The Right Question: Why? by Adam Rex

"RUN, PUNY FOOLS!"

Mall strollers flee as, through the dome in the ceiling, a Supervillain crashes down among the terrified shoppers.

"NO ONE CAN WITHSTAND THE POWER OF DR. X-RAY!"

"WHY?" ASKED THE LITTLE GIRL.

BECAUSE OF MY X-RAY BLASTER!"

The girl repeats her question.

The disgruntled Supervillain mumbles through an explanation of his ray gun and his indestructible super suit, but the little girl repeats her question.

"WHY?"

The supervillain explains impatiently that it is his destiny to rule the world. The world deserves ill treatment because the world has treated he him so badly, he complains, unfairly showing disdain for his deep love for YARN! On the escalator he tells the little girl that he's always loved knitting, but his yarn shop was a failure because the fickle public cares nothing for his craft. The supervillain doesn't understand why not.

"KNITTING IS AMAZING!" HE SAYS.

No one understands him, not the non-knitting public and certainly not his father, who made him be a doctor just because his grandfather and this grandfather's grandfather were doctors. Now it is HIS turn to make people do what HE wants. He must be the master of the universe.

"WHY?"

"BECAUSE THEN MAYBE MY DADDY WILL BE PROUD OF ME!" HE ADMITS.

Now we're getting down to the basic question, in Adam Rex's both comic and poignant story of self-knowledge in his Why?: (Funny Children’s Books, Preschool Books, Early Elementary School Stories) (Chronicle Books). "Know thyself," said Socrates, and even supervillains need to work on their self-knowledge, and who better to ask the big question than a little girl determined to get to the root of the issue, portrayed charmingly by illustrator Claire Keane's little inquisitor. Declares Booklist, "Rex delivers a storytime home run--hilarious, heartfelt, instructive, and interactive."

More books for thinking kids by Adam Rex are Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, and Nothing Rhymes with Orange: (Cute Children's Books, Preschool Rhyming Books, Children's Humor Books, Books about Friendship).