AnnAkA HArris illustrAted By

JoHn rowe

Pr Aise For I Wonder :I Wonder offers crucial lessons in emotional intelligence, starting with being secure in the face of uncertainty. Annaka Harris has woven a beautiful tapestry of art, storytelling, and profound wisdom. Any young child and parentwill benefit from sharing this wondrous book together.

Daniel Goleman, author of the #1 bestseller Emotional Intelligence

what an enchanting childrens bookbeautiful to look at, charming to read, and with a theme that wonderers of all ages should appreciate.

Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology, Harvard university, and author of How the Mind Works

I Wonder captures the beauty of life and the mystery of our world, sweeping child and adult into a powerful journey of discovery. this is a book for children of all ages that will nurture a lifelong love of learning. Magnificent!

Daniel Siegel, author of Mindsight and The Whole-Brain Child

I Wonder is a delightful book that explores and encourages the playful beginnings of wonder and a joyful appreciation of natural mystery.

Eric Litwin, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling childrens book, I Love My White Shoes and Pete the Cat

this marvelous book will successfully sustain and stimulate your childs natural sense of curiosity and wonder about this mysterious world we live in.

V.S. Ramachandran, author of The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientists Quest for What Makes Us Human

I Wonder is a reminder to parents and their children that mysteries are a gift and that curiosity and wonderment are the treasures of a childlike mind.

Janna Levin, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Columbia university, and author of How The Universe Got Its Spots

I Wonder teaches the very young that we should marvel at the mysteries of the universe and not be afraid of them. our world would be a lot better if every human understood this. start with your own children and this book.

Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm, Handspring, and the redwood neuroscience institute, and author of On Intelligence

illustrAted By JoHn rowe

AnnAkA HArris

eva loves to look for the moon. it follows her from place to place, disappearing behind trees and

mountains, and then appearing again someplace new.

look, Mama, there it is!

the moon looks so beautiful in the sky. How do you think it follows us, eva?

eva thinks about it, but she just cant figure it out.

its okay to say, i dont know, says her mother. when we dont know something, we get to wonder about it!

i wonder if the moon and the earth are friends, says eva.

Her mother smiles. i like that idea.

But, Mama, how does the moon really stay close to us?

there is an invisible force called gravity that pulls all the things in the universe together, evas mother explains.

Gravity keeps the moon close to the earth, and it keeps the planets close to the sun, too. they circle around like this.

eva understands a little better, but then she starts to wonder

Mama, where does gravity come from?

i dont know, eva. nobody really knows for sure. And when no one knows the answer to something, its called a mystery.

A mystery is something for everyone to wonder about together.

How fun! eva imagines herself wondering about gravity together with

all of the people in the world.

eva watches the moon disappear behind the clouds as she walks, excited to see where it will appear next.

How many grains of sand are in the whole world, Mama?

i wonder about that too! there are trillions and trillions of grains of sand, but nobody knows exactly how many.

eva tries to think about all the sand in the whole world.

it feels so big that i cant fit it all in my imagination. it makes me feel dizzy, like im falling.

i know what you mean, her mother agrees, and im sure other people feel that way too.

eva walks down another path, looking for the moon, and a little, orange butterf ly appears.

these butterf lies have been f lying around for a few days. But they started out as little caterpillars. And those

caterpillars came from eggs. And those eggs came from other butterf lies. there are cycles all around us, with

one thing ending and another beginning. things are always changing. Can you think of other things that change?

then she notices there are butterf lies everywhere! Mama, where did all of these butterf lies come from?

Hmm Clouds, and frogs and Me!

later eva wonders, Mama, what was here before all the butterf lies, and frogs, and clouds before everything?

i dont know, answers her mother. its another mystery! i like trying to imagine what was here before the

beginning of everything. what do you think was here?

And eva says, smiling, i dont know.

she thinks about it for a long time, and then she has an idea! i wonder if there were feelings

As she walks home, eva sees the moon again, glowing brightly

above the roof of her house. lets go inside and look for

the moon through the window!

we live with some big mysteries. when we come upon one, were given a little gift.

every mystery is something for all of us to wonder about together.

What do you wonder about?

aa

Authors NoteI believe that one of the most important gifts we can give our children is the confidence to say

I dont know. Its the foundation from which we begin our investigation of the world: asking

questions, taking the necessary time to understand the answers, and searching for new answers

when the ones we have in hand dont seem to work. The feeling of not knowing is also the source

of wonder and awe.

Before my daughter turned two, she began ignoring questions she couldnt answer. Then she moved

on to giving answers she knew to be false. I realized that she had grown accustomed to being

celebrated every time she answered a question correctly and was, naturally, less interested in

exchanges that didnt produce this response. But I also realized something even more important:

I hadnt taught her to say I dont know let alone celebrated her ability to do so. In all social and

emotional learning, children need our help identifying the many new feelings they experience:

Oh, that Batman costume scared you, or I know, you feel sad when Mommy leaves. So I went

looking for a childrens book that would help us talk about the experience of not knowing, but I

couldnt find one.

We live in a society where people are uncomfortable with not knowing. Children arent taught

to say I dont know, and honesty in this form is rarely modeled for them. They too often see

adults avoiding questions and fabricating answers, out of either embarrassment or fear, and this

comes at a price. When children are embarrassed by or afraid of the feeling of not knowing, they

are preoccupied with escaping their discomfort, rather than being motivated to learn. This robs

them of the joy of curiosity. Lets celebrate the feelings of awe and wonder in our children, as the

foundation for all learning. Lets teach children to say I dont know and help them understand

the power behind it. Lets talk to them about how it feels to not know something. And, finally, lets

be honest with children about the limits of our own knowledge. There is so much for all of us to

wonder about together!

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For Emma

Thank you to Amy Serkin Lenclos, Dalit Toledano, Amy Rennert, Susan Kaiser Greenland,

Shelley Reicher-Lawrence, Tandy Parks, Jenny Meyer, and most important, my mother, Susan, and my husband, Sam

this book would not have been possible without your inspiration and guidance.

Published by Four Elephants Press

Text copyright 2013 by Annaka Harris

Illustrations copyright 2013 by John Rowe

Book design by Sara Gillingham Studio

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and

retrieval system without permission in writing from Four Elephants Press.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013944719

I Wonder / Annaka Harris; illustrations by John Rowe

Ages one and up

AnnAkA HArris is a freelance editor of nonfiction books and is especially passionate about furthering the public understanding of science. she is also cofounder of Project reason and a volunteer for innerkids. www.annakaharris.com

JoHn rowe resides in Montrose, CA where he maintains an art studio, creating original art and oil paintings for both illustration and fine art clients. His illustration clients include the united nations, disney, random House, simon and schuster, and Buena Vista Pictures. His projects have encompassed movie posters, book covers, advertisements, murals and fine art paintings for clients and collectors. www.john-rowe.com

Click here to purchase the hardcover edition of I Wonder :

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