Riddles

Plus The Great American Picture Book Semifinals

Riddles are a bit like poetry—you have to see the world afresh to write them, and you get to see the world anew when you comprehend one. Today we’ve got four children’s book riddles to unpuzzle, each playing a role in the narrative arc of its story.

But before scrolling down to this week’s trivia questions, let’s vote once more. We’re in the semifinals of The Great American Picture Book contest.

This week four books were voted out: Corduroy (in a close race with The Ox-Cart Man), The Hat (farewell, Jan Brett!), The Runaway Bunny, and, in our Robert McCloskey match-up, Make Way for Ducklings. (The comments section last week had an extended discussion of why Blueberries for Sal may outlast Make Way for Ducklings. Give it a read!)

For today’s match-ups:

Trivia

And now for our bimonthly trivia questions. Today’s questions feature riddles, and they come from both picture books and chapter books.

Easy

This book features a riddle contest between two rivals who spout such puzzles as

This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays kings, ruins town;
And beats high mountain down.

Medium

In this book, an impertinent youngster disrespects an island authority with riddles such as this:

Old Mr. B! Old Mr. B!
Hickamore, Hackamore, on the King’s kitchen door;
All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men,
Couldn’t drive Hickamore, Hackamore,
Off the King’s kitchen door.

Hard

In this book, four wanna-be-sailor children ask their father’s permission to go to sea, and receive this semi-enigmatic telegraph in reply:

BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN

Bonus:

In this book, on a trip that reopens him to imagination, a boy meets a man who is as tall as can be, as short as can be, as generous as can be, as selfish as can be, as strong as can be, as weak as can be, as smart as can be, as stupid as can be, as graceful as can be, as clumsy as can be, as fast as can be, and as slow as can be.

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Image via Wikimedia

Scoring

If you got one question correct: You are Piglet, a loyal friend who appreciates good stories and recognizes quality work when he sees it, but whose reading is somewhat limited. Keep reading more books!

If you got two questions correct: You are Rabbit, an efficient fellow who knows more than most but needn’t be bothered with mastering all that pertains to book learning.

If you got three or four questions correct: Congratulations! You are Owl. Your knowledge is deep and ponderous and impressive. Feel free to celebrate by restacking this post (but don’t spoil any of the answers for others).

And yes, to clarify, in Winnie-the-Pooh, Rabbit can in fact read and write better than Owl, who cannot do either any better than my kindergartener. But I think it’s still clear that Owl has a deeper well of knowledge than does Rabbit; hence I’m giving Owl’s name to the higher score.

Sharing

If you enjoyed these trivia questions, would you share them a with a friend or restack here on Substack?