How Do You Know What You Know?

2024 NAPPA Award winner

A charming and inquisitive story that celebrates tracing the origin of ideas, language, and every day objects, for children 4–8.

Where does snow come from? What language did the word thermos come from? And who was the Buddha's teacher?

So many problems in the world come from accepting information at face value without looking into where it comes from. How Do You Know What You Know? follows a child and their father on a cozy, snowy day outing. The child asks questions about how things came to be the way they are. The questions range from how the father knows how to tie a shoe to why it’s not a good idea to eat yellow snow. These queries are met by the father with patience and humor that weave a delightful narrative of intergenerational knowledge sharing. In this exchange, respectful inquiry is beautifully modeled for young learners.

The journey includes an amble in the park, a trip to the library, a bus ride, and a visit to a local Buddhist temple where the father is a student. The teacher there introduces the child to the idea of lineage, that wisdom and understanding comes from generations of knowledge passed down from person to person. With a quaint and welcoming simplicity, the illustrations bring this beautiful story to life, and every spread has a subtle nod to the progression of how things come to be the way they are. The story encourages children’s natural curiosity and shows them that everywhere they look there is a story to be told if we just ask.

NOA JONES is an educator, editor, and author. Her work can be found in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, Vice, Lion's Roar, and other publications. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Middle Way Education, a non-profit devoted to creating pathways for the dharma to enhance modern education. She was the Founding Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Middle Way School in Upstate New York.

DANIEL RIELEY is a freelance illustrator based in London. His work is influenced by his travels and "everyday adventures;" he finds hiking in remote landscapes, French cinema, the ocean, animals (the wild kind), interesting people, and surfing particularly rich sources of inspiration. Daniel works in a range of media, including pencils, watercolor, inks, and digital.