Georgie and Lydia have a lot of books, all over the house. We have bedtime story books, board books, and stacks of downstairs books that they read with me & James, or by themselves.
Ever since we got You Choose, by Pippa Goodhart & Nick Sharrat, it has been her firm favourite. I think I picked it up for a few pounds in a charity shop, but it’s only £3.49 at Amazon at the time of writing – a bargain!
You Choose is a book of posibilities. Each page is filled with Nick Sharratt’s distinctive illustrations, and just has a simple leading question, e.g. “if you could go anywhere, where would you go?”
Georgie asks everyone who visits to read her this book. My father in law visited for almost a week over the Easter holidays, and Georgie requested that he read this book every single day (even when I hid it – she hunted until it was uncovered).
If you have young children, then I highly recommend this book. It encourages children to think for themselves, and exposes them to a wide range of ideas. The resulting “story” is different every time you read, and the girls always have a great time choosing. For the family and friends page, Georgie has favourite illustrations that represent James and myself, and her little sister.
Although it has celebrated it’s 10 year anniversary, and has won the Mumsnet Book of the Year for 3-4 year olds, I hadn’t heard of this gem before we came across it in that charity shop. At some point I might have to treat the girls to a new copy – our much read second hand one is starting to look distinctly dog-eared!
