Hello, friends! Our book today is the delightfully silly A Bucket of Questions by Tim Fite, an exploration of some absurd answers to rather curious questions.

There are a number of questions that pop out of the titular bucket in this book, ranging from the understandable (“Why do kids lose their teeth?”) to the unexpected (“What kind of questions fill up a bucket?”). Readers are offered a multiple choice of possibilities, but here’s the thing – no definitive answer is given! Instead, this title’s audience must choose for themselves, or invent an answer all their own! After all, while the answers to our questions might be important, it’s far more important that we never stop asking about what makes us curious, and what sparks our imagination.

Wonderful! I love a picture book that breaks from the formula, and Fite’s ambitious debut does just that. With a narrative structure that encourages inquisitiveness, creative thinking, and laughter, Fite presents a few humorous answers to the book’s questions – including the dreaded “Where do babies come from?” – prompting young readers to consider their implausibility and, by leaving them unanswered, come up with unique answers of their own. An addition, the organized chaos of the black and white artwork supports this theme perfectly; there is as much to visually engage the audience as there is left to their imagination. The length is perfect for a storytime, and JJ and I had a ton of fun with this one; two of the “joke” answers, which I will not give away here, had her rolling with laughter, and we loved inventing our own ideas on the composition of hot dogs or why seals clap. Overall, a fantastically fun read that will spark the imagination, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)