"Why?" by Adam Rex and Claire Keane (Chronicle Children's Books)

Oh yes indeed, we all remember this phase of our little darlings' lives, right?

That phase (that, even for C, shows no signs of ending) where every single question is met with that huge clanger of a word that can stop a parent dead in their tracks...

"Why?" by Adam Rex and Claire Keane pits a nefarious supervillain against one of the mightiest forces in the known universe - a questioning toddler.

The little girl in the story meets Dr X-Ray as he begins his first steps towards world domination - but soon falls foul of the girl's inquisitive nature. She just wants answers, but Dr X-Ray drags out everything from a nagging sense of imposter syndrome, a huge shadow of self-doubt and even daddy issues - before realising the error of his ways.

It all began with an asteroid collision on the good doctor's car port...

The story works itself up into a frenzy as poor Dr X-Ray does his best to patiently explain each of his reasons for taking over the world, and the girl blissfully responds each time with...

"WHY?"

Uh oh, this doesn't look good!

It makes for a very, very funny and original take on a story that we may have seen several times before, but not quite delivered with such style and aplomb. Adam's hilarious story couples brilliantly with Claire's superb comic visuals.

Dr X-Ray's daddy issues are very funny indeed!

Sum this book up in a sentence: The power of a toddler's curiosity versus a nefarious super-villain brilliantly depicted in this thoroughly original and stylish book.

"Why?" by Adam Rex and Claire Keane is out now, published by Chronicle Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).