Two pages in the book are interactive, meaning your child draws or solves something instead of only coloring. Page 10, the Activity Page, is a giant empty thought bubble for your child to fill. Page 24, The Maze, asks them to guide Curious Bunny through the bookshelves to the Golden Book.
Page 10: the Activity Page
A huge thought bubble floats up from Curious Bunny's head, and the story line says, "Draw something you want to learn about inside the bubble!" This is the end of Chapter 1 and your child's first real research choice: picking a topic.
How to make the most of it:
- Don't suggest a topic. Ask, "What do you wonder about most?" and wait. Dinosaurs, the moon, and why the dog sleeps so much are all perfect.
- Let them name it. If they draw something you can't read, ask them to tell you about it and write a label for them.
- Keep the page. The question in that bubble can travel with your child through the rest of the book. Bring it back when Chapter 3 asks for a guess, or when Chapter 4 asks how you would test something.
Page 24: The Maze
Near the end of Chapter 2, The Library of Leaves, Curious Bunny has to wind through twisting bookshelves to reach the Golden Book. The story line is simple: "Help Bunny find the answer through the library maze!"
I put a maze here because searching for good information really does feel like this, with dead ends and backtracking before the path opens up. When your child hits a wall, try saying:
"That way didn't work. Now we know something. Where should we try next?"
A wrong turn in the maze is information, not a mistake.
Other pages with a small challenge
Several other pages invite a little task while your child colors. On page 8, they look for five hidden objects in a garden. On page 18, they highlight the "magic words" hidden in scribbles. Page 64 is a connect-the-dots scatter plot, and page 75 is a color-by-number mosaic that reveals a pattern.
Printing them
Interactive pages print just like the others. You may want an extra copy of page 10 so your child can draw a new question later. See How do I print a coloring page?