36 puzzles with answers · tap one to see its answer
Riddles for Kids
These 36 riddles for kids are short, in simple words and fun to read aloud, for ages about 6 to 12: what-am-I riddles about everyday things, animals and nature, and tiny brain teasers with a twist. Read one out, let everyone guess, then tap to reveal the answer and the reason. Older kids can try the trivia questions for kids next.
Every puzzle was solved by a second reader who had not seen the answer, on November 9, 2026.
I hang on the wall. I have a face and two hands, but I can't smile or wave. I go tick-tock all day long. What am I?
Answer: A clock
Why: A clock's face shows the numbers, and its two hands point to the time while it ticks.
You grab me when you get out of the bath. The more I dry you, the wetter I get. What am I?
Answer: A towel
Why: A towel soaks up the water from your skin, so it gets wetter while you get drier.
You have to crack me open before you can scramble me. What am I?
Answer: An egg
Why: To make scrambled eggs, you first crack the eggshell and pour out what's inside.
I have a thumb and four fingers, but no bones at all. I keep your hand warm when you play in the snow. What am I?
Answer: A glove
Why: A glove has a place for your thumb and each finger, but it's made of cloth or wool, not bones.
I have lots of little eyes, but I can't see a thing. You can mash me, bake me or cut me into fries. What am I?
Answer: A potato
Why: The small dark spots on a potato are called eyes, and potatoes become mashed potatoes, baked potatoes and fries.
I have a tongue, but I can't taste or talk. I have laces, and you tie them before you go out to play. What am I?
Answer: A shoe
Why: The soft flap under a shoe's laces is called its tongue.
I have a spine but no bones, and I'm full of pages with words and pictures. What am I?
Answer: A book
Why: The edge of a book where all the pages are joined together is called its spine.
I have one eye, but I can't see. A long thread goes through my eye, and I help sew buttons onto shirts. What am I?
Answer: A needle
Why: The tiny hole at the end of a sewing needle is called its eye, and thread goes through it.
I'm covered in tiny holes, yet I can soak up a whole puddle. Squeeze me over the sink, and the water comes rushing out. What am I?
Answer: A sponge
Why: A sponge's holes soak up water, and squeezing it pushes the water back out.
I have lots of teeth, but I never bite. I run through your hair to make it neat. What am I?
Answer: A comb
Why: The thin points on a comb are called teeth, and you pull them through your hair to untangle it.
On a sunny day I stay stuck to your feet wherever you go. I'm dark and flat, I never make a sound, and I grow very long late in the afternoon. What am I?
Answer: Your shadow
Why: When your body blocks the sunlight, it makes a dark shape on the ground at your feet, and it stretches out long when the sun is low.
Each of my steps takes you higher or lower, yet I stay in the same spot my whole life. You climb me to get to the second floor. What am I?
Answer: Stairs (a staircase)
Why: Stairs lead up and down between floors, but the stairs themselves stay in one place.
I have bark, but I never woof. Birds build nests in my branches, and many of my leaves fall off in autumn. What am I?
Answer: A tree
Why: A tree's trunk is covered in bark, birds nest in its branches, and many trees drop their leaves in the fall.
I'm long, curved and yellow. Monkeys love me, and you peel me before you eat me. What am I?
Answer: A banana
Why: A banana is a curved fruit with a yellow peel that you take off before eating the soft fruit inside.
I fall from the sky in winter. I'm white and cold, you can roll me into a ball, and I melt in your warm hand. What am I?
Answer: Snow
Why: Snow falls in cold weather, packs into snowballs and melts when it warms up.
I have a head on one side and a tail on the other, but no legs. You can flip me to make a choice or drop me into a piggy bank. What am I?
Answer: A coin
Why: The two sides of a coin are called heads and tails, and coins are what you save in a piggy bank.
I'm a bird, but I can't fly. I'm a great swimmer, and I look like I'm wearing a fancy black-and-white suit. What am I?
Answer: A penguin
Why: Penguins can't fly, but they swim very well, and their black backs and white fronts look like a tuxedo.
I'm big and gray with huge flappy ears. I take my trunk everywhere I go, but I never pack it for a trip. What am I?
Answer: An elephant
Why: An elephant's long nose is called a trunk, which is also the name of a big box for packing clothes.
I grow tall in a farmer's field. I have lots of ears, but I can't hear a sound. You can eat my yellow kernels right off the cob. What am I?
Answer: Corn
Why: The parts of a corn plant that hold the kernels are called ears, and you eat corn on the cob.
I stay folded up in a corner on sunny days, but as soon as the rain comes down, up I go over your head. What am I?
Answer: An umbrella
Why: You open an umbrella and hold it up over your head to keep the rain off.
I'm a shiny ball made of soap and air. I float away on the breeze, and if you touch me, I pop! What am I?
Answer: A bubble
Why: A soap bubble is a thin skin of soapy water filled with air, and it bursts when something touches it.
The longer I'm lit, the shorter I get. You blow me out on top of your birthday cake and make a wish. What am I?
Answer: A candle
Why: A candle burns down and gets shorter the longer it is lit, and we put candles on birthday cakes.
I have wings, but I'm not a bird. I sleep upside down all day and fly around at night. What am I?
Answer: A bat
Why: Bats are furry animals that can fly. They hang upside down to rest in the daytime and come out at night.
I stand guard around your whole yard all day and all night without taking a single step. I'm made of wood or wire, and I keep the dog from running off. What am I?
Answer: A fence
Why: A fence surrounds a yard and stays in one place, keeping pets in.
I'm a vegetable made of lots of thin layers, and when you chop me up, I can make you cry. What am I?
Answer: An onion
Why: Onions are built from layers, and cutting one lets out a gas that makes your eyes water.
I'm soft and fluffy, and sometimes I'm stuffed with feathers. At night, you rest your head on me. What am I?
Answer: A pillow
Why: A pillow is a soft cushion, often filled with feathers, that you lay your head on in bed.
I have a very long neck, long legs and brown patches all over, and I nibble leaves from the tops of tall trees. What am I?
Answer: A giraffe
Why: Giraffes use their long necks to reach leaves high up in trees, and their coats are covered in brown patches.
I come up every morning and go down every evening. I make the day bright and warm, and you should never stare straight at me. What am I?
Answer: The Sun
Why: The Sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, and it is far too bright to look at directly.
I'm a 'room' that nobody can sleep in. After a rainy night I pop up on the forest floor, wearing a little cap on my head. What kind of room am I?
Answer: A mushroom
Why: The word mushroom ends in 'room', but a mushroom is a fungus that grows in damp places like forests.
Fish make their home in my bed, but I never lie down in it. I start as a trickle in the hills and run all the way to the sea without a single leg. What am I?
Answer: A river (or a stream)
Why: A river runs (flows) along its riverbed from the hills down to the sea, and fish live in its water.
My narrow top is called a neck, and I keep a little cap twisted on tight. Tip me over a glass, and out pours juice or water. What am I?
Answer: A bottle
Why: The narrow top part of a bottle is called its neck, and many bottles close with a cap.
Lily's mom has three daughters. The first one is named Ruby, and the second one is named Pearl. What is the third daughter's name?
Answer: Lily
Why: Lily is one of her mom's daughters, so the third daughter must be Lily herself.
On Maple Street, the red house is built from red bricks and the yellow house from yellow bricks. What is the greenhouse at the end of the street made of?
Answer: Glass (or clear plastic)
Why: A greenhouse is a building for growing plants, and it's made of glass (or clear plastic) so sunlight can shine in.
Everybody is always waiting for it, but it never quite gets here: by the time it comes, it has a new name. What is it?
Answer: Tomorrow
Why: When tomorrow finally comes, we call it today, so tomorrow is always one more day away.
I'm a small cube with 21 dots on me, and you roll me when you play board games. What am I?
Answer: A die (one of a pair of dice)
Why: A die's six sides show one to six dots, and 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 21.
A farm has 3 ducks and 2 cats. How many legs do the animals have altogether?
Answer: 14
Why: Each duck has 2 legs (3 x 2 = 6) and each cat has 4 legs (2 x 4 = 8), so together they have 6 + 8 = 14 legs.