Questions, Questions by Marcus Pfister

I am collecting books that are filled with open-ended questions like this one. They could be used in a classroom as discussion starters or as writing ideas or even as a model for writing your own questions.

Marcus Pfister wrote this book in 2011 so it is long out of print but if you can find it in a library, I would even suggest copying the pages to use for a class or library display.

Here are some of the thirteen rhyming questions I enjoyed:

• How do seeds know how to grow. To reach up from the earth below?
• Who paints the colours on the flowers that lift their heads to sun and showers?
• What turns the rain on in the sky and brings the sun to make things dry?
• Do apple seeds dream happily of growing up to be a tree?
• Does a whale make up a song so other whales will sing along?

In 2016 a Goodreads reviewer said: This book is filled with rhyming couplets. There are serious questions, silly questions, and questions students may never have thought to ask. I enjoy this book because it begins to spark curiosity for students as they think about the world around them. I would use this book to teach students how to write a question and how to use a question mark. We could create a book with our own questions in it and then look up the answers and create a book of answers. We could compare and contrast the questions in our book to the answers in the other.

Another thing to notice with this book is that every page and the cover have a tiny fragment of silver foil. It adds a sparkle, but it could also engage your young reading companion to hunt for this glint on every page. This addition should not surprise you when you realise Marcus Pfister is the creator of The Rainbow Fish. 

Marcus Pfister was born in Bern, Switzerland. After studying at the Art School of Bern, he apprenticed as a graphic designer and worked in an advertising agency before becoming self-employed in 1984. His debut picture book, The Sleepy Owl, was published by NorthSouth in 1986, but his big breakthrough came six years later with The Rainbow Fish. Marcus has illustrated over sixty-five books that have been translated into more than sixty languages and received countless international awards. He lives with his wife, Debora, and their children in Bern.