Questions Asked

May 22, 2017
In a heady contemplation of mortality and existence, Gaarder (The Orange Girl) and Düzakin (Why Am I Here?) follow a boy as he ventures out into the woods under the cover of night. Initially, the boy’s questions seem inspired by his surroundings. “Is our planet the only one with life on it?” he wonders, leaping over hilly terrain as a shooting star streaks overhead. “Can anyone know what I think?” he asks while digging up a box buried in the woods. The book’s small trim size makes Düzakin’s gauzy, carefully drafted scenes all the more intimate and introspective, and b&w flashbacks—a visit to see a magician perform, a boating trip—triggered by mementos collected in the box, reveal the existence of a twin sibling who is no longer the boy’s constant companion. The absent boy’s ghostly presence in several scenes, including a climactic rescue, signals to readers that the distance between the twins is not entirely unbridgeable. It’s a haunting and provocative reminder that the void left by a person’s death or departure is often filled by difficult, even unanswerable questions. Ages 3–7.

March 15, 2017
The Norwegian philosopher and author of Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (1994), brings out the existentialist in even the youngest reader.In this pocket-sized picture book, soft, earth-toned illustrations of a pale-skinned child with black hair setting out on a walk with backpack and dog pair with mostly blank pages and the child's thought-provoking questions, such as -Where does the world come from? Has there always been something here? Or has it all come from nothing?- Yet the questions are not simply another version of arbitrary conversation starters as in the popular The Book of Questions and its spawn, and the delicate illustrations are not simply pretty pictures to accompany pithy musings. Rather, they work together to tell a story about love, death, and many topics in between. As the child heads into a wood and digs up a box filled with trinkets, sometimes followed by a similarly sized and shaped ghost, the child raises questions of memories, fear, and the future. A short series of sepia-toned illustrations also depict the child's past with a twin and their adventures together. Though death and grief are never mentioned, it becomes clear that the child is processing feelings through these questions. They provide an opportunity for readers of all ages to explore their own feelings on these same subjects and the world around them. Quiet, respectful, and touching. (Picture book. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2017

Gr 3 Up-This layered philosophy primer from Gaarder of Sophie's World fame tells the story of a nameless young boy who works out the loss of a sibling during a trip into the woods. The entire narrative consists of a series of thought-provoking questions, mashed up with Duzakin's dreamy, calming illustrations. A ghostly figure follows the boy to a clearing and looks on as he digs up a box full of black-and-white photos, a journal, and other trinkets. Past and present alternate to reveal a boy who is devastated after losing his twin brother. The profound questions ("How do I talk?" "Can those who are not with us any more know how we are?" "Can anyone know what I think?") give clues to the boys' relationship, but we are left wondering how the twin died, and the boy's rebound from a near-fatal walk into a nearby pond seems abrupt. The unique presentation allows for the book to be read in multiple ways. The questions can stand alone as inspiration for a creative writing or journal exercise. The delicate illustrations, akin to those of Peter McCarty, function in much the same way as a wordless picture book does. Together, they weave a melancholy tale of grief and the healing that inevitably comes with time. VERDICT This is a special book for mature readers and budding philosophers who won't be afraid of the deep sense of sorrow. They will find a lot to chew on and discuss.-Kristy Kilfoyle, Canterbury School, Fort Myers, FL

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.