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Twenty Questions

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Award-winning creators Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson tap deep into childhood curiosity with a mind-tickling ode to the open-ended.

Not all questions have answers. Some have more than one answer. And others have endless answers, unfolding out to the edges of the world. In this spare yet expansive narrative, acclaimed author Mac Barnett poses twenty questions both playful and profound. Some make us giggle. Others challenge our assumptions. The result is a quirky, wandering exploration of where the best questions lead—to stories. Intriguing, richly interactive, and brought to vivid life by Caldecott Honor recipient Christian Robinson’s bright and whimsical illustrations, Twenty Questions is a charming invitation to speculate without limits and know no bounds.

40 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 2023

3 people are currently reading
277 people want to read

About the author

Mac Barnett

89 books1,305 followers
Born to non-farmers in a California farming community, Mac Barnett now lives near San Francisco. He's on the board of directors of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center for students in Los Angeles, and he founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers.

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5 stars
181 (23%)
4 stars
285 (36%)
3 stars
229 (29%)
2 stars
62 (7%)
1 star
20 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews
Profile Image for Jasmine from How Useful It Is.
1,653 reviews378 followers
February 27, 2023
Read for my toddler's bedtime. I'm not used to this story because it poses only questions but no answers. The first question gave little readers an opportunity to participate by counting up the animals. Questions after that were just questions but an impossible task to find an answer. Maybe it's an open question to invite kids to supply any answers and all answers are correct as long as kids participate.

Thank you Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read and review!
Profile Image for Mary.
750 reviews5 followers
January 19, 2024
This book is GENIUS. I can see it working on different levels with children of different ages. For littles, stimulating conversation which is essential for brain growth. For elementary-age kids as writing prompts. And for older kids, as a conversation starter around assumptions and biases.
Profile Image for Elizabeth Jorgensen.
Author 4 books170 followers
April 3, 2023
This book is exactly what you'd expect: twenty questions. Nothing more nothing less--other than the brilliant accompanying artwork, which I believe would provide for a good conversation starter with a child; it would be interesting to see how a child's answers to the Twenty Questions change over time.
3,188 reviews18 followers
Read
March 29, 2023
Yikes, this was terrible. I get the idea, but it was literally 20 random questions with illustrations. The first two went together, but other than that it was just random. There's no storyline.
Profile Image for Leslie.
903 reviews
March 13, 2023
This amazing picture book releases tomorrow. I don't know if I've been more excited to bring a book to Story Time...EVER!
The concept is simple but genius. It's literally a book of 20 questions for kids. Show them the illustration and read the associated question. I cannot wait to hear the answers! It's on my list for this summer.
Profile Image for Susan  Dunn.
2,061 reviews
March 30, 2023
Hmmm. It's Barnett and Robinson, so you can't go wrong really - but this would be much better one one on or as a writing or discussion prompt with older kids than for story time. Would be great in the right situation however.
Profile Image for Marcella.
1,312 reviews83 followers
November 10, 2023
Wat een vragen! is een aantrekkelijk visueel boek vol vragen, maar niet zomaar vragen. Want dit zijn vragen waar soms geen antwoord op te vinden is maar ook vragen waar je vaak meer dan één antwoord op kunt geven. Jij beslist!

Want hoeveel dieren zie je niet tussen de groene bladeren omdat ze zich verstoppen voor de tijger? Wie zit er achter deze deur in deze hoge berg? Waar hebben de boeven de schat begraven in het roze landschap?

Er is eigenlijk geen goed of fout, alleen maar een eindeloze hoeveelheid aan antwoorden en weer nieuwe vragen. Elke nieuwe lezer zal de dilemma’s in dit boek daarom weer vanuit hun eigen belevingswereld op een eigen manier benaderen. Ook als volwassen lezer ben ik daarom nog dol op dit soort boeken; boeken die je creativiteit aanspreken, je in staat stellen om je fantasie op de loop te laten, je vragen om buiten de reguliere paden te treden, nieuwe verhalen te creëeren.

Een boek dat het begin kan zijn van een interessante discussie in een groep van lezers, of juist een zoektocht van een individuele lezer. Het kan inspiratie bieden voor een creatief schrijven opdracht of een creatieveling aanspreken om zelf een eigen dilemma te verzinnen.

De antwoorden en vragen zijn eindeloos in dit toffe boek, net als de mogelijkheden.
Profile Image for KC.
2,604 reviews
October 7, 2022
Once again Mac Barnett connects with his audience; this time posing questions with an endless amount of answers. The illustrator was able to capture every nuance of Barnett’s intentions. Brilliant and funny.
Profile Image for Catarina.
530 reviews2 followers
July 6, 2023
Not really a story, and a book that literally had 20 questions. The illustrations were so cute! Overall it was just a fun book to ask questions from and that had pretty pictures with it. A classic children’s book.
Profile Image for Vicki.
4,922 reviews32 followers
September 7, 2023
What a great picture book to read to a group of children! Awesome illustrations.
Profile Image for Kirsti.
2,899 reviews125 followers
March 23, 2023
Free-form book that encourages children to supply their own answers to the questions. Not a book that provides answers or teaches morals, but a book that encourages imagination. I think kids would like sitting with this book and going back to their favorite pictures repeatedly.
Profile Image for Dawn Foster.
740 reviews10 followers
April 16, 2023
This book is a little disappointing as Barnett is usually a sure-fire winner when it comes to fun, quirky, thoughtful picture books. And while "Twenty Questions" will probably be the springboard for some interesting conversations with preschoolers, the text didn't seem all that interesting; in fact, anyone could have written this book.
Profile Image for mb !.
36 reviews
May 31, 2025
good art + prompts for children to discuss + make inferences / share their interpretations
Profile Image for Becky.
6,142 reviews303 followers
April 25, 2023
First sentence: How many animals can you see in this picture? How many animals can you not see in this one because they're hiding from the tiger?

Premise/plot: Twenty Questions is a book of...you guessed it...twenty questions. The first two questions seem to flow into one another. You might get the idea that the whole book flows together. (It doesn't). The questions relate (somewhat???) to the illustrations. But there are no answers--obvious answers or more subtle answers--to the questions. (Except perhaps the first spread which literally asks readers to count the animals on the page. Again giving a false impression of the type of questions the author will be asking). The questions are more of the "out of the blue" and "huh" sort. Questions like, "Which of these ladies just robbed a bank?" and "Which of these children is dreaming of peaches?" I know kids are supposedly known for asking a million random questions, but, this book seems to push even that.

My thoughts: What if this book wasn't by Mac Barnett? Would it have been published at all? Would it be receiving positive reviews? Would the publishers be taking a chance on this one if say, for example, it was by a first time author? Can Mac Barnett get away with publishing anything? Who wrote the jacket flap? Did the person who wrote the jacket flap sincerely mean it? Is there ANY part of this book that is profound? Playful, one of the descriptions, I can see. But profound? And charming?

The book is pointless. Quirky, yes, but also extremely pointless. Unless (traditional) story narratives are not your thing. I mean I guess there could be some readers who hate books that have an actual story, actual plot, actual characters, actual reason to exist. (Yes, this one has a reason to exist. I'm sure. I won't spell out what it is. But you might can guess.)
Profile Image for Leticia.
318 reviews2 followers
April 24, 2023
This was very interesting. I read this aloud to my 3yo and 2yo. Five stars for illustrations because I'm always a big fan of Christian Robinson's bright, colorful, and inclusive illustration styles. This one is meant to be read slow, and be a conversation piece for you and your littles on each page. Mac asks questions like, "How many questions can you see in this picture?", which was easy for my 3yo to answer. However, it just got confusing for her with some of the questions - "How many animals can you not see in this one, because they're hiding from the tiger?" and borderline inappropriate with, "Which of these ladies just robbed a bank?", "Who gave Mr. Beckett a bump on his noggin?", and a question about bandits. For us, we're still working through topics about "bad people" so it's always a tiny bit alarming for me as the reader to modify for my kids on the spot until we're ready to talk about those things. Still, I think this would be a great book to spark imagination of children who are just a few years older. The illustrations were also clear enough that my 2yo had fun naming things on the pages.
Profile Image for Our Weekend Is Booked.
719 reviews5 followers
April 14, 2023
Rated 3.8

Twenty Questions is the type of book that allows you to use your imagination and think outside of the box. Each page has a simple question on it accompanied by some engaging illustrations. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions and it's fun to see how each child I read this book with answered differently.
Christian Robinson is such a talented illustrator and I loved the diversity in this book. They even showed a turtle in a wheelchair. Those little details are impactful to young readers.

Twenty Questions is a book that encourages creativity and thinking for yourself. I can see using this book in a classroom setting as a writing prompt.

This review first appeared on YA Book Central and can be found here https://www.yabookscentral.com/twenty...
Profile Image for Rachel.
1,180 reviews27 followers
April 18, 2023
There's a story behind every illustration. Who better to guess it than children. On each spread, Barnett and Robinson prompt readers to use their imagination. "How did the cow get all the way up there?" asks one, upon a backdrop of windmills and green fields done in multimedia. There is just enough quirkiness to the situations, and randomness to the selection of questions, that each will sprout wild possibilities. Not only that, but new questions will be brought to mind. Children will start to note aspects, and the storyteller can get them to explain their reasoning; this book is ripe for developing critical thinking as well as imagination. With it's basic shapes, the artwork is just abstract enough to leave lots of room for interpretation too. For children who are older, this book can also open a dialogue on biases and stereotypes. Perfect for a smaller group storytimes!
Profile Image for Erin Buhr.
Author 5 books39 followers
August 4, 2023
This isn't your typical game of 20 questions that hopes to arrive at some secret object. This isn't even a set of questions intent on arrive at any sort of answer. These are questions that make you think and wonder and discuss. Each page has an illustration by the incredible Christian Robinson, paired with a questions written by the amazing Mac Barnett. The questions don't have obvious answers. Rather, these ask you to think creatively, hypothesize, and share your thoughts. I think it is best shared one on one with a child or small group of kids. It's a book to talk about together and inspires wonderful conversations. Prepare to think. Prepare to wonder. Prepare to sit together for a long time with this one, in the best possible way. A unique and wonderful picture book experience for kids.
Profile Image for Jenny.
3,326 reviews38 followers
June 9, 2025
This book is both fun...and a bit frustrating to someone like me. Each page presents a question with an illustration. Some of the questions are open ended with many possible answers...and I like these. Some of them are unanswerable or at least there's not an obvious answer, and I want to love these but my need to figure things out is going crazy. For example, one page shows a police officer driving past a road, lights on, and a line of women walking down the road. The question is which woman just robbed a bank. And there's no obvious answer. I can come up with a few possible solutions with "evidence", but a part of me wants to know which woman it is!

All that personal reaction aside, I think most students will love this. And I think it could lead to some great discussions and perhaps even some writing.
412 reviews
May 18, 2023
This one was definitely not one of my faves from Barnett but I get the overall gist of what he was trying to accomplish. It was a tad bit frustrating going through the questions on each page and trying to figure out the answer. Some of the pictures seem to hold "clues" such as the number 9 on the tiger's ears when asked how many animals were hiding in the picture so it almost made you feel like there were some set answers with some of the questions. I get that they were meant to be "open-ended" but not all of the phrasing of the questions led to those type of conversations. Also, I thought the questions could have been a little more thought provoking rather than some of them being very random. I love the illustrations though and give a thumbs up for the overall idea of the story.
Profile Image for Cheryl Gladfelter.
513 reviews31 followers
August 24, 2023
Gorgeous illustrations, and some interesting questions that I would love to hear kids responses to.

I didn't like the 'which of these ladies just robbed a bank?' and one of the characters presents as black. Two other ones had a question of who has the better voice (a man with darker skin and a man with lighter skin), or who gave someone a bump on the head (a white man is rubbing his head, while sleeping in the same room is a dark-skinned man). Just...no.

The 'who is she waiting for?' spread is beautiful. I never tire of Christian Robinson's work, but I think the questions could have been better--or an editor could have been aware of how the art and prose combined to create scenarios that seem not great.
Profile Image for Trish Banda.
314 reviews3 followers
October 18, 2024
When I first read, I actually hated this book because I didn’t know what this book was trying to do. I thought the book was going to answer the question OR had clues in the picture with the right answer BUT that’s the whole point 😄

After I researched what this book was supposed to be about & read it a 2nd time, I love this book!!

This would be great for your class and child to help them be creative and know that there are only possibilities. Problem solving, opened ended questions.

I would also use this to help students with writing. Have students read one question, everyone share their possibilities aloud. If students, can say it aloud then they can also write BUT having students understand that can be difficult so this would be great practice.
Profile Image for Katie.
1,278 reviews11 followers
May 22, 2023
So fun to read with Henry - age 3

This is a book all about imagination. The text of Twenty Questions is simple twenty open ended questions, as advertised. Fun for ages 3 and up to imagine different scenarios based on the simple illustrations shown. Christian Robinson uses cut paper, stamps, and sharpie to create a jumping off point for kids’ creativity. This book can be used for a simple chat with children, or as writing props for elementary student.

Some of the questions are really fun, but the ones with people feel a little bit like profiling. Overall, this is a creative and fun read for one-on-one reading or groups.
Profile Image for Alicia.
8,275 reviews150 followers
August 29, 2023
It's a book with twenty questions... and the questions are not answered, that's the beauty of the book! For the creative thinkers, it's a boon. For the linear thinkers who want to know "what's the right answer??!?!" they won't ever really know! It's about exploration, questioning, observation, prior knowledge, and everything in between.

The delightful connection between the text (question) and art is fun and invigorating- perfect for (as was the case with my introduction to it) an exercise for adults to get to know each other and have a little fun or to explore. Or, to create your own questions. Or, to be able to listen to others.

It's refreshing.
Profile Image for Margo Kerstes.
39 reviews
January 23, 2024
Prentenboek met alleen maar vragen. Geen antwoorden.. Dat maakt het misschien voor ouders lastig om echt voor te lezen. De bedoeling is dat je de fantasie van kinderen prikkelt met de vragen die op de bladzijden staan. Geschikt om te gebruiken in de klas vanaf groep 1. Een of twee pagina’s is voldoende. Je kunt het boek niet helemaal voorlezen, dus dat is even wennen. Zo wordt op een bladzijde gevraagd ‘wat voor beest woont er in deze badkuip’ en ‘En wat eet-ie ‘t liefst?’. Deze vragen zijn aanleiding om het gesprek op gang te brengen, bijvoorbeeld over dieren, badderen of eten.

Leuk prentenboek vol met vragen voor kinderen vanaf 4 jaar.
Profile Image for Chantal HK.
976 reviews17 followers
March 2, 2024
Un livre magique qui ouvre une infinité de possibilités. Parfait pour travailler les hypothèses, les prédictions, les déductions, les préjugés et débattre sainement sur nos opinions et le pourquoi de nos idées. Génial, unique!
Quel moment de pur joie que la lecture en famille de ce nouveau venu tant sur mes étagères que dans nos cœurs! Ce livre aurait tout autant pu titrer "1000 questions", tant il y de possibilités et d'ouvertures dans cet album. Chaque double page présente une image et on pose une question toute simple pour laquelle il n'y a que des bonnes réponses. Chacun percevra, analysera et déduira ce que bon lui semble, et la discussion animée et le partage qui s'en suit donne lieu à de délicieuses découvertes sur les gens qui donnent leur point de vue. Aucune erreur possible, que des perceptions et des avis qui se mélangent, s'entrechoquent et grandissent aux contact des autres idées. Un terreau plus que fertile à exploiter tant en classe qu'à la maison. Amis professeurs, je vous invite de tout cœur à découvrir cette merveille!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews

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