Just Because; Mac Barnett, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Children have a knack of avoiding or delaying bedtime and one of the age-old favourites is a never-ending list of questions that just have to be answered right away. And the one answer that they will not accept is, “just because.” Mac Barnett delightfully explores this in a read that will bring much satisfaction to curious minds.

It’s bedtime but one little child’s mind is too full of questions to go to sleep just yet. With dad lurking at the threshold to the bedroom the first question comes…“Why is the ocean blue?” The dad has the most wonderfully inventive answer but it is not enough to satisfy the child. Question after question follows as the child wants to know everything from bird flight habits to trees to black holes. Will the curious child ever feel satisfied enough to go to sleep…

This simple book will be very relatable to children and to adults and will bring a wry smile to the faces of many parents. The inventive answers of the dad are brilliant as he explains to the little child that dinosaurs are no longer around because they floated up into space, tears of sad fish are what give the ocean its blue appearance and trees set fire to their leaves to keep themselves warm in autumn.

Isabelle Arsenault’s illustrations are big and bold. Guitar playing fish float amongst the kelp and plant life in a bluey underwater scene and birds flying south to fetch new leaves for trees is constructed in wonderful shades of green. The answers to the questions are all done in colour which strongly contrast against the dark of the child’s bedroom.

A wonderful book for curious children and one that will have adults madly researching the answers to many of the questions. I’m off to find out how an egg becomes a chicken and why we sneeze.

Recommended for 4+.