Twenty questions by Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson

This intriguing, investigative book will lead readers to ask questions, answer some, ask others, connect with others and share their answers, so initiating stories based on some of the imaginings. Who could resist deciding which woman robbed the bank on the third double page. I cam imagine kids having a great fun making observations and deductions about the six women shown, winkling out who could have done it and why, thereby writing a story about opportunity, need and consequences. Similarly the wonderful 'Who is she waiting for?' towards the end of the book, had me thinking about a host of scenarios and situations, possibilities and intrigues and younger minds will slip into wild imaginings with relish.

And the cow on the wind turbine! Why is she there, how did she get there? What is she thinking?! How will she get down?! What are the other cows thinking?! What can she see?! Endless very funny possibilities.

Quirky, explorative, leading, the twenty questions posed in the book will initiate many more as kids grab hold of the opportunity offered in developing story.

I remember being offered one liners as openings to a story to be written in an exam, how much better is this, offered a question which could lead anywhere and everywhere, supported by Christian Robinson’s amazing illustrations, each as different as the last, each offering a context to the question posed, each offering an open ended investigation.

Who is on the other side of this door? Illustrated with a high snow covered peak, a door near the top of the peak, intriguingly placed where a door could not possibly be. Robinson’s mountain provokes more questions, prompting the viewer to think of many things other than who is waiting on the other side. I would love to be a fly on the wall for some of the discussions that evolve after reading this book. Full of wit and humour, the whole book grabs the reader and encourages them to think, imagine, observe. What a treat!

Themes: Imagination, Observation, Questions, Humour.

Fran Knight