Let your child have a say in how the story goes with this Choose Your Own Adventure book. As the first page explains, simply "Read until you reach a choice. Turn the page of the choice you like best. If you don't like the end you reach, just start over!" Each set of pages includes large, vibrantly colored ink and watercolor pictures and up to a half page of large printed words. This book makes the reader the star by using the less-common second person narrative, speaking directly to the reader with "you" statements. For example, Monsters of the Deep begins, "You are preparing for your very first deep water dive!" With eight different possible endings, your child's adventure can range from a personal tour of the ocean by a human-speaking crap and giant friendly whale, to visiting the World of Wonder with your friends and a mermaid!

No matter which choice you follow, each adventure within the book requires readers to make at least two choices of which path to follow, and which page to turn to and read what happens next. This provides your child with more independence than they usually have when reading a story, or having it read to them. It also provides practice in decision-making and teaches that every decision has a consequence. With each different ending, a new lesson is taught, ranging from respecting all living creatures to being brave and saving the day. Choosing their own adventure also provides children with practice following directions; the bottom of each page directs them to either the next page, or a specific page number.  Your child may enjoy learning  about the ocean and the marine life that lives at different depths of the ocean.

My five year-old niece Emily looked through the pictures of this book before we read it (and when I was not paying attention). Once she saw that there were mermaids involved in some of the stories, she tried to pick the adventure that would lead her to them. A few times, she chose the wrong twist in the story, and as soon as she realized there were no mermaids in that adventure, she had us go back and try again. I was happy to see her putting it altogether though; realizing that each choice she made had a specific outcome.

 

--Audra