Children's Movies from Books - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The Alice series, which began with The Agony of Alice in 1985, follows Alice from sixth grade through senior year in high school, although three prequels that aren't in the movie each cover a lower grade.
• A2) C.S. Lewis. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, published in 1951, is the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
• A3) Darren Shan. The Vampire's Assistant, published in 2000, is the second book in the Vampire Blood trilogy.
• A4) Jeanne Duprau. The City of Ember was published in 2003 but took three years to win the Mark Twain Award from Missouri's fourth through sixth grade readers.
• A5) Judi Barrett. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, published in 1978, was illustrated by Judi's husband Ron. Given the success of the movie, I'd expect a sequel based on the 2000 follow-up Pickles to Pittsburgh sooner than three decades from now.
• A6) Neil Gaiman. Coraline, published in 2002, won Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella and a Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers.
• A7) Philip Pullman. The Golden Compass, published in 1995 and the winner of the U.K.'s Carnegie Medal in Literature the following year, originally referenced a circle-drawing compass but now refers to Lyra's alethiometer, which is a sort of truth-detecting compass.
• A8) Cornelia Funke. Inkheart, published in 2003, was followed by Inkspell in 2005 and Inkdeath in 2007.
• A9) Wendy Orr. Orr first sketched out some of the ideas that became Nim's Island in a story called "Spring Island" when she was only nine years old. Kerry Millard provided the illustrations for the 1999 book.
• A10) Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. The Spiderwick series began with The Field Guide in 2003 and reached five books in less than a year and a half.
• A11) Kate Dicamillo. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread was published in 2003 and won that year's Newbery Medal.
• A12) Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight series began with the novel of the same name in 2005 and was followed by New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn in one-year intervals.

Children's Movies from Books - Random Trivia Questions

As great as a lot of children's movies are, the books they come from are usually even better. Reading allows you to go at your own pace. Reading stimulates your imagination in ways a movie can't. Reading gives you time to look up words you don't know. Reading simply makes you think more.

In the last couple of years, quite a few excellent children's books have been made into movies, like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who!, and Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. How many authors can you identify for the following dozen recent movies?

Children's Movies from Books Questions

• Q1) Alice Upside Down
• Q2) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• Q3) Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
• Q4) City of Ember
• Q5) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
• Q6) Coraline
• Q7) Golden Compass
• Q8) Inkheart
• Q9) Nim's Island
• Q10) The Spiderwick Chronicles (2 authors; take 1 point for each)
• Q11) Tale of Despereaux
• Q12) Twilight

Topping Two Times - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) John Steinbeck. Steinbeck went nearly a decade between his #1 novel on November 2, 1952 and his #1 travelogue on October 21, 1962 but still became the first person to top both lists.
• A2) Ernest Hemingway. The Old Man and the Sea Pulitzer Prize winner topped the fiction and non-fiction charts on October 15, 1950 and June 14, 1964.
• A3) William Styron. The Virginian also had a #1 fiction best seller with Sophie's Choice on July 22, 1979, almost a dozen years after Nat Turner.
• A4) Dr. Seuss. The children's author landed his only chart-toppers on March 4, 1990 and March 30, 1986.
• A5) Jimmy Buffett. The singer topped the fiction list on September 20, 1992 and the non-fiction list six years later.
• A6) Tom Clancy, the latter with Chuck Horner. Clancy has had fourteen best sellers.
• A7) Patricia Cornwell. Cornwell has topped the fiction list fifteen times but the non-fiction list just once.
• A8) Mitch Albom. Albom topped the fiction list a second time with For One More Day on October 15, 2006, three years after ...Heaven and eight and a half years after Tuesdays....
• A9) John Grisham. After sixteen fiction #1s, Grisham topped the non-fiction list for the only time on October 29, 2006 before returning to the fiction side three more times.
• A10) James Patterson with Andrew Gross and Hal Friedman respectively. Patterson teamed up for #1s with Gross five times, Maxine Paetro four times, Howard Roughan three times, Michael Ledwidge and Peter de Jonge twice each, and Gabrielle Charbonnet once for a total of eighteen.
• A11) Glenn Beck with Kevin Balfe and Jason Wright on the first and just Kevin Balfe on the second. The radio and television host topped each chart once, on November 30, 2008 and December 9, 2007 to become the most recent member of the club.
• A12) Tom Clancy. Clancy's other non-fiction #1 was also a collaboration, Shadow Warriors with Carl Stiner and Tony Koltz.

Topping Two Times - Random Trivia Questions

Since the New York Times Best Seller list debuted on August 9, 1942, a surprisingly high number of authors have reached #1 on both their fiction and non-fiction lists. How many of the writers can you identify given their first books to top each chart (bonus points for naming any co-authors; hint: the authors are listed in the order in which they became two-timers)?

Topping Two Times Questions

• Q1) Fiction: East of Eden. Non-Fiction: Travels with Charley
• Q2) Fiction: Across the River and Into the Trees. Non-Fiction: A Moveable Feast
• Q3) Fiction: The Confessions of Nat Turner. Non-Fiction: Darkness Visible
• Q4) Fiction: You're Only Old Once. Non-Fiction: Oh, the Places You'll Go
• Q5) Fiction: Where Is Joe Merchant?. Non-Fiction: A Pirate Looks at Fifty
• Q6) Fiction: Red Storm Rising. Non-Fiction: Every Man a Tiger
• Q7) Fiction: From Potter's Field. Non-Fiction: Portrait of a Killer
• Q8) Fiction: The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Non-Fiction: Tuesdays with Morrie
• Q9) Fiction: The Pelican Brief. Non-Fiction: The Innocent Man
• Q10) Fiction: 2nd Chance. Non-Fiction: Against Medical Advice
• Q11) Fiction: The Christmas Sweater. Non-Fiction: An Inconvenient Book
• Q12) Who is the only author to have at least two #1 books on each list?

Know-It-All Book Review

Name	The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
Author	A.J. Jacobs
Published	2004 (first hardcover release)
Length	386 Pages

Description: Know-It-All covers an Esquire magazine editor's journey through the entire 2002 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. The entries range from interesting details to witty comments to stories of Jacobs's life to metamusings about his quest. While Jacobs may honestly have once thought himself to be the smartest kid in the world, the subtitle of the book is intended as a wry joke. Indeed, the author proves himself to more of a comedian than an intellect, showing off a fairly impressive memory for facts while failing to express a deeper understanding of much of anything.

Jacobs joins Mensa based on nearly two-decade-old SAT scores, embarasses himself at a trivia contest (although not because of his results), gets trounced in a chess game, and bottoms out in a crossword puzzle tournament. "Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none" would greatly overstate the author's knowledge, which widens and flattens considerably as he traverses the alphabet. He also attempts to become a contestant on the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which his encyclopedia study both helps with its tons of facts and hinders with its lack of pop culture and current events.

Fortunately, Jacobs's one strong area of expertise is storytelling. Married and attempting to become a father for the first time as the book begins, his character evolves and grows, just like in a good novel, spurred both by the esoteric knowledge he is gaining and the life events that are transpiring. He's a likeable guy whom you'll find yourself rooting for except when he's showing off with minutia (his wife eventually decides to fine him a dollar for each irrelevant comment).

Conclusion: Know-It-All is an entertaining read, especially for trivia lovers who will find a slew of factoids sprinkled throughout the simultaneously alphabetical and chronological story. Experiencing his feat vicariously is enough to make you feel like you've done it and glad that you haven't.

The Joy of Trivia Review

Name	The Joy of Trivia
Author	Bernie Smith
Published	1976 (first hardcover release)
Length	344 Pages

Description: Bernie Smith casually presents a large number of factoids on a wide variety of subjects across a dozen thematic chapters plus a final "Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera" chapter. What makes this book remarkable is how well it has aged. Originally published 32 years ago (a 1983 update exists that I haven't read), many of the facts are either still true or are listed with the year the data is from. Surprisingly few of the tidbits present information that you would now flat out call "wrong".

Overall Format: The Joy of Trivia provides information in short paragraphs, most of which end with a wry joke or commentary to keep the mood light (Smith can be funny at times, but he's better at trivia than comedy).

Conclusion: The Joy of Trivia is an entertaining read whose content and tone bring you back to a time when the Women's Liberation was underway (but may not have reached the author yet) and technology was amazingly simple. Indeed an enjoyable read.

Ken Jennings Almanac Sampler - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) St. Louis (hence, Spirit of St. Louis"). The "Avia-tricks" quiz (an "aviatrix" is a female pilot) flies from the Wright brothers to the Zero to Herbert Morrison to the Winnie Mae.
• A2) Perth. The "3/4 Time" test ("3/4 time" is a musical time signature in which each measure is three quarter notes long) also ventures forth on the moon, the "Great Upheaval", cadmium, and the Federalist Papers.
• A3) The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The "Tuesday Trivia" section ("Tuesday Trivia" is Ken's own weekly e-mail quiz) also wonders about 'Til Tuesday, 1453, Tuesdays with Morrie, and "Tune in next Tuesday".
• A4) Oliver!. "Comma Sutra" (a pun on "Kama Sutra") asks ten punctuation-related questions.
• A5) Dioxin. "Revolution 9" (the name of a Beatles song) presents revolutionary history and entertainment subjects.
• A6) Boyz II Men. "Who's On Third?" (a variant of Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First?" comedy sketch) focuses on the third of many areas, including basketball but not baseball.
• A7) Fibber McGee and Molly. "Well, That's Just Great" (I don't know if Ken was referring to anything specific here; the line is in Ghostbusters and The Simpsons among others) is a great little quiz about Great things.
• A8) California. The "Goober(natorial) Pile" quiz (Goober Pyle was the mechanic in The Andy Griffith Show) presents a pair of governors from each of fifteen states.
• A9) Oklahoma. "Access of Evil" (pun on "Axis of Evil") ponders each of the Seven Deadly Sins.
• A10) Velvet Revolver. "Great Scott!" (an old saying dating back to at least to General Winfield Scott and the American Civil War) surveys your Scott savvy (Joplin, Baio, Niedermayer, and McLellan).
• A11) Denver. "Masthead Hunting" (twist on "head hunting") captures your newspaper knowledge.
• A12) A cat. "Zooropa" (the name of a U2 album) addresses an array of animal album art.

If you enjoyed this week's quiz, please visit the Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac page for purchase links. Many thanks to Ken for crafting such a continually entertaining book and for permission to use these questions here!

Ken Jennings Almanac Sampler - Random Trivia Questions

As a follow-up to the preceding review, you can try your hand at a selection of questions from Ken's second book. To give you a fair and unbiased sample, here is the third question from the third day of each month.

Ken Jennings Almanac Sampler Questions

• Q1) January 3: In what city did Charles Lindbergh take his first piloting job, flying the mail?
• Q2) February 3: Three fourths of Western Australia's population lives in what city?
• Q3) March 3: Tuesday Weld played Thalia Menninger on what TV series?
• Q4) April 3: What's the only Best Picture Oscar winner whose title ends with an exclamation point?
• Q5) May 3: What kind of poison disfigured Ukrainian reformer Viktor Yushchenko, leading to the Orange Revolution of 2004?
• Q6) June 3: After Elvis and the Beatles, who became the third artist to replace themselves at number one, with "I'll Make Love to You" and "On Bended Knee"?
• Q7) July 3: What comedy hit was produced under the working title East Great Falls High?
• Q8) August 3: What states have been led by these governors... Earl Warren and Jerry Brown?
• Q9) September 3: From what state does the Joad family begin its journey west in The Grapes of Wrath?
• Q10) October 3: What band did Scott Weiland join after the breakup of Stone Temple Pilots?
• Q11) November 3: What's the largest U.S. city whose largest paper is called... The Rocky Mountain News?
• Q12) December 3: What animal is pictured on the cover of these pop albums... Tapestry, Carole King?

Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac Review

Name	Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac
Author	Ken Jennings
Published	January 2008 (first hardcover release)
Length	531 Pages

Description: Ken Jennings's second book, following his successful Brainiac, is subtitled 8,888 Trivia Question in 365 Days, and the Jeopardy! champion delivers more than promised, taking advantage of the current leap year to make sure that every day of your year, even February 29, is filled with trivia. Containing more than one bonus trivia question per day (Ken confesses to 9,300 total), the book cover stands only one fib short of the John Harvard Statue of Three Lies, so I expect him to admit that his entire Jeopardy! winning streak was a hoax any day now ;-).

Overall Format: Each day of the year presents two or three historical facts from which a related, themed quiz is launched. The relationship between the fact and the quiz is usually obvious but occasionally left as an unstated exercise for the reader to figure out. Answers appear at the end of each month, meaning that you really need two bookmarks to follow along. This is not the ideal setup as you can accidentally spy answers to the next day, but it works if you are careful (e.g., use the bookmark to cover up the answer columns on the right).

Quiz Formats: Several different types of quizzes appear regularly:

• Simple Question and Answer - Composing the majority of the quizzes, some of these are split into balanced Easy, Harder, and Yeah, Good Luck sections.
• Chinese Menu - Match a lettered answer to the numbered phrase (each answer is used exactly once).
• Fill in the Blank - Figure out what word or phrase is missing.
• Commonalities - Figure out what links the items listed (this is a regular "Question 7" feature of Ken's weekly Tuesday Trivia e-mail quiz [see bottom left corner of page]).
• Miscellaneous - Some of the remaining quizzes provide a clever and creative break from the usual trivia such as Anagrams, Cinemashups (two movies who names are mashed together in Wheel of Fortune "Before and After" style), Alliterature (puzzle out the book title from the alliterative description), and Title Cards (word graphics that describe titles).

Conclusion: Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac is an impressive tome from an all-time trivia legend. Jennings lightens the sheer mass of trivia with a dry sense of humor that keeps the book readable and entertaining. An annotated version would be useful to let the reader in on some of the inside jokes and connections that come effortlessly to a trivia veteran yet may slip by casual readers unnoticed. Ken is a Methuselah and a Mackie Shilstone shy of Dennis Miller on the obscurity scale, but I'm sure some of the author's allusions eluded me nevertheless.

The Almanac makes an excellent gift for any Jeopardy!, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, or other trivia game show fan (Mother's Day, Father's Day, and graduation are coming up soon; or just buy it for yourself!). Please see the sample questions that follow in the next post for a flavor of what the book offers.

Updates and Corrections: Corrections to the Almanac are being posted on Ken Jennings's message board (search for "Almanac" to see the real first message; the early messages are for Brainiac). Hopefully someone will eventually collate them neatly (hint, hint, Ken; cf. the updates for my trivia books)

[10/15/08 update: Ken just posted a collection of corrections. Thanks!].

[ Disclaimer: I was one the book's fact-checkers, but despite Ken's modesty, 99.9% of the credit for the Almanac belongs to him and him alone, and I don't consider this review to be biased in any way. ]

Supersized Superheroes - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Spider-Man. Spider-Man 3 has taken in $885,430,303 worldwide to rank eleventh among all movies, while Spider-Man has earned $403,706,375 in the U.S. to rank seventh (Spider-Man 2 at $373,377,893 and 10th also ranks ahead of 3 at $336,530,303 and 15th through March 2008).
• A2) X-Men. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) has brought in $455,260,014 worldwide (67th) and $234,360,014 nationally (54th) and X2 (2003) has earned $406,400,000 worldwide and $214,948,780 nationally. The Fantastic Four (2005) are a distant second at $329,295,569 (149th) and $154,695,569 (153rd). I suppose it's arguable, but I don't consider the Transformers to be superheroes, otherwise they would easily lead the category.
• A3) Daredevil. Jennifer Garner played the blind orphan's love interest, Elektra Natchios, and parlayed the role into her own movie Elektra two years later.
• A4) Iron Man. Marc Worden gave his voice to The Invincible Iron Man, while Robert Downey Jr. will play Tony Stark in this year's remake.
• A5) The Flash. The movie will revolve around the third incarnation of the Flash, Wally West, who took over in 1986 from the deceased Barry Allen (not to be confused with Bart Allen, who briefly interrupted West's run).
• A6) The Incredible Hulk. Bruce Banner and his big, green alter ego will be fighting off the Abomination in theaters starting on June 13.
• A7) Wonder Woman. Silver Pictures began this project all the way back in 2001 but has had multiple writers and a director abandon ship.
• A8) Wolverine and Magneto. Gavin Hood will direct X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, and David S. Goyer will direct X-Men Origins: Magneto, starring Ian McKellen.
• A9) Hellboy. Ron Perlman portrayed the red demon, while Guillermo del Toro turned down Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to direct the movie.
• A10) Captain America. Nick Cassavetes will be directing a 2009 remake whose casting has not been determined yet.
• A11) Superman Returns (2006). With $389,569,408 worldwide and $200,069,408 nationally, the most recent Clark Kent offering easily tops Superman (1978; $289,400,000 and $134,218,018).
• A12) Batman. The 1989 version has raked in $413,200,000 worldwide (88th) and just over a quarter billion dollars (42nd) in the U.S. Batman Begins (2005), Batman Forever (1995), and Batman Returns (1992) also rank in the top 200 both worldwide and in the U.S.

Supersized Superheroes - Random Trivia Questions

I didn't read too any comic books as a kid, but I was hooked on Batman, Spider-Man, and Super Friends in their animated television renditions. Recently, I've watched a string of the movie versions, and a slew are on the way in the next two years. How much do you know about these crime fighters, enlarged from comic-strip rectangle-frames to megaplex-monster screen-size?

Supersized Superheroes Questions

• Q1) Which superhero has the highest grossing movie both worldwide and in the U.S., curiously with two different movies?
• Q2) Which superhero team has the highest grossing movie both worldwide and in the U.S.?
• Q3) Which superhero did Ben Affleck bring to the big screen in 2003?
• Q4) Which superhero was animated in a direct-to-DVD movie in 2007 but will reappear later this year in the flesh?
• Q5) Which superhero will David Dobkin direct in a 2008 movie?
• Q6) Which superhero is also coming to the big screen soon, with Edward Norton as the double-duty actor?
• Q7) Which member of the Hall of Justice League won't reach theaters until 2009?
• Q8) Which two members of the X-Men will feature in separate 2009 movies?
• Q9) Which superhero's movie topped the U.S. box office charts during the week of April 4, 2004?
• Q10) Which superhero was portrayed by Matt Salinger in a low-budget 1990 movie?
• Q11) Which of the many Superman movies has earned the most at the box office?
• Q12) Which of the many Batman movies has earned the most at the box office?

Dr. Seuss - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Sam. You can also take credit for Sam-I-Am, although the rhyme isn't really part of his name.
  
• A2) Sally. The little boy narrator identifies his sister but never himself.
  
• A3) Stars (on their bellies). The Star-Belly Sneetches air of superiority over the Plain-Belly Sneetches gives Slyvester McMonkey McBean an excellent entrepreneurial opportunity.
  
• A4) Zax. A highway is eventually constructed around the stubborn locals of the prairie of Prax.
  
• A5) They're monochromatic. The first drawings are black and resemble shadows, but others are gray, white, orange, yellow, green, blue, and brown.
  
• A6) 23. In one of his numerous Wizard of Oz sequels, L. Frank Baum's hen Billina dubbed all her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren Dorothy and Daniel (around 400 of them).
  
• A7) Pants. The pale green pants wander around although nobody is wearing them.
  
• A8) Mr. Brown. The brown-hatted, blue-tied man can also imitate a bee, rooster, or owl, a train, a clock, or thunder, and a cork, a shoe, or a horn.
  
• A9) Mount Crumpet. The narrow, nearly two-mile-high peak overlooks Whoville from the north.
  
• A10) Lorax. He succeeds in convincing the capitalist of the long-term folly of his ways, saving the last Truffula tree seed.
  
• A11) Horton. The elephant, who debuted in Horton Hatches the Egg in 1940, rescued tiny Who-ville fourteen years later in Horton Hears a Who!
  
• A12) Theodore LeSieg. This moniker combines his given first name with the reverse of his real last name. For example, In a People House identifiably rhymes like a usual Seuss work, but was illustrated by Roy McKie, and The Tooth Book was drawn by Joe Mathieu. Also note that Dr. Seuss pronounced his last name to rhyme with "voice" not "loose".

Dr. Seuss - Random Trivia Questions

Is there a doctor in the house? Dr. Seuss definitely deserves a doctorate in early reading, and his books are scattered all over our house. How's your Seuss sense?

Dr. Seuss Questions

• Q1) Who convinces Dr. Seuss's protagonist to eat Green Eggs and Ham?
  
• Q2) What little girl is befuddled and bemused by The Cat in the Hat?
  
• Q3) What body marking gives grief to The Sneetches?
  
• Q4) What North-Going and South-Going characters refuse to step to the side for each other?
  
• Q5) How many sons does Mrs. McCave have in Too Many Daves?
  
• Q6) What is special about the drawings in The Shape of Me and Other Stuff?
  
• Q7) What Was I Scared Of? in the Seuss story?
  
• Q8) According to the Dr. Seuss book, who can moo?
  
• Q9) On what mountain peak does The Grinch Who Stole Christmas live?
  
• Q10) What environmentally-conscious Suess character defends the trees against the greedy Once-ler?
  
• Q11) What character repeatedly declares, "a person's a person, no matter how small"?
  
• Q12) Under what name is Dr. Seuss credited for books that he wrote but did not illustrate?

Children's Picture Books - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Pickle. The total carnage consists of several fruits (apple, pear, plum, strawberry, orange, and watermelon), a few desserts (chocolate cake, ice cream cone, lollipop, cherry pie, and cupcake), and assorted other items (Swiss cheese, salami, and sausage).
• A2) Aphids. The grouchy ladybug refuses to share, is too scared to fight, and has an amazing 12-hour adventure.
• A3) Purple. A red bird, yellow duck, blue horse, green frog, white dog, black sheep, and a goldfish also visit the classroom. The sequel Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? takes place at the zoo.
• A4) Mouse. The little gray rodent attempts to befriend a horse, an alligator, a lion, a hippo, a seal, a monkey, a peacock, a fox, a kangaroo, and a snake before finding another mouse to play with.
• A5) He took off his shell. Unfortunately, his desire for speed leaves him unprotected from predators, the sun, the rain, and the cold. Richard Buckley cowrote the story.
• A6) Turkey. The fowl fouls up by standing in a hat, wearing a shirt as pants, putting pants on upside down, donning a jacket backwards, using socks as gloves, and placing shoes on his head.
• A7) Rabbit. His bed is in a huge room where his mom sits knitting in a rocking chair, a fire is burning in the fireplace, and a bowl of mush is still out on the table.
• A8) Hopping. The female kangaroo tried to climb with the koalas, swim with the seals, and waltz with the wallabies.
• A9) Olive. The dog was convinced by a mondegreen from the song "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", mishearing "all of the other reindeer" as "Olive, the other reindeer".
• A10) Mice. Lucy Cousins created Maisy (Maisy's ABC in 1994), and Leo Lionni introduced Frederick in 1967.
• A11) Wolf. Maurice Sendak's imaginative boy is banished to his bedroom for chasing his pet dog with a fork.
• A12) Boston. The duck family lives in a pond in the Boston Public Garden. Bronze statues of the mother and her eight ducklings were installed in the northeast corner of the real garden in 1987, and the book is now the official children's book of Massachusetts.

Children's Picture Books - Random Trivia Questions

In 1999, then-Texas governor George Bush answered a questionnaire that asked for his favorite book when he was a child with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. An excellent book indeed, except that it was published in 1969 when the younger Bush was studying hard at Yale University. I know every college has its gut courses like "Rocks for Jocks", so he must have been enrolled in "Literature 001 - The Early Years"*.

The following questions are about illustrated children's books. Some may have been read to you as a child, and some you may have read to your own children.

Children's Picture Books Questions

• Q1) What is the only vegetable that The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats besides the leaf?
• Q2) In Eric Carle's The Grouchy Ladybug, what are the friendly and grouchy main characters eating?
• Q3) What color is the cat in Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• Q4) What lonely animal asks, "Do You Want to Be My Friend?" in Carle's book?
• Q5) What did Carle's The Foolish Tortoise do that was so unwise?
• Q6) In Sandra Boynton's Blue Hat, Green Hat what animal can't wear his clothes properly?
• Q7) In Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's Goodnight Moon, what animal is going to sleep?
• Q8) What was John Lithgow's Marsupial Sue trying to avoid doing?
• Q9) According to J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh, what dog wanted to join Santa's reindeer?
• Q10) What type of animal are Maisy and Frederick, who were separately featured on Favorite Children's Book Animals U.S. postage stamps in 2006?
• Q11) What does Max dress up as in Where the Wild Things Are?
• Q12) In what city is Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings set?

* Bush's aides claimed that he misunderstood the question, excusing his memory and blaming his reading comprehension skills instead.