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, Your Very Own Robot Goes Cucko-Bananas explains at the beginning, "Gus is a robot. Your very own robot. You made him last summer from spare parts you found in the trash of your parent's lab."

No matter which choice you follow, each adventure within the book requires readers to make multiple 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. It also provides practice in decision-making and teaches that every decision has a consequence. The possible story endings range from an old lady saving you from bullies, to watching a sewage plant blow up! 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.  

My five year-old niece, Emily, enjoyed the first Your Very Own Robot book so much, that I knew she would be excited about this one. She had fun reading the book over and over until she had finally reached all 10 different endings. Just like when she read the first robot book in this series, she wanted her own robot by the end of it; only this time, instead of robot who would clean her room, she wanted one who would braid her hair and swim with her.

 

--Audra