Because

by Richard Torrey

Jack's mom may tell him that "because" is not an answer, but he disagrees. In fact, this almost-six-year-old thinks "because" is the perfect answer . . . to any question! Why did he cover himself in Band-Aids? Why is the dog wearing a cape? Why did he eat all the chocolate cake? Richard Torrey's endearing companion to Almost and Why? celebrates every child's favorite answer to life's trickiest questions.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Family, Childrens, 1st Grade, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2011

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt a little bit like Johnny Carson's famous character, "Carnac the Magnificent" when we read this book. Each page has an answer with a humorous illustration that helped us come up with the appropriate question. We enjoyed thinking up what could be asked and why the boy did the things he did. The situations were very amusing and we could relate very well with several of them. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audience: Primary
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Book Talk:
Jack's mom may tell him that "because" is not an answer to every question. "Why did you eat all the cake?" "Why are you mad at the dog?" "Why is the cereal all over the floor?" His answer "because." If you like books that have the humor of the excuses kids make to their parents, you will love this book! This book reveals every child's favorite answer to life's trickiest questions.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

what it lacks in substance and story it makes up for with humor and cute redheaded boys. Simple text and bright illustrations might make this a good choice for story time. Would pair nicely with the "No David" books.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

All around cute, from story to pictures, even the smirk on the mamas face. Byron loves this book!

[Sunah Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character, Jack, argues that “because” is the perfect answer for any questions.
Page by page Jack answers to unknown questions in the text by starting with “because”. Readers could guess the possible questions in the given texts and illustrations. That is, illustrations support the unexposed questions which would be a great help for readers to pay attention to illustrations and decoding the meanings from them. As Jack said, I agree that “because” could answer many questions that mothers often ask to their children in daily communication.

[MelMon Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its all just Because

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe a better fit for the target audience. But the answer "Because" is a lot different than the answer "Because a bee is trying to get us." And Torrey mixes them up as if there is no difference.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow the tale Jack, who, unlike his mom who tells him "because" is not an answer, thinks it's a perfectly good answer.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read with my 4-year-old. The illustrations are cute and it was the kind of book with a lot of interaction. We were able to talk about what question we thought the little boy was answering on every page just by looking at the picture and hearing his answer.

It starts with a boy standing on a chair reaching the cereal on top of the fridge and says, "My mom says 'because' is not a real answer. But I think it is."

Turn the page and there's the little boy with the cereal spilled all over the floor, his dad standing with his hands on his hips, and the boy holding out his hand with a red car in it. It says, "Because THIS was in it!" (We decided the question would be "Why did you spill the cereal?")

[Jenilyn Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. I did enjoy though how it was almost written from a child's perspective. He uses the word because to explain certain things he does, but the explanations are kind of silly. I think kids would think it was funny and be able to relate to it, because everyone has done something silly and made up a silly excuse to go along with it.

[Dona Gay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always fun when the pictures in a picture book tell the story. This book looks at life through the perspective of a young boy. The limited amount of text is there to lead the readers to conclusions but doesn't give the conclusions away, that is left to the reader.

[Slee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book with fun illustrations encourages children to explain how each explanatory statement relates to the picture. It reminds me of Jeapordy, with my son searching for the question summing up each image.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grades Pre-K to 1. When mom asks you why you did something, she says "because" isn't an answer. But this boy thinks it's okay. Because.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, creative, and paired with great illustrations. Simple enough to make for a good read aloud and a fun choice for storytime due to its refrain of...because.

[jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The band-aids are awesome! And the bees! Super cute!!

[Elizabeth]

Narrative skills for storytime.

[Thia]

funny, why kids do things

[Stefani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet. Just because.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parents will find the humor in this one, as a little boy explains why the word "because" is the perfect answer to so many of his parents' questions!

[Susan McGilvray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars if you read this with "Almost" and "Why," not quite as strong on its own. The Band-Aid page rocks. The best pair: "Because you're big and I'm little / Because I'm little and you're big."

[Michelle Nero · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Because" is an answer for this little guy. There is always a reason . . . looking forward to reading the other books by Richard Torrey (Why? and Almost)

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because why?

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because why?

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little story and illustrations, can see it used with a cause and effect lesson.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could be used to help kids practice generating questions before working on a writing piece, but as a story it is not very engaging.

[LoriAnn Kocialski · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT BOOK!