The Three Questions

Based on a story by Leo Tolstoy, Jon Muth writes a nicely philosophical children's book with The Three Questions. Likely aimed for older readers with its more thought provoking plot, The Three Questions is nonetheless a beautifully illustrated and interesting story.

The Three Questions tells the story of a young boy named Nikolai who wanted to be a good person; the problem was that he was not sure how to go about being a good person. However, Nikolai narrowed his problem down to three questions. First, Nikolai wanted to know when it is the best time to do things. Secondly, he wanted to know who the most important one is. And lastly, Nikolai wanted to know what the right thing to do is.

Nikolai questions his three friends, Sonya the heron, Gogol the monkey, and Pushkin the dog, but they have such different variations of answers for him. After hearing their answers to his questions, Nikolai is later directed to Leo the turtle; Leo had lived long and was thus full of wisdom and experience.

Nikolai goes on his way to seek Leo the turtle for answers and while there, Nikolai finds an injured panda bear. Though Leo is truly wise, perhaps it is in himself that Nikolai can find the answers for which he is looking.

The Three Questions is a highly intellectual and thought provoking story for children. Even without its wonderfully vivid watercolor illustrations, The Three Questions would still serve as a lovely story.