Oh, Whatever Can That Be? A Book of Riddles

Riddles are an extraordinary global phenomenon. Enjoyed by young and old alike, they appear in the written and oral traditions of cultures right across the world. They range from the deadly puzzles offered by the Sphinx and Samson, through the word games of the Anglo-Saxons, the philosophical enigmas of the Zen koans, and continue to spread their webs of intrigue in such popular classics as "Peer Gynt", the "Alice" books and "The Hobbit". For over two hundred years they have been a constant, mysterious and vital element of many volumes of folk tales and nursery rhymes. "Oh, Whatever Can That Be? is a series of original riddles designed to appeal to a similarly wide readership. It is particularly aimed at adults wishing to share a book with a child.The text of the riddle is accompanied by an illustration - itself sometimes quite enigmatic or misleading - that gives the readers something to ponder while they puzzle out the answer. The answer itself appears in a purely visual form on the next page. Often there is a further connection between the answer to one riddle and the picture that faces it across the spread. After a while these tantalising connections add to the readers' growing sense that there is yet another riddle waiting to be solved, if only it can be found amongst the others!