“What next, Rosie?”

Rosie may or may not be Little Red Riding Hood and she may or may not stumble through fairy tales such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and The Three Little Pigs. She may or may not be a hero. She may or may not get a happy ending. It all depends on the decisions the reader makes.

Choose-your-own-adventure stories have been around for a long time, and yet, this is one targets the Prek-2nd grade group who may be more apt to listen to a bedtime story than read one silently to themselves. This picture book is NOT intended to be read directly from one page to the next. Instead, Rosie, the main character in the story is presented with two options and the reader must decide for Rosie shaping the story. For example, “What next, Rosie? You finally got to Grandma’s and now you want to leave? To go in and visit your grandmother like a good girl, turn to page 22. To follow your instincts and run like heck, turn to page 76.”

This book works well as a critical thinking exercise. However, this book’s humor can also take a few darker turns so sensitive readers may wish to give it a pass. Just like in real life, decisions can have consequences and, in full disclosure, some of Rosie’s decisions can lead to death or death-like state therein ending the story- well, at least until the reader turns back to that last decision and tries again!

For those looking to empower a child during a shared reading and who like a little dark humor in their tales, this interactive picture book will hit the spot like no other.