Product Description

For every kid who really wants to knowand for every exasperated parent who simply doesn't knowhere is a lively omnium-gatherum of explanations to the most frequently asked questions about our world, from "Why do stars twinkle?" to "What are hiccups? "Taken from Kathy Wollard's popular column, "How Come?" (seen for the past six years in Newsday and recently syndicated nationally through the Los Angeles Times), How Come? explains why cats can survive high falls (because of the way their bodies can act like a "parachute") and how black holes absorb light (intense gravityif the Earth had the same density as a black hole, it would have to be compressed to the size of a marble!). Now you can know it all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139569 in Books
• Published on: 1992-12-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Booklist
Gr. 5-9. Why is the sky blue? What color is water? Do parrots understand what they say? These are but a few of the questions, common and not so common, answered in a compilation drawn from Wollard's syndicated newspaper science column. Organized in a roughly topical fashion and crisscrossing the science spectrum from physics to astronomy to biology, the questions are answered, not only in considerable detail (each column was originally around 500 words) and understandable terms, but also with a concerted effort to keep the science light and related to young people's everyday experiences. Debra Solomon's zany black-and-white cartoon drawings are strictly for laughs. Browsers as well as the seriously science-minded will find much to intrigue them. Stephanie Zvirin

From the Back Cover
NOW YOU CAN KNOW IT ALL Firefly light and the aurora borealis. Time travel and tears. Blood types, boomerangs, and black widow spiders. Explanations and investigations. A fact-filled, fun-filled, whimsically illustrated compendium, HOW COME? answers over 100 of the questions asked most frequently about the world around us. It explains what a mirage is (an image caused by air bending light). How a cat can survive a high fall (because of the way its body acts like a parachute). And why, when someone else yawns, you want to yawn too (in primitive times, yawns may have been a way to synchronize group behavior). So go ahead, ask it your best question. ATTENTION PARENTS: Can you say why the sky is blue? Or explain how an X-Ray can take a picture of your child's bones? It's not easy to be knowledgeable in all walks of science, but here's lively help for when the questions start coming.

About the Author
Kathy Wollard is the author of Newsday's popular How Come? column. She has physics and journalism degrees from New York University, and has written about science and health for Self, Scholastic, Popular Science, and Family Fun magazines. A former New Yorker, she and her husband, author Evan Morris, now live in rural Ohio. They have one son.

Debra Solomon is an illustrator and animator whose short films have won awards at film festivals around the world. She created the animated Lizzie McGuire character for the hit Disney show. She also wrote the award-winning kids' books Oh Brother! and Oh Sister!, and co-authored A Good Friend and 101 Uses for an Ex-Husband. Ms. Solomon lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

A must-have!
This is the book to have whether science was a weak subject in school or none of the scientific knowledge was retained once out of school. Parents would find this book useful in quelling the barrage of questions from their inquisitive children while satisfying their own curiosity in the field of science. Do you know why people have different blood types? Different types of proteins found in red blood cells and the plasma they float in determine the type of blood a person has. What causes hiccups? They are caused by the diaphragm going into spasms. These are some of the interesting subjects explained in this book accompanied by funny and amusing illustrations. Parents and children will repeatedly reach for this book as a reference for their questions in the field of science.

Really cool book!
This is a really cool book! I always wondered why drops of water cling to the inside of a glass when you turn it over, and this book finally answered my question. I also found out that pandas aren't really bears (they're more like oversized raccoons) and whether it rains on other planets. I would recommend this book for any kid or adult who really wants to know. The drawings are funny, too. (like the radioactive toupee and the black widow spider wedding, where she promises to love, honor, and DIGEST).

A Fabulous Book!
This is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. It seems like everything you've ever wondered about science or nature is explained here, everything from where zebras got their stripes to where lightning comes from. Although the publisher classifies this as a "young person's book," it contains far more detail in its explanations than you find in some science books aimed at adults. Each answer, in fact, is an essay on the subject, long enough to really explain the answer. I also think that the tone of the answers is just right -- it's just like having someone who knows all about science and nature and also has a great sense of humor come to your house and answer all the questions you've wondered about for years. And the drawings are GREAT -- this is the only science book I've ever seen that actually made me laugh out loud.