When You Find a Question

A child’s discovery upends a town committed to digging for rocklike objects called Answers in this fable from Millington and Lambelet. Though the townsfolk’s constant labor “stirred up dust and smoke and made it difficult to see,” the group’s commitment to finding Answers is complete; even when someone uncovers a luminous spherical Question, “most people buried them again.” Upon unearthing a Question, a brown-skinned boy, intrigued, tucks it into his pocket, and subsequent fascination with the object propels him to share it with neighbors: “Maybe it was meant to be seen—even if it felt scary to share it.” Illustrations differentiated by earthy-hued, wood-grain-like textures show the Question’s big reveal as the town’s inhabitants, portrayed with various skin tones, look on with awe and the Question lifts into the air, illuminating “new paths they’d never explored.” The aftermath has a predictably transformative effect that highlights the power of inquisitiveness. Ages 4–7. (Mar.)