What are rainbows made of? How hot is the sun? When do hurricanes happen? These are the questions children ask in the car, and this is the book that answers them properly instead of with a shrug.

Over 60 flaps, each hiding a real answer rather than a one word payoff. The lifting is the point: a child who has physically opened the flap remembers what was under it, which is why this format has carried the Usborne Questions and Answers series for so long. Katie Daynes writes to be understood rather than to be simple, so the explanations hold up when a curious five year old pushes on them.

There is a quiz to test what stuck and a make-your-own water cycle experiment that turns the reading into something done at the kitchen table. Usborne Quicklinks point to selected websites for the child who finishes and wants more, which is exactly the child this book creates.

Beginners: Weather answers the same questions straight through, without flaps, for a child starting to read information books alone.