Little Answer

by Tim Hopgood

"What makes the world go round?" "Sausages!"
"What makes the wind blow?" "Sausages!"
"Where does everything come from?" "Sausages!"

Little Answer is desperate to find his question. But there’s a big problem – his answer is “Sausages”! What question could possibly have such a silly answer?

Children will love helping Little Answer to find his question in this wonderfully funny, interactive story.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Friendship, Animals, Science, Adventure, Childrens

ebook

First published March 27, 2014

About the author

Tim Hopgood is an award-winning illustrator whose work has been featured in magazines such as Esquire, GQ, and Harper’s. He lives in York, England.

Reviews

[Ellie Abrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story about finding your place in the world and that even the smallest questions and answers are valuable

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're all inquisitive people trying to find answers to questions but what if you're a little thing that has an answer but have no idea what the question is? In Hopgood's humorous, clever and rather existential picturebook, our little blue friend, guided by a kindly snail, meets all manner of living things to find out whether his answer suits their questions. Not wanting to give anything away, each encounter has with it a sense of humour and a dip into some of life's biggest questions. The ending of the book though, when the little answer finds its question is beautiful. The power for me, though, is in exploring those questions that all go unanswered with the children in a class. This is a little corker of a book.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. I love this book. Thanks for the recommendation Mat. Such a sweet and wonderful story about finding your place.

[Eleanor Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely book that sums up children's curiosity in a beautiful story. All of the general questions children ask are answered with the humorous answer of "sausages" but the sadness felt by the little answer overpowers this humour making the reader feel sympathy towards his character. The ending is so beautiful when he finally finds his question. This book would be really great to use with a class to begin exploring all of the unanswered questions they may have!

[Izzy Dorrance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book.

It would be great to use in the classroom when trying to come up with different questions. The children could think of all the possible questions that ‘little answer’ would be the answer for. Also, it could encourage the children to think of any questions they might what to know the answer to.

[Iqra Fiaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely story with a lovely message.
No matter what, everyone belongs and is the answer to something. There is a purpose for everything and everyone.
I loved this story!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite thing about this book is the way that the author has personified 'the answer' and turned it into an adorable character that, as the reader, you instantly root for and will for him to find the question he belongs to. When the other animals laugh at him you feel sad and then when the little girl asks him the question that he is the answer for you feel so happy for him. This has been achieved through lovely illustrations full of colour and the language used in the text. No one wants to be called stupid or silly so when the answer is called those things you feel sorry for him.

In the end, he finds out he is the answer to a pretty simple question but I think that's what makes it even better. It adds to the innocence of the character and the story as well.

I even love that right at the end, once the story is finished, the author has added in a page that has the proper answers to all the questions that got asked throughout the book such as "What makes the world go round?"

It goes without saying that this book would be a great way to teaching question marks in context as well. I would definitely recommend this book to people, so lovely!

[Ellie L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Answer is lost. The small being seems to serve the purpose of answering a set question, but is unable to find the question to which they belong. So, the quest begins to fulfil Little Answer's destined purpose, but with rather humorous consequences.
Totally quirky and philosophical, Hopgood invites the reader to ponder upon some of the bigger questions in life, and perhaps acknowledge that these questions are sometimes too big for us to know the immediate answer. The conclusion of this tale was particularly warming, and I feel, provides the reader with the reassurance that we must not underestimate the things we already do know- even if we cannot decipher the meaning behind everything.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story about finding your place. A little answer doesn't know what his question is and with the help of a snail they go on an adventure to find his question. Along the way, lots of animals ask good questions but not the one they are looking for. Children could explore these questions in a cross-curricular way alongside reading the book such as 'what are clouds made of?' and 'what makes the world go round?'. At the end, the answer finds his question and he feels complete. The illustrations are very engaging and enjoyable to look at. This would be a great book for KS1 or lower KS2 children, with lots of cross-curricular links to science.

[Sarah Coles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming story that will get children thinking and questioning for themselves as they progress through the story. I especially like the subtle 'moral' that comes through, that tricky problems can become much more manageable if we share them and help each other along. Finally, the book concludes with a really helpful page of answers to all of the questions posed, which is brilliant, because without a doubt children will want to (and should) know the answers to these!

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this picture book!
This would be a great resource to use to explore questions and answers! I particularly liked how at the end of the book they answer some of the questions which were asked throughout the story. Some of the questions in this book could be used in science to explore as a line of enquiry creating cross-curricular links.

[Hollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely book! Little Answer strives to find his question, and he keeps on going until he does. It highlights the importance of finding your place, there is so much focus on questioning but what if you have an answer that needs a fitting question? It is written in a humorous, yet clever style to emphasise not giving up!

[Lydia Duncalfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

We must have adventures in order to know where we belong. Moral of the story: there is a place for everyone.

[Lottie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story that can inspire lots of different questions and answers within a classroom and encourage children to think of their own.

[SBC · Rating 3 out of 5]

My toddler didn't have a hope of understanding this concept but we enjoyed the illustrations and I liked it.

[Suzanne Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book to read to kids. Great intro to questions and answers.