Picture Books to Make You Think: Twenty Questions, Bucket of Questions, Wants vs. Needs vs. Robots, and The Tree and the River

Four new picture books raised questions and stimulate discussion for readers ages 3-12.

Twenty Questions by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson. Candlewick, 2023, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 3-7

The book starts with a simple question: How many animals do you see? (Count to find the answer.) But then, How many animals do you not see because they’re hiding from the tiger? (There’s the tiger, but how to count animals you can’t see?) Blocky, bold-color illustrations might provide answers, or at least provoke guesses. Some of the questions might be thought through logically, but others are pure speculation, such as Which of these creatures is the zookeeper’s favorite? Some are a tad scary: What kind of beast lives in this bathtub? And what does it eat?  Whether or not readers (and the read-to) can provide satisfying answers, the questions should stimulate both thought and imagination.

Overall Rating: 4

A Bucket of Questions Almost Answered by Tim Fite. Atheneum, 2023, 50 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 4-10

Unlike Twenty Questions, this question book provides answers—or rather, 3-4 multiple-choice options. But the answers are as silly as the questions. For example: Why do seals clap? A) For a hermit-crab race, B) For a message in a bottle, C) For a fishy ice cream cone . . . What do you think? Eight of these questions build up to the most important of all: Where do babies come from? (The answer is both obvious and surprising. Black-and-white illustrations are bold, childlike, and sometimes slightly scary when lots of white teeth are involved, but it’s fun, and may inspire further silly questions.

Overall rating: 3.5

Wants vs. Needs vs. Robots by Michael Rex. Nancy Paulsen Books (PRH), 2023, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 3-10

“Do you know the difference between a Want and a Need? Sometimes it can be hard to tell them apart,” especially if you want something so much it seems like a need. But the two robots from Fact vs. Opinion are here again to help us sort out the difference. A robot needs certain things, namely batteries, arms, legs, and oil, without which they can’t function. If one robot trades away those things for frivolous wants, what happens? After working through that unhappy scenario, reader and robot try it again, this time trading wants for other wants. And it all works out better. Wants vs. Needs can be a real help for young children demanding new toys or treats (“But Mom! I neeeeed it!”). And if they forget, you can always remind them of foolish robots.

Overall Rating: 4.5

The Tree and The River by Aaron Becker. Candlewick, 2023, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 0-4

Recommended for: ages 3-up

An oak tree stands in the bend of a winding river. A family clears lands, plants a garden, and builds a house. In time a settlement develops, becomes a village, becomes a town, becomes a walled city with a standing army. Time marches on, and with it technological progress in the form of rail roads and flying machines. The skies darken with factory smoke and signs of overcrowding and exhaustion of natural resources appear. Through it all the tree remains, though its branches droop and its leaves fade. Something happens and the works of man fall into ruin, leaving a blasted tree on a blasted landscape. But one green branch produces one acorn which drifts in the river before coming to rest on a mulchy bank. The acorn sprouts and another sturdy oak tree begins to grow.

Wordless picture books are great springboards for discussion and speculation, and the layered illustrations in this one are especially rich. Flipping back to compare pages and changes is a must. The pages toward the end are increasingly bleak, and we don’t know what happens to collapse this civilization—war? Global warming? Overproduction?—but it’s a good reminder that all our works are temporary. Yet while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest shall not cease—and notice the rainbow on the next-to-last page spread.

Overall rating: 4.5

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Also at Redeemed Reader

Resource: How to read a picture book without words: see Some Words about Wordless Books.

Reviews: Aaron Beckers Journey is another feast for the eyes and imagination. And Mac Barnett wrote the text for another excellent thinking book, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.

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