The Age of Why: Raising a Relentlessly Curious Child

Endless Questions, Public Serenades, and Following Your Kid’s Passions into Books

Mar 12, 2025

Does anyone else have a WHY child? I know kids are naturally curious, it’s part of how they learn about the world. But I’m not talking about the sweet curiosity that leads them to poke a bug just to see what happens. I’m talking about the kind of relentless, obsessive, never-ending WHYs that teeter on the edge of maddening.

My oldest was one of those kids. From the moment he could talk (which was early, he was a highly verbal baby), he asked so many WHY questions that I started writing them down.

Recently, I found an old note from 2018 where I had tracked some of my favorites:

💬 Why are cockroaches yucky and crunchy?
💬 Why are we made of water?
💬 Why do we have to be aware of animals?
💬 What does the Sun orbit?
💬 Why are we a right-handed family?
💬 Why do race cars have to ride in trailers?
💬 Where did T-Rex live and die?
💬 Why does Uranus spin sideways?
💬 Why is Pluto called a dwarf planet?
💬 What is being an amphibian like?
💬 Why do you stop growing?
💬 Why are take-off suits orange and space suits white?

I tried to comfort myself with the idea that all kids are curious but let’s be honest, not all kids interrogate life at this level. Now, my daughter (4) is carrying on the tradition. She wakes up armed with a fresh batch of WHYs, ready to launch them at every single moment of the day. And there’s no half-answering. If we try to gloss over something, she will know and she will keep pressing until we give her a satisfactory answer.

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My Literary Tip: Follow Their Curiosity

If you have a WHY child, lean into it. With my oldest, we spent hours in the non-fiction section of the library, searching for books that could satisfy his endless questions. I looked for books that were informative and engaging—ones that could hold his attention while giving him real answers.

If you haven’t discovered Gail Gibbons, yet, you’re welcome in advance. She has written a book about almost everything in a way that’s perfect for young, inquisitive minds. We also have LOVED this series of Lift-the-Flap Very First Questions and Answers.

But also, my daughter is more of a rhythm-and-rhyme kind of kid. She wants books that sing to her—literally. If a book has a song built in? Even better. Baby Beluga is currently on endless repeat at bedtime, and simply reading the book doesn’t cut it, I have to be ready to sing.

At the end of the day, every child absorbs the world differently. The magic happens when we follow their natural inclinations and meet them where their curiosity lives.

So, what kind of kid do you have? And what kind of books do they love?

This months books that are on repeat in our home

Oh, No by Candace Fleming Illustrated by Eric Rohmann

Froggie falls into a deep deep hole, ribbit oops, ribbit oops…are you singing already? You can almost perfectly sing this book to the tune of Froggie Went a Courtin’ and if you aren’t familiar, I just discovered Bob Dylan does a version, because why not? When Froggie falls into a hole, all his jungle friends try to help him out, and one by one fall in as well. When Tiger offers to help they are all in a bit of a pickle until one giant jungle animal trundles along to save the day.

We absolutely adore this book. It was probably the first book my youngest child really took ownership of, so of course we got it for her for Christmas. If she sees it she will demand it on repeat for the rest of the day, so warm up those vocal chords and get ready to sing. It fits perfectly with her dancy and fierce personality.

Magnets Push, Magnets Pull by David A Adler Illustrated by Anna Raff

Why do some magnets attract while others repel? Why do they stick on some materials and not others? How can you make something magnetic? What are magnets used for? If you have questions about magnets (and you know we do!) this book is a great place to start for answers.

We checked this book out from the library on our last visit and it is right up my older kid’s alley. He has been learning about magnetism at school and this book has us discussing and discovering more about how magnets work, provides us with fun activities to try at home, and even has inspired us to get some teaching magnets to add to our home for furthering our scientific exploration. Be prepared for interactive experiments that are fun for the whole family.

Counting to Bananas A Mostly Rhyming Fruit Book by Carrie Tillotson Illustrated by Estrela Lourenco

Banana can’t wait to be the star of this counting book! But as the story continues and more fruits (and even non-fruits) are featured that are not him, Banana starts to go a bit…bananas (yeah, that’s the pun). There is something intrinsically funny about bananas and this counting book reinforces the absurdity of the fruit by adding a bow tie and a hilarious banana punchline. It is counting, AND it is fun!

A Small Blue Whale by Beth Ferry Illustrated by Lisa Mundorff

A little whale wants to learn how to make a friend. When a tiny pink cloud arrives, the whale believes they have found a forever friend and takes off on a cloud adventure where they run into some playful penguins, make even more friends, get stuck in a slippery situation, and find out what true friendship looks like when the penguins come to the rescue.

The Sea Serpent and Me by Dashka Slater Illustrated by Catia Chien

A little girl running a bath has an unexpected visitor, who then becomes an unlikely pet. A simple and lovely story about friends and about how the true meaning of friendship is sometimes the ability to let one another go and seek a place that is best suited for us. I love how we get to see the serpent grow and get the push and pull of wanting to keep a pet that doesn’t fit in the house, and understanding that the pet needs to go to live their best lives. Depending on my mood when I read this book, you might see a little tear in my eye.

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