Hi there! I’m Christina, a mom of two littles, a licensed mental health therapist, and a soon-to-be children’s book author! Thanks for checking out my site. Look around! I’m sure there’s something here for you! This post is a book review of the helpful and beautiful picture book What Should Darla Do?, by Ganit and Adir Levy, which they so graciously gifted to me.
This book is the literary sister to Ganit and Adir Levy’s other books, What Should Danny Do? and the Power to Choose Series.
And it is written in the same fun and interactive manner with 8 stories in 1!
What this mean is that the main character Darla encounters a situation in which she needs to make a choice. She has two options, and you get to pick what she will choose!
That’s right, YOU get to determine the choices that Darla makes, and where the story goes from there!
The first moment that Darla gets to use her “Power to Choose” is in her home with her siblings. Darla’s big sister will not trade seats so Darla can sit by her little brother! We get to determine what the best choice may be. Should Darla sit in a different chair or should she try to force her sister off her chair?
Depending on the choices you help Darla make, you can read 8 different stories. All along the way you help Darla work through common challenges most kids face.
We help her figure out of she should be honest or not. Should she take something that doesn’t belong to her or not? And more….! Darla uses her “power to choose” and we get to help her decide what to do.
Kids LOVE it!
Our family loves this book!
My five-year-old daughter cottoned on pretty quickly to what the “right choice” for each scenario was. My three-year-old son however was oblivious and went with the impulsive or self-focused option. It made for rich conversation!
Regardless of the storyline path we chose, it was fun to see the results of Darla’s actions, and then to go back and make the choice for the other option. And it made for healthy conversations about making the “right choice”.
A Great Lesson
If your children are having a hard time making good choices, What Should Darla Do? is a great and indirect way to help them grasp the concept of how their decisions impact themselves and others. It can help them make sense of cause and effect and how their choices have consequences.
And if your child is usually a pretty good decision-maker, this book can reinforce and encourage continued impulse control and critical thinking.
To get your own copy:
You can purchase What Should Darla Do? on Amazon, or on Ganit and Adir’s website, where you can find other book related merchandise including plush dolls, a Power to Choose cape, stickers and coloring books.
