Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Why Don't Cars Run on Apple Juice? Real Science Questions From Real Kids. Written by Kira Vermond and illustrated by Suharu Ogawa. Annick Press, 2019. $19.95 ages 8 and up

"How do whales sleep?

... Luckily, whales' bodies have adapted to their watery environment in a few different ways. Some swim to the water's surface and fall asleep while floating. Many whales slumber for only a few minutes at a time. Others sleep using only ... half a brain! One side of the brain slumbers ... "
I love the origins for this book: that every question in it came from kids who visited the Ontario Science Museum. They were asked in a cafe setting and something special happened -

" ... the amazing and intriguing things they asked were captured in a computer and laser-cut into personalized wood coasters. They even got to keep them."

I have mentioned that I spent the month of July with a 3 and a 5 year old. It has been a long time since my own kids were that age. I had almost forgotten how inquisitive little ones can be. When you are asking science questions, it always seems as if one leads directly to another. That is exactly what happened here.

The questions that visitors to OSM asked are divided into five different chapters:


  • Whipping Up A Batch of Planet Earth
  • Creeping, Crawling Living Things
  •  Human Bodies from the Inside Out
  •  Stars, Moons, Planets, and Other Spaces
  • Big Ideas About Past, Present and Future. 
I know where I would start first. Readers will make that determination for themselves, depending upon their own personal interests. What I like about the book is the fact that all questions are considered - and none of them are deemed too silly to answer. Many adults are afraid to ask questions important to us for fear of being criticized. Here, 50 wide-ranging questions are asked and answered. The answers are meant to help the target audience (and the children who asked the questions) understand the scientific reasoning for the answers given by experts in their field. Most importantly, not all questions have a clear and definitive answer. 

The cartoon artwork is appealing, and often humorous. The final question encourages active thinking and thoughtful response. The design is terrific -  colorful, humorous, conversational, and encouraging of further inquiry. 


"Why do people need to sleep? 

Short answer? We don't know. But scientists have a few theories.

Here's one. People and animals need sleep to repair their bodies and
restore what has been lost during the day. That means growing muscle
and healing tissue. Sleep also helps us conserve energy so we have
enough when we really need it, like during gym class."

If you want to know the answer to the title question, you will have to get your eyes and hands on this book!
                                                                       

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