Why?: The Best Ever Question and Answer Book about Nature, Science and the World Around You

My five and seven-yr old daughters both really enjoy this book. The younger one even took it to school for show-and-tell. It answers the most interesting questions, and does it with just the right amount of simplification. Highly recommended.

I ordered this book as a Christmas present for my 2 grandchildren, 6 years old. They are really enjoying having their WHY questions answered, and even lots of questions they never thought of are answered

I bought this when my 3-year started asking me questions like: - Why do we need to go to the bathroom all the time? - Where does the water go when you flush it? - Why does the outside of the icecream cup get wet? - Why does it rain? These questions would have me scurrying to the encyclopedia but it was hard to get creative enough and explain the terms to a toddler. So I looked this book. While not exhaustive, it does give extremely palatable answers without fudging with truth/science. And the questions in the book help you to formulate your own for others. I highly recommend it as a starting why/how book.

I would have given 5 stars but it isn't what we expected,we thought it would be more like a textbook. However,our daughter just turned six and is learning to read- she really likes to read the questions so daddy can answer it- for this reason we appreciate the time together and she learns how to read in question format. I was a little surprised at how infomative it is while easy enough for our four year old son to comprehend. (he sits and listens too). We love the book and would buy again.

My 3 year old has already asked me many questions in this book,so it hits the mark on being full of real questions that a real child would ask. The explanantions are short (about 1 paragraph)and easy to understand - although I found the vocabulary sometimes a bit tough for my 3 year old. I often used simpler words while reading to her. I expect therefore that the rated age range beginning with 4 years is probably accurate from the point of view of understanding the explanations completely. The questions are arranged in groups such as "bathtime questions" and in a "story" order revolving around a child in that particular situation (ie. the child is getting a bath and is asking questions that start with "how does hot and cold water run out of the same tap" and ending with "why do my hands get all wrinkly after I've been in the bath a long time"). Each question and it's associated exaplanation and illustration cover a full two-page spread of the book. My only complaint is that the book does not actually contain as much detailed "science" content as I had hoped to find - since it is based on questions that children ask, not on concepts someone wanted to include purely for the sake of completeness. I would guess that 8 year olds might be left wanting more information that is given in the answers (which could be considered a good thing, spurning them on to further research). Certainly for the younger ages though, this is a great book. (More questions from the book: "Do the doors at the grocery store open by magic?" "Why do stars Twinkle?" "Why does it smell so good outside after it rains?" "Why do I have to use the toilet and where does it go when I flush?")