What Should Danny Do? (The Power to Choose Series)

I remember reading and enjoying "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories as a kid. While those were fun fantasy stories, I love that this book focuses on situations that young children can relate to and helps them to see the consequences of different choices. The book attempts to show the benefits of sharing, taking turns, being kind and following household rules and treating parents with respect. Some of the choices include: Eat off a non-preferred plate or yell about not getting the plate you want, Wait to play with a game or grab it away, Knock down a toy or try to get along, Eat a treat quickly or share with a sibling that dropped theirs, Ask Mom for a snack or sneak chocolate, Tell somebody that they aren't being nice or stomp their foot, Yell at Mom about not having new shoes or compliment brother's new shoes, Help a girl who fell or yell at her for accidentally spilling your lemonade, Refuse to get ready in protest or get ready to go to the park, Clean up or refuse to clean up, and push sibling or play together. My four-year-old son really enjoys this book. There are clearcut good and bad choices, and he is easily able to identify the good choices. However, these same choices can be difficult for young children to make in the moment. He likes making different choices to see what happens, and the story offers a lot of opportunity for discussion. I ask my son if he thinks he is making a good or bad decision, and we talk about the outcome of the different social situations. Maybe because he's a bit younger, my son's favorite story involves getting ice cream at park and playing soccer rather than making all good choices and having a lemonade stand and earning money for a skateboard. But, I think that the story offers a realistic perspective in that some minor bad behavior at this age can be expected and doesn't have to ruin your day if you make better decisions, but when you let a bad decision lead to more bad decisions, there will be more consequences. In my opinion, the book is worth the price, but I do hope they come out with a less expensive and a bit smaller paperback version eventually. The story format is a lot of fun for kids, and the illustrations are beautiful and really detailed. Update: I purchased a copy for my son's preschool, and the teacher loved it. My son's first grade teacher also read Danny stories to his virtual class, and they seemed to be a hit. I think these books are great teaching tools. My son still likes this book at 7 years old and also enjoys "What Should Danny Do?: School Day" and "What Should Danny Do?: On Vacation." My son ripped a page when he first got the book, because he was excited with the page turning. But I have to say that overall this book has hed up very well, and the binding is still secure. I added some photos to show how the navigation in the book works. It is pretty easy to follow, but page 20 has three different pages to go back to which may be a bit confusing. Page 68 is the last page of the book and directs to page 20 without needing to make a choice. When you make a good choice on page 33, you are directed to page 68 and then to 20. So to arrive at a different ending, you would make a bad choice on page 33. The other pages listed to go back to have choices that go directly to page 20. Thanks for reading. If you liked my review, please mark it helpful.

What a wonderful book for our youth! A fun, interactive and empowering way to teach our children a better way. Beautiful story and illustration. Highly recommend!

I bought this book for my 5- and 3-year-old, and it really resonated with my 5-year-old. She stayed engaged and enjoyed making choices alongside Danny. What I really appreciate is that the book shows real, everyday kid situations. For example, when the little brother gets the superhero plate and the older child wants it — Danny has to choose whether to whine or accept it. These are situations kids actually experience, which makes the lessons very relatable. Now every time my daughter starts to whine, I just ask, “What would Danny do?” and it’s honestly amazing how quickly she shifts her mood and becomes more open to discussing things instead of whining. My 3-year-old wasn’t as into it yet — I think he’s just a bit young to fully understand the message — but I plan to try again next year. This kept my daughter engaged for a solid 20 minutes, and even at bedtime she was still talking about the power to choose. Such a thoughtful and helpful book for kids learning emotional regulation and decision-making.

I purchased this book for my grandson who will be 5 in June. It has a lot of stories. At the end of each story, it asks what you think Danny should do. It makes children think, use their imagination and end each story making them feel excited they finished the stony. It’s a great idea to give as a gift.

A lovely, thoughtful book for young children.

Kids—especially boys—love this series.

I bought this book as a gift for my four-year-old grandnephew. That was months ago and it is still his favorite book out of many. My sister reports that sometimes early in the morning she’ll see his light is on and his bedroom door closed and he will have taken that book off his shelf into his bed, where he is repeating every single word, including the note to parents. 😍 he is a big book lover, so this is a discriminating choice. I selected it because it is so important at this age to have time in space to really think about choices. The format is interactive, which keeps it fresh. Highly recommend.

Love the book. Great for kids to see how you can change the day by choicez

Bought this for my grandson and he loved it. His mom also loved it cause it taught her son to consider his options and not just the first thing that comes to mind. He is 5 yrs old.

A real fun book to read with kids. It also seems they got the message in the most part!

Perfect.

This is a very clever and relevant book. I bought it for my 7 year old and he loves it. At first he wanted to make all the wrong choices and see what happens. Now that we have been through all the 9 endings, he loves to go back to the start and choose for Danny. What I liked about the book is that the scenarios are so relatable and the choices so realistic! Definitely recommend the book for kids struggling to make good choices!

I purchased this book for all the kids who bless my life with their visits. It’s a perfect book, as much as they love it, it’s design spares us from reading the same story over and over. The illustrations are vibrant and beautiful. The cover is embossed giving it a textured feel. I highly recommend this book and will be purchasing more by this author.