Children have a knack of asking great, but challenging, questions: Why is the sea salty? How far away is space? Why can't I tickle myself? What makes me me? But how are we supposed to answer them? Imagine if we could turn to a leading expert and ask them to answer on our behalf. This book gathers over 100 real questions from children and puts them to some of our best-loved and most knowledgeable experts. Alain de Botton explores 'How are dreams made?', Kate Humble explains 'Why do lions roar?' and Heston Blumenthal answers 'Why do we cook food?' Their answers to the Big Questions - some complex, some searching, some surreal and some just plain cute - make this an essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand the complexities of life, the universe and why cakes taste so nice. It includes answers from Sir David Attenborough, Dame Kelly Holmes, Bear Grylls, Derren Brown, Noam Chomsky, Dr Richard Dawkins, Alain de Botton, Annabel Karmel, Jacqueline Wilson, Jarvis Cocker, Marcus du Sautoy, Jessica Ennis, Marcus Chown, Tracey Emin, Harry Hill, Dr Christian Jessen and many more.

 

There are 336 pages in this book. This is an encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is a book or numbered set of books containing authoritative summary information about a variety of topics in the form of short essays, usually arranged alphabetically by headword or classified in some manner. An entry may be signed or unsigned, with or without illustration or a list of references for further reading. Headwords and text are usually revised periodically for publication in a new edition. In a multivolume encyclopedia, any indexes are usually located at the end of the last volume. Encyclopedias may be general (example: Encyclopedia Americana) or specialized, usually by subject (Encyclopedia of Bad Taste) or discipline (Encyclopedia of Social Work). This book was published 2012 by Faber & Faber .

Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. Gemma Elwin Harris is a freelance editor and features writer. She has one son and two very curious nieces, the inspiration for this book. Miranda Hart is an award-winning writer, actress and comedian. Her books written for adults have all been bestselling hits. Miranda's hugely successful sitcom, MIRANDA, ran on the BBC for 7 years, regularly pulling in over 9 million viewers and winning several awards. Miranda herself has won and been nominated for many awards, including a BAFTA nomination for her performance in BBC1's CALL THE MIDWIFE. In 2017 Miranda made her West End theatre debut as Miss Hannigan in ANNIE.