“The Book That Taught Me to Ask WHAT IF?”
Every reader has one book that changes them.
Not because it wins awards. Not because it becomes their favourite story of all time. But because it arrives at exactly the right moment in life and quietly changes the way they see the world.
For me, that book was The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Like many readers, I picked it up expecting an entertaining science-fiction adventure. What I found was something far more profound. Yes, it was hilarious. Yes, it was wildly imaginative. But beneath the humour was something that would shape me for years to come: an invitation to be endlessly curious.
Every chapter seemed to ask another impossible question.
What if?
What if the universe was stranger than we could possibly imagine?
What if the impossible was simply something we didn’t understand yet?
Those questions stayed with me long after I finished the book.
Looking back, I don’t think The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy simply made me fall in love with science fiction.
I think it made me a curious person.
That curiosity followed me everywhere. It led me to read about history, astronomy, mythology, and scientific discoveries. The more I learned, the more I realised that every answer simply opened the door to another fascinating question.
I’ve come to believe that’s one of the greatest gifts a book can give a young reader.
As parents, teachers and librarians, we often celebrate books because they improve literacy, expand vocabulary and encourage a love of reading. Those are great outcomes, but I wonder if there’s an even greater one.
The very best books don’t simply provide answers.
They teach children to ask better questions.
A child who begins asking Why?, How? and What if? doesn’t stop being curious when they close the final page. They carry that curiosity into the classroom, into conversations, into museums, into science, into history and, ultimately, into life.
Years later, when I sat down to write The Secret on the Second Shelf, I realised I wasn’t trying to recreate Douglas Adams’ humour or his wonderfully eccentric universe.
What I wanted to recreate was the feeling his book gave me.
The feeling that anything might be possible.
The feeling that an ordinary child could stumble across an extraordinary mystery.
The feeling that turning one more page might reveal something that changes the way you see the world.
That’s why The Secret on the Second Shelf blends mystery, history and the supernatural. I wanted readers to enjoy an exciting adventure, but I also hoped they’d finish the story wanting to know more about the real places, the historical events and the mysteries that inspired it.
Of course, as every author knows, once a book leaves your desk it no longer belongs entirely to you.
It belongs to its readers.
I wanted to find out whether the curiosity I’d tried to weave into the story would actually come alive, so I took The Secret on the Second Shelf, together with the short film created to accompany it, into schools across the UK.
Standing in front of classrooms was a very different experience from sitting quietly behind a keyboard.
After each presentation, I invited questions.
I expected a few polite hands to go up.
Instead, they seemed to come from every corner of the room.
Some pupils wanted to know which parts of the story were based on real history. Others asked whether time travel could ever be possible, how I came up with the mystery, what inspired particular characters, or whether there would be another adventure. A few even challenged me with questions I’d never considered myself.
Those were my favourite moments.
The children weren’t simply asking about the book anymore. They were asking about history, science, imagination, writing and the world beyond the final page.
Watching that happen gave me an incredible buzz.
As an author, you spend months, sometimes years, working alone, hoping your story will connect with someone you’ve never met. Standing in those classrooms, I could actually see curiosity taking hold. One question sparked another. Children began building on each other’s ideas, offering theories, making connections and imagining possibilities I hadn’t even thought of.
It reminded me exactly how I had felt all those years earlier when I first closed The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Not satisfied.
Inspired.
Inspired to ask another question.
And then another.
Those school visits reinforced something I’ve come to believe wholeheartedly; books don’t have to provide all the answers to be successful.
Sometimes their greatest achievement is encouraging readers to keep asking questions long after they’ve finished the story.
If one child leaves The Secret on the Second Shelf wanting to learn more about the Great Plague, visit Cambridge, read another science-fiction novel, write their own mystery, or simply look at the world with a little more curiosity than they did before, then I feel I’ve succeeded.
Because curiosity doesn’t end with childhood.
It begins there.
And sometimes all it takes is one remarkable book to spark a lifetime of asking, “What if?”
About the Book: When fourteen-year-old Tim Shaw discovers a secret, he is hurled more than 300 years into the past. Trapped in seventeenth-century England, Tim must unravel an ancient mystery and uncover the truth behind his mother’s disappearance before time runs out. Blending history, mystery and the supernatural, The Secret on the Second Shelf is an adventure for readers aged 8+ who love puzzles, hidden secrets and impossible questions.
In May 2026, the story was also released as an audiobook, bringing Tim’s adventure to life through the narration of David Sweeney-Bear, an award-winning voice actor. Whether readers choose the printed book or the audiobook, the story invites them to step into the past, embrace their curiosity and discover that some of history’s greatest mysteries may still be waiting to be uncovered.
About the Author: Jonathan White is the author of The Secret on the Second Shelf. Inspired by writers including Douglas Adams, Roald Dahl and Terrance Dicks, he has spent much of his life asking “what if?”, a curiosity that has taken him from a career in technology and engineering leadership to travelling and working across the UK, Estonia, Bulgaria, Malaysia and Cyprus, gathering ideas from the people, places and history he encountered along the way.
His passion for storytelling extends beyond the page. In addition to writing the novel, Jonathan created a short film inspired by its world and has visited schools across the UK, sharing both the story and the film with young readers. Seeing children debate theories, challenge ideas and ask thoughtful questions has only strengthened his belief that the best books don’t just tell great stories, they inspire a lifelong curiosity about the world around us.
You can discover more about The Secret on the Second Shelf, watch the book trailer and short film, see behind-the-scenes footage from the audiobook recording sessions with award-winning narrator David Sweeney-Bear, and explore additional content from the world of the story at the official website.
Website: The Secret on the Second Shelf | Jonathan White | Fantasy Adventure for Children
TikTok: The Secret on the Second Shelf | Book Trailer & TikTok shorts
Thank you, Jonathan, for this post about the magic of books!
