by Gina Misiroglu

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Visible Ink Press; Second edition edition (October 1, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1578592194

ISBN-13: 978-1578592197

Description (Author's Website)

Anyone who has ever been a kid, raised a kid, or spent any time with kids knows that asking questions is a critical part of growing up. Kids have curious minds and they come up with some very interesting questions. But the truth is adults don’t always know the answers. The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) comes to the rescue. It addresses nearly 800 queries with enough depth and detail to both satisfy the curiosity of persistent young inquisitors and provide parents with a secure sense of a job well done.

Written with a child’s imagination in mind, this easy-to-understand book permits kids to help themselves because it’s organized by simple topical chapters: Outer Space; Planet Earth and Our Moon; Creatures Big and Small; Plant Life; People around the World; Politics and Government; How Things Work; Math, Measurement, and Time; All about My Body; and Daily Life. Each question posed is given a complete and satisfying answer, going beyond “because” and “it just is” and “I don’t know.”

• Why do dogs bark?
• Why is the sky blue?
• Why do people have to grow old?
• Why do people speak different languages?
• How does my body know to wake up when morning comes?

• What is DNA?

• How can fish breathe underwater?
• Why do women in some countries wear veils?
• How did my life begin?
• How does a vacuum cleaner pick up dirt?

Gina Misiroglu is a veteran of the West Coast publishing industry, specializing in the development and editing of popular culture, biography, American history, and women’s studies titles. She is the editor of the three-volume reference work American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History (2008) and the bestselling trade anthology Girls Like Us: 40 Extraordinary Women Celebrate Girlhood in Story, Poetry, and Song (1999)—winner of the New York Public Library's “Best Book for Teens” Award and a staple in women’s studies bibliographies.
Tagged by the media as a “pop-culturalist” after producing the first comprehensive encyclopedia on the historical and societal underpinnings of superheroes The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes (2004), Misiroglu developed and edited, with Michael Eury, its companion title The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood (2006). Both trade reference books received numerous accolades from the comics and film communities, including a Top Picks selection from SCOOP. She pays homage to real-life heroes and heroines in her works such as Imagine: The Spirit of Twentieth-Century Heroes (2000).
Misiroglu began her serious study of pop culture during her tenure at Warner Bros. Studios, where she production-managed and edited books based on best-selling Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, and Cartoon Network properties, including Scooby-Doo, Dexter’s Lab, the Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, Mars Attacks!, Babylon 5, Friends, and ER. She is a frequent speaker at the San Diego Comic Con, where she moderates panels for the Comics Arts Conference, a gathering of scholars who publish in the American studies and popular culture genres.

First, I 'd like to know where this book was when my kids were younger?! This would have come in very handy!

We all know that kids ask lots of questions and ask them constantly and shockingly (grin) adults don't always know all the answers. This book provides answers to 800 questions that kids often ask. The chapters are broken down in the following topics.

1. Outer Space
2. Planet Earth and Our Moon
3. Creatures Big and Small
4. Plant Life
5. People Around the World
6. Politics and Government
7. How Things Work
8. Math, Measurement and Time
9. All About My Body
10. Daily Life

In each section you'll find questions related to the main topic along with a short answer. Many of the questions also have full-color photographs or illustrations. Most answers only require a single paragraph and are easy to understand.

The book is great for parents of younger children, and those who are older can look up the answers for themselves. While written for children, the book is just plain interesting with answers to every imaginable question! This is a great resource for every household.

Thanks to Lisa Roe for sending me a copy to review!