WHY DOES MY SHADOW FOLLOW ME?

Substantial answers to 50 more science queries, from “When will they cure cancer?” to “Why do we have butts?”

Like the questions in Vermond and Ogawa’s Why Don’t Cars Run on Apple Juice? (2019), this fresh set, all posed by young visitors to the Ontario Science Centre, are backed up with full citations to the sources of the answers so that skeptical (or interested) readers can check for themselves. This comes in handy when the answers are complicated, such as the one about curing cancer, or when the questions are trick ones, like “Why do dogs see in black and white?” (“They don’t”) or “Why is there no gravity in space?” (“there is”). In line with her observation that scientists “actually get paid to play,” Vermond keeps the tone light and the language nontechnical throughout. Ogawa reciprocates with cartoon illustrations that feature button-eyed animals with animated expressions mixing with a notably pluralistic array of human figures (including a bald child and people of various ages in wheelchairs) who not only display a broad range of skin colors, but dress diversely enough to include the occasional hijab or turban. “Science,” the author writes, “is sewn into the very fabric of who we are as humans.” Even casual readers will come away knowing a little more about themselves and the world around them as well as understanding that, willy-nilly, we are all doing science all the time.

A playful romp through multiple fields of science in which even silly questions lead to startling discoveries.