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Original Tell Me Why #2
More Tell Me Why
A collection of short essays which answer more than 400 questions most consistently asked by children
Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
8 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Arkady Leokum
83 books21 followersArkady Leokum is a 20th-century writer notable for both his adult pulp fiction and best-selling juvenile encyclopedic-knowledge books.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 8, 2020
Why…? What…? How…?
· What happens if all the doctors are ill? (my kid at 4 years, 2 months)
· What happens to the gravity when you dig a hole? (4 years, 4 months)
· How does Father Christmas make a profit? (6 years, 2 months)
Most children ask streams of questions, sometimes to the frustration of even the most supportive parents, whose answers often fail to satisfy child or parent. Hence, this book:
“The purpose of the book is not merely to present information in an entertaining form but to stimulate the quest for knowledge, to broaden young people's interests and to contribute towards developing the habits of intellectual curiosity that bring adventure to everyday life.”
My kid was no exception:
· How did the first conker tree grow? (4 years, 5 months)
· How were the first tools made – they must’ve needed tools to make them? (5 years, 4 months)
This is one of the Tell Me Why series of junior ‘pedias from before the internet: “computer” isn’t in the index. I have my original copies of this, More Tell Me Why, and Still More Tell Me Why; this review covers both. As a six to eleven-year old, I loved them, and I never tired of the exotic but pronounceable delight of the Russian-American author’s name: Arkady Leokum.
· When will I die? (3 years, 5 months)
· Are we God’s puppets? (4 years, 9 months)
· How did God invent ideas? (4 years, 11 months)
Questions
· Why am I healthy? (3 years, 4 months)
· Why can’t bricks melt? (3 years, 6 months)
· Why isn't balance the sixth sense? (5 years, 7 months)
Both books split questions in the same, rather odd, four sections, though slightly differently worded in SMTMY:
1. Our World - (plants, geology, astronomy, and man-made things)
2. Living Creatures Around Us
3. All About Human Beings
4. How It Began - (history, culture, inventions)
There is sometimes a slight daisy-chain as you go down the list of questions, but they’re pretty varied and ultimately random. There are many concrete questions, but also quite a few abstract and philosophical ones, including “Is what we dream our own idea?” and “ What is memory?”. For “When did the English language begin?” it has the oddly precise and recent answer of 500 years ago.
· If the Earth goes round the Sun and it goes round and round itself, how do the top and bottom get light? (4 years, 9 months)
Despite the cover claiming “Answers to over 300 questions children ask most often”, I note that human reproduction and even puberty are not included, and barely mentioned for animals. More understandably, political ideas, even in the broadest sense (communism, for example) are not covered.
· How do you stay in Heaven when you’re dead? Why don’t the angels fall down? (3 years, 8 months)
Format and Style
Image: How do we read? and Why do people walk in their sleep?
The text is denser, and the books much fatter (400 pages) than the typical Usborne books that my child enjoyed: no subheadings, bullet-lists, diagrams, tables, or photos. But there are black and white drawings for every double-page spread, some accented by a single colour from a limited 1970s palette. The concise, self-contained articles encourage browsing. Even with a limited attention span, you can be engrossed for hours.
Half a Century Later
I read these in the 1970s, though the first was published in 1965. They look very old-fashioned now. But what’s interesting is comparing the actual content with one’s memory and perception of the times.
Facts = Boys
· What’s a woman’s job? Why aren’t women butchers? (4 years, 8 months)
Unsurprisingly, these books are primarily aimed at male readers. Nearly all the illustrations feature boys or men unless the topic is specifically feminine (cosmetics and, apparently, rheumatism), and “he” is the default pronoun.
Old Fashioned Attitudes
As expected, many of the answers tend to the didactic, conservative, and somewhat judgemental position of the time. Duty and hard work are emphasised (not a bad thing, but the tone is of its time), and “What is marijuana?” warns of that smoking a single joint might lead to heroin addiction.
Surprising Attitudes?
Darwin is mentioned with little thought of significant contemporary controversy. The answer to “Are birds descended from reptiles?” starts “Not everybody accepts the theory of evolution...” but then answers in purely evolutionary terms. Similarly, “How old is the earth?” says the scientific consensus is around 5,500,00,000 years, and makes no mention of young earth creationism.
Enlightened Attitudes
“How did arithmetic start?” stresses “we owe a great debt of gratitude to their authors [of ancient Arabic and Latin texts] and the Hindus who inspired them”.
There’s a fair and broadly positive description of Islam (though using the outdated term, “Mohammedans”).
The answer to “Who invented sign language?” opens with the sadly true observation that “The history of man is full of cruelty towards those whose sickness we have been unable to understand...”
Thanks
I thoroughly enjoyed looking through my copies of Tell Me Why, and through my old list of things my child asked, inspired by discussion on Bionic Jean’s excellent review of The Wonder Book of Science. See her review HERE.
My Kid…
Image: Sciencing demo in a sciency tshirt outside CosmoCaixa science museum in Madrid age 15.5, November 2009
My questioning kid is now 25: an atheist with an active interest in belief systems, a love of literature and learning, and a Master’s degree in physics. The Jesuits were right: all the signs were there from very young.
· What happens if all the doctors are ill? (my kid at 4 years, 2 months)
· What happens to the gravity when you dig a hole? (4 years, 4 months)
· How does Father Christmas make a profit? (6 years, 2 months)
Most children ask streams of questions, sometimes to the frustration of even the most supportive parents, whose answers often fail to satisfy child or parent. Hence, this book:
“The purpose of the book is not merely to present information in an entertaining form but to stimulate the quest for knowledge, to broaden young people's interests and to contribute towards developing the habits of intellectual curiosity that bring adventure to everyday life.”
My kid was no exception:
· How did the first conker tree grow? (4 years, 5 months)
· How were the first tools made – they must’ve needed tools to make them? (5 years, 4 months)
This is one of the Tell Me Why series of junior ‘pedias from before the internet: “computer” isn’t in the index. I have my original copies of this, More Tell Me Why, and Still More Tell Me Why; this review covers both. As a six to eleven-year old, I loved them, and I never tired of the exotic but pronounceable delight of the Russian-American author’s name: Arkady Leokum.
· When will I die? (3 years, 5 months)
· Are we God’s puppets? (4 years, 9 months)
· How did God invent ideas? (4 years, 11 months)
Questions
· Why am I healthy? (3 years, 4 months)
· Why can’t bricks melt? (3 years, 6 months)
· Why isn't balance the sixth sense? (5 years, 7 months)
Both books split questions in the same, rather odd, four sections, though slightly differently worded in SMTMY:
1. Our World - (plants, geology, astronomy, and man-made things)
2. Living Creatures Around Us
3. All About Human Beings
4. How It Began - (history, culture, inventions)
There is sometimes a slight daisy-chain as you go down the list of questions, but they’re pretty varied and ultimately random. There are many concrete questions, but also quite a few abstract and philosophical ones, including “Is what we dream our own idea?” and “ What is memory?”. For “When did the English language begin?” it has the oddly precise and recent answer of 500 years ago.
· If the Earth goes round the Sun and it goes round and round itself, how do the top and bottom get light? (4 years, 9 months)
Despite the cover claiming “Answers to over 300 questions children ask most often”, I note that human reproduction and even puberty are not included, and barely mentioned for animals. More understandably, political ideas, even in the broadest sense (communism, for example) are not covered.
· How do you stay in Heaven when you’re dead? Why don’t the angels fall down? (3 years, 8 months)
Format and Style
Image: How do we read? and Why do people walk in their sleep?
The text is denser, and the books much fatter (400 pages) than the typical Usborne books that my child enjoyed: no subheadings, bullet-lists, diagrams, tables, or photos. But there are black and white drawings for every double-page spread, some accented by a single colour from a limited 1970s palette. The concise, self-contained articles encourage browsing. Even with a limited attention span, you can be engrossed for hours.
Half a Century Later
I read these in the 1970s, though the first was published in 1965. They look very old-fashioned now. But what’s interesting is comparing the actual content with one’s memory and perception of the times.
Facts = Boys
· What’s a woman’s job? Why aren’t women butchers? (4 years, 8 months)
Unsurprisingly, these books are primarily aimed at male readers. Nearly all the illustrations feature boys or men unless the topic is specifically feminine (cosmetics and, apparently, rheumatism), and “he” is the default pronoun.
Old Fashioned Attitudes
As expected, many of the answers tend to the didactic, conservative, and somewhat judgemental position of the time. Duty and hard work are emphasised (not a bad thing, but the tone is of its time), and “What is marijuana?” warns of that smoking a single joint might lead to heroin addiction.
Surprising Attitudes?
Darwin is mentioned with little thought of significant contemporary controversy. The answer to “Are birds descended from reptiles?” starts “Not everybody accepts the theory of evolution...” but then answers in purely evolutionary terms. Similarly, “How old is the earth?” says the scientific consensus is around 5,500,00,000 years, and makes no mention of young earth creationism.
Enlightened Attitudes
“How did arithmetic start?” stresses “we owe a great debt of gratitude to their authors [of ancient Arabic and Latin texts] and the Hindus who inspired them”.
There’s a fair and broadly positive description of Islam (though using the outdated term, “Mohammedans”).
The answer to “Who invented sign language?” opens with the sadly true observation that “The history of man is full of cruelty towards those whose sickness we have been unable to understand...”
Thanks
I thoroughly enjoyed looking through my copies of Tell Me Why, and through my old list of things my child asked, inspired by discussion on Bionic Jean’s excellent review of The Wonder Book of Science. See her review HERE.
My Kid…
Image: Sciencing demo in a sciency tshirt outside CosmoCaixa science museum in Madrid age 15.5, November 2009
My questioning kid is now 25: an atheist with an active interest in belief systems, a love of literature and learning, and a Master’s degree in physics. The Jesuits were right: all the signs were there from very young.
June 21, 2015
Terrific. This is my first experience of any encyclopaedia, and I absolutely loved it! The information is given in question-answer format, in manageable chunks, and plenty of illustrations.
Way back in the seventies, this book cost me the lordly sum of forty rupees (about 6 dollars at the then exchange rate).
Way back in the seventies, this book cost me the lordly sum of forty rupees (about 6 dollars at the then exchange rate).
February 28, 2013
Classic! Memories resurface. Among the books I credit for giving me the right start in life! Thanks mom and dad for getting me the series! :D
August 8, 2019
به من بگو چرا؟ مجموعه کتاب چند جلدی نوشته آرکدی لئوکوم است که برای گروه سنی کودک و نوجوان نوشته شده است و به پرسش های آن ها از همه شاخه های علوم از تاریخ و جغرافیا گرفته تا نجوم و زیست شناسی پاسخ می دهد. این کتاب تاکنون چندین مرتبه در ایران ترجمه و به چاپ رسیده است
February 13, 2010
This was THE book of my childhood. I still have my original copy with my 2nd grade signature inside the front cover and the cardboard back cover my grandmother fashioned from the insert in my father's shirts, that came every week, delivered in a box, from the Chinese laundry.
December 27, 2023
I’m now in my 40’s and my mom has just shown me this book that belonged to my late uncle.
He was awarded this book when he was at school back in 1968 as it’s got the school logo it was signed by one of his teachers!
I tell you something I’ve only just started reading the first few pages and picked a few random pages to see what else is in there.
It’s a bible of information and I can’t wait to have a good read of it as there’s going to be things I would of never even given a thought about when I was a kid, even now wouldn’t have thought about.
Despite there’s now the internet for everything but it’s not the same as reading an actual book as you won’t get the same as you do out of a book as your only looking for 1 thing.
This way you get a lot more as it broadens your mind for other things.
He was awarded this book when he was at school back in 1968 as it’s got the school logo it was signed by one of his teachers!
I tell you something I’ve only just started reading the first few pages and picked a few random pages to see what else is in there.
It’s a bible of information and I can’t wait to have a good read of it as there’s going to be things I would of never even given a thought about when I was a kid, even now wouldn’t have thought about.
Despite there’s now the internet for everything but it’s not the same as reading an actual book as you won’t get the same as you do out of a book as your only looking for 1 thing.
This way you get a lot more as it broadens your mind for other things.
July 16, 2020
this book is so helpful a lot
September 26, 2012
I loved it as a child and a young adult and am looking for it for my child.
January 7, 2014
This was my favorite book as a child... I learnt so much from this. Reading it again refreshed all those memories
February 12, 2008
Contains information on just about anything in the world, history, science, geography, anything!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews