Pick a Story: A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure

The pick your own adventure format has long been popular in junior fiction and in her Pick a Story series Sarah Coyle applies it ingeniously in picture books. The adventure starts on the first spread where our protagonist Gwen is getting ready to celebrate her birthday, at least until her cake suddenly vanishes. Gwen is presented with three questions about its whereabouts, which we the reader answer on her behalf. Depending on the answer we choose, the story takes off in different directions, involving dinosaurs, unicorns or robots. Each spread offers sets of questions, the answers as chosen by the reader sending them back and forth through the book as they track down the cake, a different story arc each time. There’s a great sense of fun thanks to the Pick a Story format, supported by the lively nature of the different scenarios, and a tangible sense of independence for children too. Additional questions are posed on the pages, inviting readers to share their thoughts and there are also mini puzzles and challenges scattered throughout. It all makes for a thoroughly rewarding reading experience and it’s a great way too to introduce children to decision making and indeed storytelling.

Read our Q&A interview with Sarah Coyle.