Where does Pepper come from? by Brigitte Raab illustrated by Manuela Olten

"Any book that lets kids say, NO so often is bound to be popular" School Library Journal

This book is from 2006 so it is out of print but it might be in your school or local library. I am sure the format of this one will inspire curiosity and give your reading group lots of laughs too. You could use this to write more questions, think of crazy creative answers and then flip the page to read the actual facts.

Where does pepper come from? A pepper mill; a spicy place; the pepper store; a sneezy place; from pepper rocks! Actually, we discover on the next page it comes from the berries of the pepper plant. Most pepper is grown in India, Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia.

Other questions in this book include; Why do bears hibernate? Why do snail carry houses on their backs?Why are flamingos pink? and Why isn't a whale a fish?

“Why is the sea salty?” “Because a sea captain sprinkled salt on the water”. This humorous picture book asks a series of seven questions and is first given some very creative (but wrong) answers. “Why do snails carry houses on their backs?” “Because they love to go camping!” Readers can then turn the page to see a child saying, No! followed by a concise, correct answer. In a nice twist, the pattern is broken at the end of the book. “Why don't migrating birds get lost when they fly south in the fall?” “Because they have compasses in their beaks!” This seemingly silly answer turns out to be partly true.

The design is playful with cartoon-style illustrations that use soft earth tones combined with subtle humour. This book is a lively and appealing way to encourage children’s curiosity about the natural world. Outside in the World

Where does pepper come from? was originally published in German in 2005 with the title Wo wächst der Pfeffer? 

A book like this could be a terrific addition to your bag of tricks if you are a casual or substitute teacher. Keep your eye out - you might find one in a charity shop.

The library where I volunteer had a display last term of question and answer books. I think my facination with this goes back to books from my childhood like The How and Why Wonder book series and also I had a large format book filled with questions and answers but I have no memory of the title.

The World from Here by Cassy Polimeni illustrated by Mel Armstrong

Blurb: Milo lies in the grass watching cottony cumulus clouds transform into animals. Maya looks out a plane window and marvels at the sky outside and the shapes countries make below. Through their different perspectives, Milo and Maya remind us that there are countless ways to experience the world.

Here is a new word for today - Nephology - the study of clouds.

This book combines a narrative interspersed with facts about clouds. There is a glossary and a fact page to extend your child's understanding of weather, cloud names, thunderstorms, and the ways weather can affect us.

Thanks to CSIRO Publishing for sending a review copy of The World from Here. Check out the teachers notes here. 

• Explores the sciences that help us understand our world, and the wonders that make living here on Earth so rewarding.
• Presents scientific facts on weather, geometry, astronomy and patterns in nature in an accessible and engaging way.

There are also terrific opportunities of further things to explore after reading this book such as mushrooms, frogs, Pangea, clouds on Mars, the constellations, and shapes in nature such as fractals, tessellations and spirals. This book could also open up a discussion about ways to cope if a child is afraid during a thunderstorm. 

It is an accessible and engaging introduction to Earth Sciences that will inspire curious readers aged 4 and up to learn more about the environment. Books and Publishing

Things look different from up here, with Earth spread out below like a giant quilt.

See more pages inside this book here.

My friend at Kinderbookswitheverything talks about Cloud Appreciation Day but you could celebrate clouds any time. I think this topic might be covered in our school syllabus documents but with your preschool group or younger grade you could easily enjoy exploring clouds and books about clouds as a part of a mini unit. Here are a few of my favourite books about clouds:

This is very very old - Clouds by Peggy Blakeley

Cloud Atlas

Lizzy and the Cloud (this is a must-read book for every child)

When cloud became a cloud

Cassy Polimeni is a children’s author and freelance editor whose stories celebrate our connection with nature and the environment, and the relationship between science and wonder.

Here are some of her books:

Mel Armstrong is an illustrator from New Zealand. Here are some of her previous books:

Summer Birds by Margarita Engle illustrated by Julie Paschkis

It is International Women's Day - time to celebrate women in Science. I often think about this book Summer Birds and then I searched my blog the other day and realised I hadn't actually talked about it here. Unfortunately, Summer Birds was published in 2010 so you may have to hunt out a copy in a library.

Reading this book several years ago was a revelation. People used to think butterflies came out of the mud in the summer - like magic. Maria Merian, from a very young age, was a curious girl. She collected butterflies and caterpillars but she had to do this in secret because in the 1650s she could have been accused of witchcraft.

Maria observed that caterpillars come from eggs. These are eggs laid by summer birds (butterflies). Caterpillars eat leaves and grow bigger and bigger. Eventually the caterpillars spin cocoons. Then comes the complex part. Inside the cocoon, while they rest, the caterpillars turn into butterflies and then they come out of their cocoon ready to fly and sip nectar. Maria also noticed a change like this with frogs and tadpoles. 

"When people understand the life cycles of creatures that change forms, they will stop calling small animals evil. They will learn, as I have, by seeing a wingless caterpillar turn into a flying summer bird."

About Maria Merian (1647 - 1717) born in Frankfurt, Germany died in Amsterdam:

"At the age of thirteen, Maria was well on her way to disproving the ancient theory (that butterflies came from mud). By careful observation she discovered that metamorphosis is natural, not supernatural. There was no witchcraft involved. Beginning with silkworms brought from Asia by a merchant, she watched the slow process of change, recording every detail in her notes and sketches ... Today as a result of Maria Sibylla Merian's careful studies, we know that butterflies, moths, and frogs do not spring from mud."

See more images of her work here

In 1705 she published Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium (“The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname”). Arguably the most important work of her career, it included some 60 engravings illustrating the different stages of development that she had observed in Suriname’s insects. Similar to her caterpillar book, Metamorphosis depicted the insects on and around their host plants and included text describing each stage of development. The book was one of the first illustrated accounts of the natural history of Suriname. Britannica

Read more and see her art here:

Botanical art and artists

British Museum

Natural History Museum

Royal Society video (4 minutes)

The Conversation (Background reading for teachers)

Here is another book about Maria Merian written for children:

Perhaps you have some books from the Little People Big Dreams series in your library. I would love to see a book in this series about Maria Merian. Here are some other women scientists to explore:

Using Summer Birds as a jumping off point I highly recommend the verse novels written by Margarita Engle. AND every library should have one or two books illustrated by Julie Paschkis - her art is incredibly special.

Singing with Elephants

Books illustrated by Julie Paschkis

Digger digs down by Johanna Bell illustrated by Huni Melissa Bolliger

Digger is a dog. Digger is a dog who digs. Nothing will stop Digger in his quest to dig down and down and down except when he bumps into something and so he digs right then left then round and round and round until he reaches somewhere quite surprising. Then he hears a voice from above:

"Digger! Where are you?"

So, it is time to dig again - this time up and up and round and round and left and right and upside down until ...

If you are going to write a book with only thirty words it is important to add a rich unspoken story in the illustrations and that is exactly what Huni Melissa Bolliger has done in Digger digs down. An adult sharing this book, or any really good picture book, with a very young child needs to enjoy the book too. The text here is very, very simple almost at the level of an old basal reader from the 1950s or 1960 but so much is going on under the ground as Digger digs deeper and deeper. This means adults and children will enjoy revisiting this book for repeated readings and there will be lots to talk about. 

I especially appreciated the way the first page has no text. You also need to begin reading this book from the title page because that is where the story starts. IF this book does ever appear on a service like Story Box Library I do hope they begin their 'reading' from the title page onwards. The end papers hint at the colourful marvels Digger will find deep under the ground. OH and please think about the rainbow on the cover. After reading this book with your young reading companion or with your preschool group you are sure to want to talk about the idea of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

The illustrations in this book, as I have said, really take this book to another level. They are full page and made with vibrant saturated colours printed on glossy paper. There are pages you need to turn sideways and the text is positioned to mirror the context - for example the words go down the page as Digger digs down and they are curved when he goes round and round. The 'noisy' words are given emphasis because they are written in capital letters. Blurry or smudged edges to his fur show Digger in action as he romps below and above the ground. He is an adorable orange coloured shaggy puppy full of energy. If you met him in real life you would want to give him a pat and a hug although I think he would probably jump all over your first. The word exuberant certainly applies to this energetic young dog. 

I was sent Digger digs down by UQP (University of Queensland Press). It will be published at the end of July, 2024. See inside this book here. This book will be a good addition to a preschool book collection and as a read aloud it will work well with words like donk!, bonk!, clonk!, and swish swish swish for young children aged 2+. 

Publisher blurb: Join happy-go-lucky Digger as he ditches the boredom of backyard life for an underground adventure. What will he find? What won’t he find? Packed with hidden treasures, this picture book is perfect for small children who love dogs, digging and discovery.

Johanna Bell is an award-winning children’s author, poet and Churchill Fellow ... Digger Digs Down is Johanna’s sixth picture book and her first created in nipaluna/Hobart with fellow Tasmanian Huni Melissa Bolliger.  

Huni Melissa Bolliger (you can see a show reel of her work) is an award-winning animator and artist. Her films have won awards in Australia and internationally, including a prestigious Special Jury Prize at Hiroshima Animation Festival. ...  Digger Digs Down is Huni’s picture-book illustration debut.

Background information shared by the publisher:  The story of Digger was first conceived when Johanna’s daughter (then three years old) began telling her a story about a dog called Digger, which was quickly scribbled on the back of a receipt. And in her debut as picture book illustrator, Huni, an animator, found inspiration for Digger in her very own Digger, her dog Rufus.

Here are some other books by Johanna Bell:

Go Home Cheeky Animals was the Winner: Territory Read Awards, Children's or Young Adult, 2018 and
Winner: CBCA Book of the Year, Early Childhood, 2017. 

Hope is the Thing illustrated by Erica Wagner has been shortlisted for the CBCA New Illustrator award for 2024. I am tipping it will be the winner!

The Book of Gold by Bob Staake

Isaac visits the New York public library with his parents:

"Isaac's parents loved books. They adored how they smelled and the way they felt in their hands, but most of all, they loved discovering the answers hidden inside."

Isaac is not interest in books but later his parents take him into a curiosity shop and the owner tells Isaac:

"There is a legend,' she explained, 'that somewhere in the world there is one very special book that's just waiting to be discovered. It will look like any other book, but it holds all the answers to every question ever asked, and when it is opened, it turns to solid gold."

This idea puts young Isaac Gutenberg, a boy who has declared he does NOT like reading, on the road to discovery. He hunts high and low looking for this promised golden treasure and along the way he finds a love of reading, develops his curiosity and finds answers to his questions. Perhaps the "book of gold" will never be found but Isaac finds an even better treasure. I hope you have guessed what this is.

Here are some of the questions Isaac asks:

• Why don't the pyramids have windows?
• How can something as heavy as a ship float?
• Who invented pizza?
• Were dinosaurs covered in fur?
• Why don't elevators also travel sideways?

and my favourite question

• How did the number eight get its name?

It is also fun to think about the name Gutenberg. 

You might like to use this book when you talk about the 2024 CBCA Book Week Slogan "Books are Magic." 

For adult readers here is something you need to know about The Book of Gold.  I picked up a copy of this book at a 50% off sale and so now I have seen under the dust jacket - it is truly special but of course difficult for libraries to cover the book and still allow the removal of the jacket:

The book has two covers. If you detach the wraparound cover with the image that everyone associates with the book, you'll find the paper-on-board cover -- which I designed to look like an artifact squirreled away in the recesses of any dusty attic. It's my hope that children will find the book years from now (minus the wrap) and realize that THEY have indeed found the elusive Book Of Gold.

Publisher blurb: Young Isaac Gutenberg isn’t a curious boy . . . that is, until he meets an old shopkeeper who tells him about The Book of Gold. This special book, hidden somewhere in the world, holds all the answers to every question and turns to solid gold when opened. Isaac is determined to find the book—it will make him rich! He opens many books in his search, but quickly closes them when they don’t turn to gold. That changes one day when he opens a book, looks at the page, and a question pops into his mind. From then on, he reads every word. Time passes and Isaac ages, but he still scours dusty attics and flea markets, crisscrossing the world, searching for The Book of Gold. This sweeping picture book asks important questions: Is searching for knowledge better than having it? How important is curiosity? And what makes a life meaningful?

Here is the author web site. You can see a few pages inside this book on the publisher web site. There are some lovely touches in this book. The sepia pages that give that olden days feel, the name Gutenberg of course and the scenes inside and outside the splendid New York city Public Library. Make sure you look for another special book by Bob Staake - a wordless treasure called Bluebird. Here is a CNN interview where Bob talks about the ideas behind Bluebird.

Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan

Take a look at the labels I have assigned to this post - curiosity, friendship and fear.

Safiyyah lives in the mosque in Paris. The German army have marched into the city. Luckily, they are not persecuting the Muslim residents of Paris and people are still able to attend the mosque. Safiyyah's father works at the mosque and her family live in one of the apartments. Everyone is living in fear. Safiyyah has two dreadful encounters with soldiers on her way to school and on her way to deliver medicine to an elderly Jewish man. 

Safiyyah's parents, especially her father, are smuggling Jewish people out of the city. Safiyyah becomes a messenger, so she has even more reason to be dreadfully afraid. Luckily, she is an intelligent girl and also luckily, she is incredibly curious. This means she finds out many more details about the rescue of Jewish people who are using the mosque so they can then escape to safety. She knows many more details than her father would have ever planned to tell her. Near the end of the book this information becomes vital as the men including her father are detained in the main prayer room and it is now up to Safiyyah to help over fifty people urgently escape. The tension in this book is so real and certainly keeps you turning the pages.

As with all the best books for Middle Grade and Upper Primary readers about the events of World War II, this book is told as a first-hand account from the point of view of a young child. I have added a few others at the bottom of this post including some special picture books that I used to share with my Grade Six students.

'Safiyyah's War has the soul of a classic & the urgency of a story for our times. A tale of tolerance, unthinkable bravery, and heart-in-mouth true events. I loved this book' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave

'All at once, Safiyyah's War broke my heart and filled me with immense hope. With its unforgettable characters and exquisite storytelling, this really is an extraordinary book' - A F Steadman

'Safiyyah is a protagonist I was rooting for all throughout; a lovely, kind-hearted girl whose story filled me in turns with despair and joy. This book shines through with kindness and empathy at its very heart' - Nizrana Farook

This is a high-octane venture suffused with sheer terror that Safiyyah’s family’s activities will be discovered by the wrong people. There are two important relationships which stand out, particularly the evolution of Safiyyah’s interactions with her father and of her growing respect for him and his work. The other one is with her beloved grandmother, Setti, who exerts a calming and wise presence and has some of the most profound ideas of the novel. Historical Novel Society

This is both a gripping and moving novel. Hiba Noor Khan brings her detailed research to life and introduces us to many less familiar aspects of occupied Paris. The plot is full of suspense and builds to a thrilling climax. Safiyyah is a courageous and compassionate heroine who reminds us that anybody can make a difference. Just Imagine (read this review for more plot details)

Listen to an audio sample from chapter one page 3.

Companion book:

Beyond Belief

You could type any of these titles into my search bar - all of these would be fabulous to share with a reader aged 10+ who has read Safiyyah's War or who has an interest in the events of  World War II.

I Wrote you a Note by Lizi Boyd

A young girl write a note and we watch it take a journey as it encounters all sorts of animals who see this letter in many different ways. Turtle uses the note as a sail for his raft; duck makes a dock for her ducklings; spider uses it as a bridge; squirrel tries to read the note and so did goat but goats can't read; while snail thought it would be a good house and dragonfly had a similar idea. Eventually the wind lifts the note into the sky and when it tumbles back to earth the note finally reaches the intended recipient.

What did the note say? You will need to find the book in a library to discover the answer.

This is another one of those books that I knew nothing about - I had not seen it before and I did not know the author/illustrator BUT the cover really caught my eye. This book was published in 2017 so sadly I do have to say it is now out of print.  Here are some other books illustrated by Lizi Boyd.

Lizi Boyd is an American artist and illustrator who creates children’s books, paintings, sculptures, rugs and various other things. In 2015, ‘Flashlight’ – Lizi’s second picturebook with Chronicle books – won the prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Award in the Fiction category. Lizi lives in Vermont with her family. Read more about Inside Outside here. It is a wordless or Silent Book (IBBY term). 

Bookshop description: In this charming story, told solely through images, artist Lizi Boyd offers an enchanting exploration of night, nature, and the nocturnal world. One boy's camping adventure gets even better when he shines a light into the shadows and finds all sorts of nighttime creatures, fascinating insects, plants, trees, and streams—all brilliantly illuminated in the beam of his flashlight. See inside this book here.

In this podcast Lizi Boyd talks about her book Big Bear, Little Chair.

Curiosity

 

Inquisitive Interested Inquiring

How, why and what? Who? Where? When? So many questions! All. The. Time.

 Little Miss Curious just wants to know everything.

My friends and I were talking yesterday about how children seem to have lost their curiosity. Sadly I think this might be one of the negative consequences of mobile phones and other devices. So many opportunities for conversations that spring from young children's questions about their world and the people they meet are being lost as parents seem too distracted to talk and instead they thrust devices into the hands of the youngest children.

If you agree this is an issue I have a few picture books to suggest that might reignite your child's curiosity, their questioning and their interest in the world around them.

The Children's Library Lady lists these outcomes when we foster curiosity. Children become:

• Interested in what they see around them
• Motivated to learn more and find the answers to questions
• Passionate about certain topics and researching all they can about it.
• Proactive in asking questions, socially and in the classroom
• Enthusiastic about new discoveries
• Interested in reading and learning new things

I also found this list - you read more about each of these points here;

Tips for Nurturing Curiosity

• Model interest in the world around you. ...
• Follow your child's lead. ...
• Answer questions simply and clearly and according to your child's development. ...
• Use the library! ...
• Stimulate your child with open-ended questions. ...
• Create an interesting environment. ...
• Redirect, don't discourage.

When you visit the library make sure to pick up one or two non fiction books - these can be a wonderful way to inspire curiosity. My sidebar has non fiction as a search term. 

For example I mentioned this amazing book recently:

Crossings

Mindfulness can foster curiosity as can STEM activities. You could also hunt out picture book biographies which often feature people who discover new things because they were/are curious. 

Stories that I call "grass is greener" which feature characters heading off to explore their world beyond the comfort of home are also examples of curiosity in action. Look at Daisy; Once upon a small Rhinoceros; Veronica; Wendy; Louise the Adventures of a Chicken.

Don't forget borrow wordless or textless books - these are terrific conversation starters. The link on my sidebar says Silent Books (this is the term used by IBBY). 

WORDS RELATED TO CURIOSITY

inquisitiveness interest eagerness investigation questioning searching

Here are some books from this blog or books that I have read and enjoyed that you could also explore. These are just the 'tip of a huge iceberg' - there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of books you could share with a child that will foster their curiosity.  

Ask me

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I like bees, I don't like honey

If only ...

I am very keen to see this new poetry book which will be published later this year;