Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-It-All (Richard Jackson Books

by Peter Catalanotto

It’s a factual face-off in this superhero picture book from all-star Peter Catalanotto.

Question Boy wants answers. He lives for them. But none of the town’s action heroes—Oil Man, Paperboy, Police Woman—can satisfy Question Boy’s heroic need to know !

Enter Little Miss Know-It-All. She has an answer for every who-what-where-when-and-how…and what she doesn’t know she simply makes up.

And what about you? Ready for a wrangle? Keen on a quibble? Then come along to the town park to cheer the two of them on! Vibrant, rich illustrations merge fantasy with reality in this exploration of questions, answers, and what it means to be right.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Superheroes, Juvenile, Realistic Fiction, Friendship

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2012

Reviews

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Peter Catalanotto. Up to this point my favorites were Matthew's A.B.C. and Emily's Art, but OMG I love this. Did anyone else want to do this as a read aloud and then have each child in the class verify each of Little Miss Know-It-All's facts. I was tempted as, of course not all are verifiable. "Fourteen thousand, one hundred and niney-six." hairs on her head? I hope the superhero aspect will make this appeal to children as much as it will to their parents and teachers.

[Lu Benke · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the outset, I found the illustrations unsettling and disjointed. Nonetheless, I surprised myself by getting into the story and feeling like I had met both Question Boy and Little Miss Know-It-All before. This is one of those books that will take sharing it with kids to help me make a final determination of what works and what doesn't.

[Allison Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really clever! Love the commitment of this superhero-inspired book.

[Amaya Grinstead]

fffffffffffffffart

[Meredith Estes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this aloud to my kindergartners and they liked it. It’s been brought up a couple of times since. I took it as differently wired kids feeling okay with who they are in a world of people who found them different. Sweet book.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Question Boy overwhelms everyone with his questions, until he meets Little Miss Know it all - who has an answer for everything.

Love this one!

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book, portraying everyone as super heroes. Boy questions everybody and no one can keep up with his questions until he meets the girl.....Miss Know-It-All. Filled with fun trivial facts.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture Book. Read to 1st grade last year.

[timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Peter for illustrating me in this book. I am famous 🤘

[Brian Mcinnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ingenious, and probably the funniest children's book I've ever read. If you have a kid, you must have this book.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every parent with a bright preschooler can tell you what that child’s favorite word is: why. A child with a curious mind will continually ask his parents and teachers questions until he gets the right answer, or at least a sufficient one. And his parents will try to answer and be helpful and good parents until their child drives them INSANE. I had never thought about it until reading this book, but the perfect remedy for this insanity would be another bright child to step and answer questions, one who will not give up raising her hand in class until called on – a know-it-all.

Thus begins Peter Catalanotto’s tale of an annoyingly precocious child in a red cape – Question Boy. Question Boy overwhelms all around him with his questions. Garbage Man: “How much stuff can you fit in your truck?” “Could You fit a whale in there?” Oil Man: “What if they took the tank out for a drive while you filled the whole basement with oil?” He perplexes all the good people of the neighborhood, but no one has enough answers for him. Until, sitting at a park, he meets Little Miss Know-It-All. In fact, it soon seems that Little Miss Know-It-All has defeated Question Boy. She stands shouting (incorrect) facts until he lays motionless around his red cape, unable to handle all the information. Little Miss Know-It-All is about to walk away when Question Boy asks the one question that dumbstrucks her and sends her covering her ears: “Why?” Then she answers him with the best answer know to mankind, “Because I said so!”

It’s no surprise that Peter Catalanotto, the author of other subtly funny books such as Ivan the Terrier, has created a picture book that is almost more funny to read from an adult’s perspective than from a child’s. Any parent with a know-it-all or a question-boy or -girl will be chuckling along with this storyline. Perhaps the most unique element of the story is Catalanotto’s choice to dress up every character in a super hero costume. These super heros are not flying or shooting death rays. Rather, they have common jobs like “garbage man,” “delivery man,” “police woman,” and “wonder waitress.” When reading the story, you can interpret it from the eyes of the young boy, who may be imagining all of these characters in costume just like him. All in all, Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-it-All is a fun book with a unique take on childhood curiosity.

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Question Boy walked down the street, his cape fluttering, he saw that Garbage Man was busy freeing the city of filth and rubbish. Question Boy wanted to know how much stuff Garbage Man could put in his truck. An elephant? A whale? A brontosaurus? Garbage Man jumped in his truck and drove away. Question Boy continued on his walk stopping to talk to Oil Man, Police Woman, Mechanic Man, Wonder Waitress, and even the dynamic duo – Mailman and Paperboy. Every one of them was defeated by the number and sheer force of Question Boy’s queries. Question Boy was distraught; no one had enough answers for him. But then he met Little Miss Know-It-All and the two engage in an epic battle of questions versus facts. Will Little Miss Know-It-All’s endless stream of information render Question Boy questionless? Has Question Boy met his match?

The text of this humorous book, written in third person, is mostly dialogue. The story moves along at a quick pace with each of Question Boy’s interactions building to the climatic battle of wits. The watercolor illustrations depict a suburban setting and show the neighborhood people from Question Boy’s point of view. For instance, the oil delivery guy (aka Oil Man) wears a blue spandex suit that covers his head and gives him Batman-ish ears. Catalanotto plays with the layout of illustrations and text to emphasize the force of Question Boy’s questions and Little Miss Know-It-All’s vociferous stream of trivia. The people are realistically rendered, with the addition of muscular physiques for the superheroes, and the children’s facial expressions and interactions are hilariously true to life.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Jim Erekson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The superhero conflict was a clever idea, but the strongest aesthetic moment in this book is the total absurdity of Know-it-All's barrage of random facts. It was hilarious. My 8-year-old Pearl thought the one about ducks on the head in Minnesota was worth repeating--I bet she tries it on kids at school today! The resolution wasn't half as satisfying, but stayed nicely within the comic-book structure of battle between arch-nemeses.

On second thought, the dogged pursuit of the question about oil tanks was just as absurd, and made me laugh there, too. The fact that adults just want to get away from the questions and the answers felt all too real.

[Jess Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

a twist on the ever-popular superhero concept with two classic character traits thrown in. this seemed to be a bit on the wordy side, and somewhat written for the adults reading it rather than just a younger audience... i'm never sure if this is intentional, or just an author failing to really understand their reader, but it automatically makes me like a book less just because of that. still, i think it would appeal to boys particularly, and that's always a plus!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

finally some superheroes (of a sort!) that aren't scantily clad. This book is actually kind of hilarious. Especially the questions Question boy asks the Oil Man. oh man, and then the final knockdown between the two. CRAZY :) You could add some Guiness Books of World Records or crazy Fact Books to a program with this story in it. You could also teach research by asking kids, what questions do they want to know the answer to?

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "why, why, WHY?" stage is more for toddlers than for older preschoolers and for young elementary school kids, but this book is for the latter group. Great for super hero fans, especially if you're not into buying tons of crappy mass media for a library, and if you're a parent with a superhero fan and a home library full of mass media crap (as are most of us), this would be a great one to borrow from that library.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture book with a comic book feel. Question Boy asks question after question to everyone around him, usually resulting in the question-y fleeing from inquiry overload. Then Question Boy meets Little Miss know it all, a girl with 1001 random facts that she spews as fast as she can get the words out of her mouth. Who will prevail?

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book to read to my two boys (ages 5 & 9). My oldest is a know-it-all and my youngest asks a lot of questions. When we started reading it, I thought my younger child would be bored (it was a lot of reading and rather than being a typical "story" it was a lot of facts) but he liked it.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up this book, I started to grumble that it looked too long and the illustrations weren't that interesting but I told myself that I was going to read every book to the end, and I am glad I did. I loved it!!!!! I love knowing that some turtles breathe out of their rear ends and that dimes have 118 ridges.

[Miri Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. Is so cute. The illustrations are great, and the premise is so fresh and fun. Everyone in this city is a superhero, and they're all afraid of Question Boy, whose insatiable curiosity confuses them and drives them crazy. But one day Question Boy meets Little Miss Know-It-All, and when the two of them engage, their city will never be the same.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Question Boy has more questions than people have answers to give him. Little Miss Know-It-All hasn't encountered a question she can't answer. When they face off it is an epic battle.

A humorous, inventive tale with illustrations that walk a fine line between comic book and picture book. Fun read aloud for grades 1-3.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story shows marvelous originality through twisting comic-book conventions, not just in characterizing the nemeses, who are at once delightfully strange and familiar, but in design and layout as well. Most humorous picture books will make me smile every few pages, but I laughed out loud more than once with this one.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the facial expressions, especially of Little Miss Know-It-All, are spot-on, something about them seems off to me. That aside, I love the concept. Everyone knows a Question Boy and a Little Miss Know-It-All and there's something satisfying about seeing them go head to head.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely clever picture book with old superheroes presented as Oil Man, Police Woman, Mailman and Paperboy in the story. Question Boy finally meets his match when he comes upon Little Miss Know-It-All in the park.

[Newbury Town Library Youth Services · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, who doesn't have a Question Boy and a Little Miss Know-It-All in their lives? But what happens when the two meet? It's the power struggle of the century, fit for only super hero-types to manage.

A good, clever read.

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like super heroes or humorous books, this is the book for you.
Question Boy and Little Miss Know-It-All are making all the grown-ups crazy. What happens when the two of them meet? Will we ever know which of Little Miss Know-It-All's facts are the real ones?

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a super hero book where the two different types of people come together. I could see using it will a small group or as a read aloud but I don't think kids woul picture themselves as either of these two types of kids without prodding. I wish it had a different conclusion.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny book about a boy, who continuously asks question meeting a girl, who can answer all of his questions. They become really good friends, because they calm each other down. I would read this book to my children as a fun break from serious conversation to enjoy some humor in life.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy who questions everything vs. girl who knows everything. Quite the confrontation.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Miss Know-It-All reminds me a little of someone I know--tiara and all! This would be a great choice to read to elementary students.