How Come?

by Kathy Wollard, Debra Solomon

For every kid who really wants to know—and for every exasperated parent who simply doesn't know—here is a lively omnium-gatherum of explanations to the most frequently asked questions about our world, from "Why do stars twinkle?" to "What are hiccups? "Taken from Kathy Wollard's popular column, "How Come?" (seen for the past six years in Newsday and recently syndicated nationally through the Los Angeles Times ), How Come? explains why cats can survive high falls (because of the way their bodies can act like a "parachute") and how black holes absorb light (intense gravity—if the Earth had the same density as a black hole, it would have to be compressed to the size of a marble!). Now you can know it all.

Genres: Science, Childrens, Nonfiction, Reference

Paperback

First published January 12, 1993

Reviews

[Jodi]

Lots of fun miscellaneous facts that science loving kids will enjoy. It's not really a book to read cover to cover as I did though. It's more of a look for what interests you, and read it. I'll add it to my classroom bookshelf.

[Jill]

This book has some of the best explanations of natural phenomena I’ve ever encountered. Take the simple question, “why is the sky blue?” I have googled this and come up with many many hits, but none really made sense to me. This book, however, explains it in a way that gives you an “aha” moment. Even the questions she poses are great: Why, for example, does a mirror reverse images from side to side but not top to bottom? What do you really hear when you put a seashell to your ear? How do fish breathe underwater? Why do songs get stuck in your head? How does arm hair know to stop growing? Why does scratching make an itch feel better? Why can’t we tickle ourselves?

All of the questions in the book were submitted by real kids all over the world to Newsday’s “How Come” newspaper column.

Kids and parents alike will love the fun and plentiful cartoon-like color illustrations by Debra Solomon.

Evaluation: This is a terrific resource both for curious kids and for the parents who get posed all the questions from curious kids. Additionally, it will be a great help for kids who don't get full answers in school. Originally published in 1993, this is an updated version with more precise answers and twenty new questions.

[Tiffany]

I loved this book when I was a kid, it explained all those questions you would ask your parents and they would give you some watered down explanation that left you with more questions. I admit I had a lot of questions as a kid, I wanted to know everything. This may have been a prelude to why I became a biology major in college, go figure. Great book for kids, although some explanations are lengthy and confusing it gives you a taste of real science and understanding the world.

[Megan]

I bought this book for my kids, but I have enjoyed it just as much if not more than they have! I LOVE learning how things work and why things are the way they are!!!! I would recommend this book to anyone that loves to learn about how the world, science, animals and our human bodies work.

[Kari]

The idea of this book is wonderful, but the explanations are disappointingly simplistic. I'd like to find a similar book with my scientifically educational explanations, but still for curious children (and their parents!)

[Hira]

science-questioning

[Anggun P.W]

My fave book when i was child

[Aprilita Kusumaningrum]

Saya suka ilustrasinya di setiap bab . membuat saya tertawa. bahasanya mudah dipahami :D

[onysha]

Quite fun and easy to read. Basic science, with some things you won't learn in school textbooks. I loved most of the cartoons.

[Maddie]

This book would be a great book to read to my kids because I know when I was young I asked similar questions. If I had a very curious and scientific child I might introduce them to this book.

[Lane Crawford Ward]

A great little collection of answers to questions that I (and I'm sure others) found myself constantly asking when I was little

[Alexwheeler]

Did you know "How Come? Planet Earth" had a prequel? I didn't. Just as charming and informative as the original.

[Josie Michelle]

it has a lot of very cool stuff in it!

funny stuff too ! i am reading where moon came from now