Years ago, Canadian radio and television broadcaster Art Linkletter coined the comic and candid phrase, “Kids say the darndest things.” Over the past 20 years, the staff at Canada’s award- winning Owl magazine has received plenty of write-in evidence that kids also ask “the darndest things.” And Owl takes the questions seriously.

You Asked?: Over 300 Great Questions and Astounding Answers is a compilation of the most frequently posed puzzlers received by the magazine. The content is authoritative. The text, edited by Katherine Farris, is short, humourous, and snappy. A wealth of photographs and illustrations supports it. Everything from the dynamic “portrait” cover through to the indexing reflects Owl Books’ typical quality and presentation.

What will be disappointing to OwlYou Asked? is, basically, a two-in-one reissue of Owl Books’ I Didn’t Know That! The Extraordinary Science in an Ordinary Day (1988) and Would You Believe It?: Answers to Kids’ Questions About Nature, Science and the World Around Them (1990). There’s very little new to You Asked?. The material is reorganized into four theme “chapters,” each with its own two-page introduction. At best, there are 10 new questions.

You Asked? is a stimulating science and nature resource for the inquisitive reader who hasn’t already inherited the two original source books. For budget-stressed and already initiated readers and libraries, regrettably, it’s a pass.