Questions Asked

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Pub Date 09 May 2017 | Archive Date 12 Apr 2017
Archipelago Books | Elsewhere Editions

Description

A picture book with fundamental philosophical questions, posed in a way only Jostein Gaarder is capable of. The illustrator has made an independent visual narrative that underscores the existential aspect of Jostein Gaarder's philosophical questions. Questions Asked shows confidence in a child's capacity to think deeply and read between the lines. The book follows a little boy traveling alone in an open landscape. Soon we realize he is on a journey of thoughts and dreams, asking questions about loss, myth, language, magic, and what it means to be a human being. Jostein Gaarder's philosophical questions merge with the beautiful illustrations of Akin Düzakin into a tale of friendship, love, and grief - and about daring to think about life as you live it.

A picture book with fundamental philosophical questions, posed in a way only Jostein Gaarder is capable of. The illustrator has made an independent visual narrative that underscores the existential...


Advance Praise

"The questions are certainly provocative, begging for reflection." — Katrina Yurenka, Moderator, Youth Services Book Review

-- Praise for Sophie's World --

"A marvellously rich book. Its success boils down to something quite simple - Gaarder's gift for communicating ideas." --The Guardian

"Challenging, informative and packed with easily grasped, and imitable, ways of thinking about difficult ideas." --Independent

"Remarkable...what Jostein Gaarder has managed to do is condense 3000 years of thought into 400 pages; to simplify some extremely complicated arguments without trivialising them...an extraordinary achievement." --Sunday Times

"A whimsical and ingenious mystery novel that also happens to be a history of philosophy... What is admirable in the novel is the utter unpretentiousness of the philosophical lessons." --Washington Post

"This book had me hooked from the very first page. I loved how the casual illustrations and seemingly random questions were able to tell such a deep and heartbreaking story, and I loved how this book showed confidence in children’s capacity to understand the world around them and think deeply. I adored the illustrations, and the questions left me thinking a long time after I’d put the book down. 5/5" — Silke Wadskær Mølgaard, Silkreads

"Wonderful... This book is a kid’s perfect philosophical companion. In it one experiences the joy of thinking and the growth of wisdom, imagination, and human values." — Literatur Magazin

"Gaarder and Düzakin prove themselves to be an evenly matched pair. Both of them succeed in opening spaces for thought and associations; both of them prompt us, with this clever, poetic, and lightly melancholic book, to find our own answers to existential questions." — Deutschlandradio

"The text and pictures are inseparable. Unless you want to miss the story completely, you cannot skip one or the other. It is beautiful." — Pages d'encre

"Akin Düzakin plays with our feelings and thoughts, obliging us to question ourselves, to reflect not only on the story of the boy in his illustrations, but – almost in spite of us – on our own story, too... You should read the text and pictures separately, at first, then together, then start over again and again to grasp the incredible force of this book and to savor every one of its subtleties." — Ricochet-Jeunes

"Philosophical themes intertwine in this illustrated story that speaks to us of friendship, being, love, the unknown, fear, and the courage we need to live our own lives and know what and who we really are." — El Mar de tinta

"A book that fosters commonality and that brings us closer together." — Luxemburger Wort

"The questions are certainly provocative, begging for reflection." — Katrina Yurenka, Moderator, Youth Services Book Review

-- Praise for Sophie's World --

"A marvellously rich book. Its success boils...


Marketing Plan

  • Three-city U.S. tour focusing on public libraries, bookstores, and schools

  • Book launch and festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with family activities

  • Targeted galley mailing to booksellers, librarians, and teachers

  • Video interview series for teachers, librarians, and families

  •  

  • Three-city U.S. tour focusing on public libraries, bookstores, and schools

  • Book launch and festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with family activities

  • Targeted galley mailing to booksellers...

  • Available Editions

    EDITION Other Format
    ISBN 9780914671664
    PRICE $14.00 (USD)
    PAGES 72

    Average rating from 11 members


    Featured Reviews

    Questions - not answers. This is a book which raises very important questions and offers no answers. It's designed to affirm the right of children to ask big questions and to provide opportunity for them to think things through either independently or with adults. A useful tool.

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    "Where does the world come from? Has there always been something here? Or has it all come from nothing? (Jostein Gaarder)

    I am almost lost for words after reading this book. I was so engrossed in the philosophical journey the little boy was on that I was surprised when the end came. and I didn't want it to finish. The only way to describe this book by Jostein Gaarder is that it's a book of questions that have no answers. The answers aren't needed because this book is designed for children to think deeply and explore philosophy.

    I have never read a book like this before for children, it is unique and Is good for brain development and independently think things through.

    Akin Duzakin illustrations are in a Dream like state, they weren't sharp and clear but a bit muffled and suited the style of the book.

    A gorgeous book that will make a wonderful addition to your picture book collection.

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    This is a well done book for a thoughtful older child/young adult. It poses some of life's most difficult, unanswerable questions, in quiet and unthreatening ways, opening the possibility for further thought and discussion. It is nicely illustrated with soft-focused paintings that capture, for me, the emotions behind the thoughts. These are universal human expressions, ones that children always ask and adults often have difficulty managing. Questions about God or god, about death or life or illness, about the world, about storms, about emotions. This book allows a gentle entry into those discussions via the young person in the book who walks through the forest and the questions. It is only the questions. No easy answers--as there are none.

    While reading a review copy of a re-release of Madeleine L'Engle's A Circle of Quiet, which is a memoir of writing and a soul searching look at the world, she wrote a bit that made me think of this book. Mankind is always in the human predicament, and this is what people write about. A good children's book is not easier to write than a good adults' book, and it poses to the writer the identical problem of trying to communicate his vision in a language that is not obsolete. (loc 2643)

    This is a definitely recommended.

    A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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    Beautiful illustrations, captivating plot and engaging questions. I loved it and would recommend it to everyone. The book is a must read for every one

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    This book introduces readers to complex philosophical questions presented in a simple format.

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    A really spectacular book to read with your children. It asks so many thought provoking questions which can in turn prompt the most amazing conversations! Would highly recommend it.

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