The Little Book of Big What-Ifs

This charming children’s book is filled with questions that parallel the sea of questions young children ask adults. These questions span from silly to thought-provoking. Contrasting questions such as, “What if you swallowed a seed?” and “What if you didn’t?”, span across several side-by-side pages. This heartwarming book is a wonderful addition to children’s library especially when they begin to question the world around them. As they grow older and begin to understand what is included in a sentence to form a question, primarily words like “what” and proper punctuation, The Little Book of Big What-Ifs could be used as a learning tool. It could also be used to model correct phrasing when reading questions from a text as well.

The artwork is drawn in pencil and digitally coloured. Some pages include use of white space creating a clean and inviting feel. There are also some pages with playful artwork that covers the entire page. Each piece of artwork tells a story that is directly linked to the artwork. “What if it was worth the wait?” depicts two young cubs being reunited with two older bears. “What if you make a mistake?” depicts the elephant stuck in hole. The opposite page says, “What if we all work together?” and shows several animals courageously helping the elephant get out of the hole. Bears, mice, elephants and butterflies dance across the book, all created using a very similar colour palate. This creates a subtle, yet pleasing, display that may even emphasize the idea that we are all united in questioning and understanding the world in which we live.