Everything Under the Sun: a curious question for every day of the year

by Molly Oldfield

"An absolute delight" - David Walliams
"One of the best kids books I have ever had the pleasure of reading" - Pandora Sykes
"Truly ace and answers every question your children may ever need answered" - Sophie Dahl

A collection of 366 curious questions asked by children from around the world, based on the award-winning podcast by original QI Elf, Molly Oldfield.

How much bamboo can a giant panda eat?
Do aliens exist?
What we would do if we didn't have a prime minister?
Why do hammerhead sharks have such strange-shaped heads?

Find out the answers to these curious questions and much, much more!
Ponder where ideas come from with award-winning illustrator, Rob Biddulph. Find out why you taste things differently when you have a cold with Michelin star chef, Heston Blumenthal. Learn about everything from how astronauts see in the dark to what the biggest dinosaur was with experts from the Natural History Museum.

Fascinating facts are accompanied by gorgeous illustrations making the perfect gift for Christmas. Whether you read a question a day, or dip into it whenever you are feeling curious, this is a book to treasure and share all year round.

Illustrated by Momoko Abe, Kelsey Buzzell, Beatrice Cerocchi, Alice Courtley, Sandra de la Prada, Grace Easton, Manuela Montoya Escobar, Richard Jones, Lisa Koesterke, Gwen Millward, Sally Mullaney, and Laurie Stansfield.

Praise for Everything Under the

'Trivia fans will relish Everything Under the Sun' - The Guardian
"A wonderful gift for families" - Evening Standard
"This is a book to treasure all year round" - My Baba
"As cute as it is educational" - Babyccino Kids
"A wonderful collection of 366 curious questions about everything from science to nature, dinosaurs to space" - Scottish Sun
"Simply mesmerising compendium" - Waterstones
"A beautiful gem of a book" - BookTrust
"Fascinating for anyone who opens it" - Red magazine

Genres: Childrens, Nonfiction, Science, Middle Grade

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 9, 2021

Reviews

[Zoë Siobhan Baillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated book, my 7 year old is enjoying it but I think older readers would too. She gave it 4 stars, I bumped it up to 5* for having Benjamin Zephaniah answer "What if there were no Prime Ministers or Presidents?"

[Tiffany Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’ve now enjoyed this one for a full year as well! It’s full of gorgeous art and a question and answer for each day of the year. Some are serious, some silly. It’s another that we will continue to read in the years to come!

[Vanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leuk informatief boek met voor elke dag van het jaar een vraag. Gelezen voor Biblion alwaar de gehele recensie verschijnt. Met realistische vragen en antwoorden gebaseerd op feiten, maar ook fantasievolle vragen, of vragen waar geen duidelijk antwoord op is. Leuke start om kinderen nieuwsgierig te maken. Engels (en Brits) boek.

[Hwee Goh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you have a curious bunny of a reader at home? This one is for all of them, a question answered for every day of the year.🗓☀️🌖

That’s 366 questions because on 28 Feb, you’ll read about leap years and on 29 Feb — you’ll get the answer to, “If you were born on 29th February, how old are you?”🤫

This book is based on an award-winning podcast by Molly Oldfield, who gathers experts to answer questions posed to her by 4-11 year olds all over the world. Every single question is a real one and is attributed to every child by first name and age at the back.

My favourite one ❤️📚
26 Apr : Who invented writing, and what did they write about? 🤭

Also, what was the first library in the world? (It was built from an idea by an ancient king in 600+ BC and held 30,000 clay tablets.)

Something I always wanted to know🐌

12 Jan : Why are there so many snails when it rains?

Another, like many which recognize that science keeps changing with new research and discovery 🧬🫀

25 Feb : What is the appendix for?
(It may do more than we think and did you know astronauts often have them removed so they won’t get appendicitis in space? 🤭🚀)

Where will your curiousity take you next? I love how this book embraces the notion that there is no limit to what our minds can conjure.

I’d pitch this from 5+ if you’re reading with your child, but this’ll keep our lower to middle primary schoolers busy too! The art is AMAZING and is done by 12 illustrators ❤️🎨

📚: @times.reads

[Wing · Rating 5 out of 5]

With contributions from staff of the Natural History Museum, the National Trust, London Zoo, Science Museum, the British Museum, and many other academics, the appropriately styled prose is a celebration of wonder, innocence, and curiosity. There are also several humorous pieces to delight at. The ways some of the contributors deal with the unknown are ingenious and inspirational. The illustrations are glorious and they tastefully highlight the importance of diversity. Conservation features prominently too. There are several pieces of information that are debatable. However, as a book for children these certainly are insignificant and do not detract from its beauty. The questions that are answered are collected from young and curious children. I am certain adult readers will learn a thing or two, if not more, from reading the book. I certainly have. Five stars.

[LudmilaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. A book for slightly younger children answering in a simple manner questions curious minds like to ask. The illustrations were fun but sometimes, especially when talking about lesser known things (visually) I prefer realistic illustrations, so children can get a proper, correct idea about said thing. Overall an enjoyable read.

[Sinead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous book, full of learning but hidden in stories beautifully told. My kids and I love it. 💕

[Carrie-Ann LaBrecque · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! I enjoyed reading this with my son. He was so proud to be reading the facts dusky by himself. Lots of great questions, although, some never seemed to be answered.