Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World

A curious question for every day of the year

By Molly Oldfield

Illustrated by Folasade Adeshida, Neil Badenhorst, Belinda Chen, Sophie Escavy Lim, Marta Antelo, Fernando Martin, Juliana Eigner, Andrés Landazabal, Henry Rancourt, Francesca Tiley, Daniel Gray-Barnett, and Meg Rennie

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

This is a  collection of 366 curious questions asked by children from around the world, based on the podcast by Molly Oldfield. As you can imagine the questions range far and wide – nothing is out of bounds and each question is answered seriously, with respect and attention to detail. The aim is to encourage children big and small to stay curious, to keep asking questions.

Each question has a one or two paragraph answer. There can be two to four questions per double page spread with credit given if an expert is consulted. So why we dream is answered by author and illustrator Lauren Child, why are there always problems in stories has a response from Michael Morpurgo, how many stars in this galaxy by Sarafina Nance, and why we find it funny when someone trips and falls over (if they don’t hurt themselves) is answered by Tweedy the Clown.

There is an enormous range and variety to the questions. They are arranged month by month, starting with January 1 (Where is the happiest place in the world?) and ending with December 31 (What is the meaning of life?). In between there is anything and everything you may have thought of and many that you haven’t. The question for my birthday is ‘What is the most dangerous animal in the world?’ The answer isn’t anything with giant fangs and claws but the mosquito!

The questions seem randomly selected to give the widest possible scope and appeal to children but I am sure a lot of thought went into selecting the final 366 to make it into this book. The careful text is ably complemented by excellent design and truly marvellous illustrations by a big team of artists. The back matter includes some information about each one. The children who asked the questions are also listed in the back and many of them are very young, 4, 5, 6 years old, with several older ones up to 11, with one 12 and one 13. Most of the questions are by children ten and under which is quite eye-opening when you consider the depth and seriousness of some of the questions.

This is joy to read, a perfect gift for any curious child, and a must for every school library.

Ladybird 2025

Molly Oldfield