Choices

This brightly coloured picture book is literally just what it says in the title.  It’s about choices: little ones (like which ice cream to have), big ones (such as whether to go on the super-duper giant slide), whether to stand out from the crowd or become part of it, whether to be always active or to take things easy, whether to be careful or to do silly things, whether to eat all the sandwiches oneself or to share, and whether to dive into the swimming pool, even though you are afraid the first time.  Set in the context of a little black girl and her mother having a lovely time at the local park, the story shows us the little girl’s choices as she makes her way through all the possibilities of fun things to do.  The text is minimal, but the very busy pictures reflect the choices she makes.  I had some doubts about the viability of encouraging kids to make choices that might not be wise, and one of  the sentences near the end, ‘just follow you heart’ could be a recipe for disaster!  However, it is certainly true that ‘with every choice you grow’, and that must go for the bad ones as well as the good ones.