Your Magnificent Chooser is a new book that aims to help children understand the power within them to make choices. This book is written by John Ortberg author of All The Places to Go, and What is God’s Will For My Life. Both of these titles are for adults but also about decision-making. Ortberg is clearly aware of our struggles! I loved the idea of this book. If there is something I have said as a parent over and over again, it is “Make Good Choices!’
I really enjoyed this book for its fun approach to teaching about choices. It is colorful and written in rhyme which appeals to most kids. The illustrator did a nice job of making the “chooser” look happy and whimsical and not scary. The balloon like floating cloud represents the part of a person that makes choices. Perhaps Ortberg is alluding to the soul…which is a bit much for a child. I think the book is a good resource for parents with children from ages 4-7. There are a few things that I personally found to be misses. First, the word chooser is a mouth full when you are trying to read the book aloud. In fact, Chooser and Choosing are used a combined 42 times! I read Your Magnificent Chooser to my kids and I began to trip over the word. Secondly, the book is a little long for a young audience. It is 38 pages, with one or two -four line stanzas on each page.
Overall, I really liked this book. The idea behind and the content is excellent. I would recommend this book to any parent who is trying to teach good decision-making. I was given a complimentary copy of this book by its publisher. I was not required to give a positive review.