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A brightly coloured information book giving us answers to questions we never thought to ask.
Feature image credit: Penguin Books Australia
Sixty years ago I received a book for my birthday. It was called Every Child’s Answer Book. I still have that book. It contains answers to questions that a child might ask and lots of things they would never have thought to ask. I loved reading about all the interesting and eclectic facts.
English author and podcaster Molly Oldfield has written a new version of this book. Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World is also filled with lots of fun facts especially for kids of all ages. It is her second book based on questions children might ask. There is a curious question for every day of the year. The book is divided into months with a bright colourful index page at the beginning of each month, outlining each daily question. Things like:
Why aren’t daddy long legs called mummy long legs?
How do whales poo?
Who created super heroes?
What is great about both of these books is that they are full of questions that we have never thought to ask. Yes, we have the internet now, where every bit of information is right at our fingertips, but if we don’t know what we don’t know, how can we look something up?
Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World is a book of facts: scientific, interesting, and some just plain silly.
Many talented artists from around the world have also contributed their artwork, and there is input from world experts in their field, including scientists, conservationists, poets and politicians.
Because so many artists have contributed, the artwork is as varied as the questions, with each question having its own illustration. Colourful, thoughtful, and sometimes amusing, each illustration adds to the question.
Molly Oldfield is the host of Everything Under the Sun, a weekly podcast answering kids’ questions from around the world. She also wrote all the questions for the BBC TV show QI when Stephen Fry was the host.
Beautifully bound and illustrated, with a hard cover, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World would make a perfect Christmas gift for any child. What a great way to create discussions with family and friends. And who knows, they might treasure this book as much as I treasured mine 60 years ago.
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Penguin Books AustraliaReleased: October 2025RRP: $39.99
