You don’t have to start at the beginning to enjoy this book. Open to any page and you’ll be intrigued by the abundance of interesting trivia on one of eight topics, including the human body, clothing, animals, homes, inventions, weather, air, and water. Written and illustrated by the same team who created the Silver Birch winner Ha! Ha! Ha!, this book is imbued with a similar sense of humour. A riddle or puzzle as well as wacky black-and-white illustrations appear on every double spread. Lyn Thomas’s upbeat and energetic writing style demonstrates a good understanding of the kind of information that appeals to older children (and adults, for that matter). A valuable feature is the frequent use of comparisons with familiar objects to clarify measurements. Thus, the Kitty Hog-nosed Bat “is the size of a bumblebee and weighs less than a penny.”

What? What? What? is a great resource for the classroom. The varied, uncluttered design with short chunks of information will hook even the most reluctant reader. The hundreds of facts can be used in a classroom trivia game, giving children practice in using the index to find the answers. And last, but certainly not least, readers will find delving into this book an enjoyable shared experience. It’s easy to imagine this type of conversation taking place: “Did you know that a cockroach can live up to a week without a head?” “No kidding!”