When I was a kid some of my favorite books were Choose Your Own Adventures. These were aimed at young readers and the chapter books would have a moment in the story where the reader made a choice for the hero. My favorite was a ski adventure where no matter the choice I seemed to wind up flying off a cliff or with a broken limb. New children’s book publishers, Anna Skarie and Joy Dey (SWAK Publishing), recently launched a similar idea but for much younger children in a picture book. They call them DoU (do-you) Adventure books and have an entire series in production.
That pesky dragon keeps popping up.
Is he friend or foe?
Yikes! Do you run like crazy?. . . or hop on?
Why is he eating your camera?
And where is a skateboard when you need one?
70 books in one
Just Another Monday is a tabbed, create-your-own-story picture book for young children. Your child makes choices on every page, creating their adventure as they go. They find the picture that represents their choice and turn to the matching image tab at the right. There are over 70 possible pathways through the book!
My daughter was very excited to get her Do-U Adventure but struggled a bit with the concept at the start. She likes things to be done a certain way and in a specific order and that very much includes books. I showed her how it was sort of like a puzzle where the image matched the tabs and she liked that idea and finally got it. After that it was exciting for her to read through and find different endings to her story.
We were able to listen to the authors present this book at their local book release. The stories are simple enough for young readers to stay interested but complex enough for even adults to be intrigued about where the adventure is leading. I still haven’t seen all of the story combinations myself! I worked with this talented author, Joy Morgan Dey, on the beautifully written and painted (illustrated by Nikki Johnson) children’s book, Agate What Good Is a Moose. Although I tend to enjoy the more intricate illustrations of a hand painted/drawn children’s book over the computer generated and simplistic illustrations of Just Another Monday, I think the interactive features keeps the book intriguing. In the world of tablets and battery operated toys I’m thrilled to see a children’s story book that allows parents and children to interact with the story in a tangible book form. That said Anna and Joy hope to see the book series evolve into a app format for children who utilize tablets. I think it’s wonderful that they’re starting out in the traditional format and wish them the best with their future adventures in the Do-U series.
What’s next?
Anna and Joy have another DoU Adventure coming soon and it’s titled Just Another Tuesday, of course: “You open your lunch and take out the juicebox. Over there! You whip around and see a tentacle slithering out of the room. Holy frijoles! Do you follow it?” I look forward to seeing what they have up their sleeve next.
About the authors
A 3D artist with an advanced degree from Vancouver Film School, Anna (www.annabelleskarie.com) lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she is a practicing web designer. She works on everything from corporate sites to computer games.
Joy (www.joymorgandey.com), a career graphic designer and art director for Old Turtle and The Quiltmaker’s Gift, lives in Duluth, Minnesota. She is the author of Agate: What good is a moose?, winner of the Independent Publisher’s Book Award (IPPY) for Best Children’s Book 2007 and the Midwest Bookseller’s Choice Award for Best Children’s Picture Book 2008. Joy and Anna are mother and daughter.
BUY IT
Available at bookstores, at our affiliate Amazon
Just Another Monday
A DoU Adventure
by Anna Skarie and Joy Dey
ISBN: 978-0-9853228-0-9, $15.95
SitWithAKid.com • Facebook.com/SWAKpublishing •Twitter.com/SWAKpublishing • sitwithakid.com/blog
WIN IT
FIVE lucky readers will win their own copy of the Do-U Adventure Just Another Monday along with the activity book (my daughter LOVED the puzzles and games that accompany the story)!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tabitha P. says
March 8, 2013 at 12:05 pmI’d like to win for my daughter b/c she loves to read.
Ashley S says
March 8, 2013 at 2:04 pmI want to win for my son because story time is his favorite!
April V says
March 9, 2013 at 8:45 amAll 3 of my children would love this!
hollowsins says
March 9, 2013 at 1:04 pmI want to win for my daughter because she likes to read all the time
Meghan says
March 9, 2013 at 2:22 pmLove to win this for my son to encourage his love for reading.
sandra says
March 9, 2013 at 2:43 pmi’d like to win this for my sons becuase it looks like a fun read
gina says
March 9, 2013 at 3:13 pmThis would be for my 3 yr old daughter, who loves books!!
latanya says
March 9, 2013 at 8:14 pmfor my son because reading is fun
Sus says
March 9, 2013 at 8:45 pmWe love new stories – would be for my little one.
Ann B. says
March 10, 2013 at 7:58 amI’d like this for my Grandson…he would love it!
Carrie Phelps says
March 10, 2013 at 1:37 pmI love the idea of this book, it’s so creative! All three of my grandchildren would enjoy this.
Kristie says
March 11, 2013 at 6:38 amI’d love to win this for my kids! They love the choose your own adventure books from the library, so I think they’d enjoy this too! 🙂
nannypanpan says
March 11, 2013 at 11:30 amit would be for my son adn i like it cause he chooses his adventure
Deborah says
March 11, 2013 at 3:38 pmI like that they’ve made these for younger children to enjoy! I’d like to win it for my granddaughter!
Debra Hall says
March 11, 2013 at 4:43 pmfor my grandaughter
Sarah says
March 12, 2013 at 1:28 pmThis would be for my son, he’d love it!
Jeanna says
March 12, 2013 at 1:32 pmMy daughter loves to read & i’m always looking for new books to entertain her with! I’d like to win this for her!
Lisa Burk says
March 12, 2013 at 3:29 pmI want to win this book for my two kids because it looks like a book they would enjoy!
Samantha C. says
March 12, 2013 at 3:36 pmI would love to win this for my kids because they love activities in books!
Leslie says
March 12, 2013 at 10:05 pmYou can’t have too many good and fun books for your kids!! 🙂
Thank You, I would love to win!
JLin says
March 13, 2013 at 8:43 amI would like to win this for my daughter, she love books.
Kristy says
March 14, 2013 at 7:58 amOur daughter would love this book!
Andrea H says
March 14, 2013 at 12:43 pmBoth our kiddos would LOVE this book! We would love to add it to our collection!
SWAK says
March 23, 2013 at 5:47 pmThank you – and thank you to everyone for the encouraging comments! We’re really touched by how many of you have expressed an interest in our book. I hope your kids keep up with the love of reading! Kudos to you 🙂
Audra Weathers says
March 14, 2013 at 3:59 pmI’d like to win this for my daughter. She loves her books (thank goodness) and we read several a night before bed. This looks like a great one for her to read by herself and do the activities that come with it.
tess says
March 15, 2013 at 12:56 pmlooks like a book my son would like- it would be for him
tcogbill at live dot com
Marci says
March 16, 2013 at 9:34 pmMy daughter would enjoy it and it would be for her!
Charlotte says
March 16, 2013 at 10:19 pmWould love to win this for my son because he loves books.
Shannon Baas says
March 17, 2013 at 3:49 pmmy nephews would love this.
Renee G says
March 17, 2013 at 4:45 pmI’d love to win this for my son — I think he would enjoy reading this.
Christy Anderson says
March 17, 2013 at 8:27 pmI would love to win this to read to my class.
SWAK says
March 23, 2013 at 5:49 pmEither way, if you’re interested, we do official school visits and if you’re located nearby, maybe we could come in just to read it to your class. Feel free to email me.
Once again, thank you to everyone for the kind comments!
Suzie Williams says
March 18, 2013 at 11:50 amThis is such a fun book. I think my 5 year old would enjoy it and my 7 year old would read it to herself too.
Stephanie Larison says
March 19, 2013 at 5:46 amI’d love to win for my daughter, I think she’d like it.
Valerie Taylor Mabrey says
March 20, 2013 at 9:31 amThis would be for my granddaughter
vmkids3 at msn dot com
Candice Hull says
March 21, 2013 at 4:19 pmI would like to win for my boys because they love to read and this looks like an interesting book
Thanks
Laurie Emerson says
March 21, 2013 at 9:46 pmI would like to win this for my daughter as I really like how you can create your own story with your child.
Tracie Brown says
March 22, 2013 at 12:25 pmI would love this for my daughter because we read EVERY night and EVERY naptime!! She loves new books
Nancy says
March 22, 2013 at 12:36 pmI’d like to win because we love books and this would be for our family.
Carly says
March 22, 2013 at 12:44 pmMy daughter would love this! She loves making choices and having a say in everything, so it’d be the perfect book for her.
SWAK says
March 23, 2013 at 5:41 pmI love that 🙂 Can we use this quote?
Emilie says
March 24, 2013 at 10:44 pmCarly, could the publisher use this quote from you???
Carly B. says
March 22, 2013 at 12:56 pmI love that it is interactive and let’s the child help guide the progress. I would use these with my daughter.
Jamie p says
March 22, 2013 at 1:53 pmI love the idea of the interactive story. My son would love it!
susan smoaks says
March 22, 2013 at 3:11 pmi would love to win this for our son because he would really enjoy it
Sharon Schoepe says
March 22, 2013 at 3:51 pmI would like to win this for my son because he loves reading and puzzles so this would be perfect for him.
Vikki Billings says
March 22, 2013 at 7:57 pmI would love to win because you can never have enough books and my grandson loves to read, this would be a great book for him.
SWAK says
March 23, 2013 at 8:07 pmThank you to everyone for the interest. It means a lot to have so many people looking into our book. This is a wonderful site for drawing creators together with patrons. You ladies have done an amazing job. We hope our book brings you as much joy as it has brought us. Cheers!