Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s currently a freelance writer and editor, and in addition to Book Riot, her pieces have appeared in School Library Journal, BuzzFeed News, The Lily, Parents, StarTrek.com, and more. She particularly loves children’s books, fantasy, science fiction, horror, graphic novels, and any books with disabled characters. You can read more about her bookish and parenting shenanigans in Book Riot’s twice-weekly The Kids Are All Right newsletter. You can also follow her kidlit bookstagram account @BabyLibrarians, or on Twitter @AReaderlyMom.
One of my daughter’s favorite types of books are pick-your-path books, ones that allow the reader to play an active role in creating the story by making decisions for the character. Kids in general tend to gravitate towards books like this. When I was a child, I loved reading Choose Your Own Adventure books, and I continue to enjoy similar types of books with my daughter now! While some excellent pick-your-path children’s books have been published since my childhood, I wish there were more. I don’t mind reading the books below 100+ times with my daughter, but it would be nice to have some variety! (So publishers: can we get on that? Thanks!)
Most of the pick-your-path children’s books below are ideal for ages 5-10, though the last one, Meanwhile, would be better for 8+, depending on the child. They’re all great fun, and can keep a child entertained for a while!
Endlessly Ever After: Pick Your Path to Countless Fairy Tale Endings! by Laurel Snyder & Dan Santat
I cannot imagine how long it took Laurel Snyder to write this absolute genius of a book. Not only does she combine numerous fairytale adventures in an 86-page picture book, but she does it all in rhyme! It’s just a masterpiece. It opens with Rosie, a Little Red Riding Hood character, about to leave to bring a basket of food to grandmother’s house. Her first choice is which coat to wear — her cozy faux fur coat with a decidedly wolfish appearance, or her favorite red cape. What follows is a madcap whirlwind of choices that lead Rosie headfirst into dozens of fairytales, from Jack and the Beanstalk to Snow White and Hansel and Gretel. Fairytales are a perfect medium for pick-your-path books, and this one is an absolute blast.
Spin to Survive: Frozen Mountain by Emily Hawkins & R. Fresson
Hawkins dives into survival stories with her Spin to Survive series, combining adventures with facts, news coverage about real adventurers, and tips on every page. These are rather tall and heavy books with a spinning compass, and on every page, the reader spins the compass to see what path they will take next. In this first book, a young traveler’s helicopter crashes in the Alps on the way to visit their grandfather. What should they do? Other books in this series include adventures in the jungle, ocean, and space. Pro tip: These make great long car ride reads! My kid loves to read these over and over and over. There’s always something new to discover.
Search for a Giant Squid by Amy Seto Forrester & Andy Chou Musser
This is another book that is often on repeat at my house. A group of scientists are heading out to sea in search of a giant squid. Readers must choose a submersible, which area of the ocean to explore, and what fish to investigate as they hunt for the giant squid. There are lots of great facts about marine life in this book. Sometimes we’ll read it 20+ times in a row and never find that giant squid, and other times we find it on our first try!
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Let’s Tell a Story: Jungle Adventure by Lily Murray & Stef Murphy
The Let’s Tell a Story series is great for aspiring creative writers, or to encourage storytelling in all kids. Readers create their own stories with a series of prompts. Choose characters, clothes, companions, paths, and more. This one is set in the jungle, and involves a talking burger, ninja bodyguards, robots, and more. It’s very silly and very fun. It would be great for classroom libraries. Kids could write their own stories using the prompts. Other books in this series explore fairytales, space, and pirates.
Meanwhile by Jason Shiga
This is an incredibly clever middle grade graphic novel with 3,856 story possibilities! It begins with a simple choice: chocolate or vanilla ice cream? That simple choice brings readers to a mad scientist, and thousands of other possibilities. If your kid likes this one, also check out Leviathan, another pick-your-path graphic novel by the same author.
Looking for more? Check out these 15 pick-your-path children’s books.
English (US) · 