One riddle for each day, for kids aged 4 to 12. Read it out, try a guess, open a hint if you are stuck, then reveal the answer and the reason it works. Open or reload the page to check your local day's pick.
I glow in the night sky, but I make no light of my own. I change from a thin curve to a big circle. What am I?
Look for me when it is dark.
Astronauts have walked on me.
The moon
Why it works: The moon shines by reflecting sunlight, and its lit part changes shape through the month.
Did you guess it?
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60 Halloween riddles for kids aged 4 to 12, sorted by age, each with two hints and a hidden answer. Print them as cards for a party, a classroom or a treat bag.
Open the Halloween riddlesKeep going with six extra choices. Each has two hints, a hidden answer and a short explanation.
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I have hands but I cannot clap. I have a face but I cannot smile. What am I?
You can find me on a classroom wall or in a kitchen.
I help you know when it is time for school.
A clock
Why it works: A clock's pointers are called hands and its front is called a face.
Did you guess it?
Why did the egg never tell jokes at breakfast?
Think about what happens to a fragile shell.
The same two-word phrase can mean laughing very hard.
It might crack up
Why it works: An egg cracks when it breaks, and to crack up means to burst out laughing.
Did you guess it?
What is a turkey's favorite dessert?
It is a warm fruit dessert baked in a dish.
Its name starts with a fuzzy fruit, then ends with a word that sounds like a turkey's noise.
Peach gobbler
Why it works: A turkey gobbles, so a peach cobbler becomes a peach gobbler.
Did you guess it?
A tree has 5 strings of lights with 20 bulbs on each string. On every string, 3 bulbs are broken. How many bulbs work?
Find how many bulbs work on one string first.
17 work on each string, and there are 5 strings.
85
Why it works: Each string has 20 minus 3 = 17 working bulbs, and 5 x 17 = 85.
Did you guess it?
I am wrapped from head to toe in long white strips. I walk slowly with my arms out in front. What am I?
My story comes from long ago in Egypt.
Kids make me by wrapping a friend in paper strips.
A mummy
Why it works: A mummy costume is made of wrapped strips from head to toe.
Did you guess it?
I have buttons but I am not a shirt. I carry people up and down a tall building without stairs. What am I?
I am found in tall buildings.
You press a button and my doors slide open.
An elevator
Why it works: An elevator has buttons and moves people between floors.
Did you guess it?
Daily pick: The moon
At breakfast: read it aloud and let everyone guess before the first hint.
In class: project it as a warm-up, then reveal one flap at a time.
In the car: an adult reads, the kids get two hints, then the answer.
Each calendar date has its own pick. When you open or reload this page with JavaScript, it checks your device's local date. If the current pick cannot load, the card keeps a dated riddle that you can still play.
Put it on the board as a morning warm-up. Read the riddle, give the class a minute, then reveal the first hint. Offer the second hint if they are still stuck. Finish with the "why it works" line so everyone sees the trick.
The daily pick comes from a fixed selection of published riddles for ages 4 to 12. Some are short clues for young children; others use wordplay or logic for older kids. Check the age label before choosing it for your child or class.