Wijze Weetjes

To date, the series consists of three books: Mag je haaien aaien? [Can you stroke sharks?] (questions about animals), Kunnen bergen krimpen? [Can mountains shrink?] (questions about nature) and the recently published Komt oude kaas van oude koeien? [Does mature cheese come from mature cows?] (questions about food and drink). Author Katrijn De Wit, illustrator Inge Rylant and designer Laura Bergans joined forces and present an ode to the imagination, design and science with this series. In the short books, non-fiction is presented in an accessible way to produce a stimulating, cheerful and colourfully designed cardboard book for children aged four to eight. Each page opens with a big question and an abstract, minimalist illustration. When the illustration is unfolded, the reader gets a larger, more figurative picture that provides a philosophical, humorous answer as well as a scientific explanation related to the question. The book’s quirky design and the generation-transcending questions encourage parents to read out loud to their children differently and jointly fantasise with them. The questions motivate readers to search for their own imaginative answers.

The series is accompanied by workshops, in which the makers spur on children to fantasise, philosophise and abstract. In addition, parents can share their children’s philosophical, scientific and often humorous questions on the interactive platform, which was developed in parallel to the series.