Questions, Questions

by Marcus Pfister

Overview

From Marcus Pfister, creator of the bestselling Rainbow Fish series, a thoughtful book of thirteen rhyming couplets that create a calming meditation on life and the great questions it inspires.

How do birds learn how to sing?

What brings summer after spring?

What turns the leaves from green to brown

and sends them floating gently down?

In thirteen engaging couplets, Marcus Pfister opens children’s eyes to the wondrous mysteries all around them.

It is refreshing to see a text that encourages questioning.
–Kirkus Reviews

Visually appealing . . . and lets children ponder the answers.
–Booklist

Maybe the questions we ask are what matter most.
–Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735840003
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	03/01/2011
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.80(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Marcus Pfister was born in Bern, Switzerland. After studying at art school in Bern, he trained as a graphic artist. His first picture book was published by NordSüd in 1986, but his breakthrough as author and illustrator came in 1992 with the publication of The Rainbow Fish. Since then he has published more than 60 books, which have been translated into about 65 languages and have won many international awards. He lives with his family in Bern.

Interviews

Marcus Pfister has written and illustrated many books for North-South, including the popular Penguin Pete and Hopper series. His books The Rainbow Fish, Rainbow Fish to the Rescue!, and Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale have become international best-sellers.

Editorial Reviews

…Questions, Questions makes a poetic, calming read-aloud, just right for bedtime or a peaceful moment in the park.

The New York Times - Sarah Harrison Smith

In an age when infinite answers are available in an instant, maybe the questions we ask are what matter most. "here's so much that I want to know," writes Pfister, and in 13 short couplets he shows readers how questioning is a genuinely creative act—a way of being fully engaged in the world. His verses are by turns fanciful ("Do apple seeds dream happily/ of growing up to be a tree?"), scientifically minded ("What turns the leaves from green to brown/ and sends them floating gently down?"), and even faith-based ("Who teaches butterflies to fly,/ splashing their colors through the sky?"). In a departure from his Rainbow Fish series, Pfister has created images as pithy as they are poignant, boldly graphic and dramatically cropped against white backgrounds. A blue-headed songbird is reminiscent of Asian watercolor; a storm cloud looks like it's been fashioned from salt dough; falling leaves seem cut from pieces of thickly tufted carpet. Although each was created using the same painted paper method (explained on the final page), the results are as varied as the questions. Ages 3–up. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2—First published in Switzerland and inspired by a Lucio Dalla song, this book contains 13 rhyming couplets that pose big questions about our natural world. Many of the questions are fanciful: "Do apple seeds dream happily/of growing up to be a tree?" but some may inspire a little research: "What turns the leaves from green to brown/and sends them floating gently down?" Images transferred to the paper from cardboard cutouts loaded with acrylic paint are rich with color, texture, and visual interest. An artist's note describes the technique. A number of the couplets feel overly sentimental, but with guidance young children could enjoy thinking about them or may come up with questions of their own to ask.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

In a departure from his usual sparkly fare, Pfister's latest is a sweetly simple look at some very deep questions, allowing children the opportunity to delve into some of life's mysteries. The questions, each presented as a rhyming couplet, could have been just as easily formulated by a child as by the author—they feel like the charming queries children seem to make when adults least expect them. "How do seeds know when to grow, / to reach up from the earth below?" "Does a whale make up a song / so other whales will sing along?" Although readers will find no answers here, most have scientific explanations, but others certainly hint toward the divine. And while the text is well written (translated from German), it is the beautiful artwork that will draw readers back for more. Luminous colors and amazing textures stand out against the stark, white backgrounds. While new to Pfister, the technique suits the tone of the text to a T. Each element was cut from thick cardboard, then painted with acrylics and stamped onto paper to complete the individual scenes. The result echoes the mix of simplicity and complexity inherent in each question. In a world that so often emphasizes answers and solid facts, it is refreshing to see a text that encourages questioning, whether realistic or imaginative flights of fancy.(Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

In a departure from his usual sparkly fare, Pfister's latest is a sweetly simple look at some very deep questions, allowing children the opportunity to delve into some of life's mysteries. The questions, each presented as a rhyming couplet, could have been just as easily formulated by a child as by the author—they feel like the charming queries children seem to make when adults least expect them. "How do seeds know when to grow, / to reach up from the earth below?" "Does a whale make up a song / so other whales will sing along?" Although readers will find no answers here, most have scientific explanations, but others certainly hint toward the divine. And while the text is well written (translated from German), it is the beautiful artwork that will draw readers back for more. Luminous colors and amazing textures stand out against the stark, white backgrounds. While new to Pfister, the technique suits the tone of the text to a T. Each element was cut from thick cardboard, then painted with acrylics and stamped onto paper to complete the individual scenes. The result echoes the mix of simplicity and complexity inherent in each question. In a world that so often emphasizes answers and solid facts, it is refreshing to see a text that encourages questioning, whether realistic or imaginative flights of fancy.(Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews - Kikus Reviews

"Previously published in picture-book format, “Questions, Questions” makes a poetic, calming read-aloud, just right for bedtime or a peaceful moment in the park."- New York Times Online Book Review

From the Publisher