A few weeks ago, I was working a shift in the Children’s Room, and decided to explore all the wonders that room has to offer.

And believe me, there are plenty.  From easy reading books to slim fiction, from audiobooks and DVDs to books in Spanish, to board games, to series a-plenty….
…And amongst those series was non other than my inner child’s favorite books ever.  There is no way to describe this events in terms that are not bold, italicized, and underlined.  Because the Choose Your Own Adventure Books are back in vogue, and my world is once again full of joy.

Originally published by Bantam Books, the Choose Your Own Adventure books (henceforth to be abbreviated CYOA, ok?) were one of the most popular children’s book series of the 1980’s and 1990’s,selling more than 250 million copies between 1979 and 1998.  The series was based upon a concept created by Edward Packard and originally published by Vermont Crossroads Press until the control of  Constance Cappel’s and R. A. Montgomery, before being bought by Bantam.  They were originally written for readers between the ages of 7-14, and all featured a second-person narration, referring at all times to what you are doing, feeling, seeing, etc.  In this way, readers are immediately involved in the books and whatever high-stakes, quick-paced adventure that opened in the book’s first few pages.  Soon, however, you, the character, find yourself faced with a decision (see the page below); sometimes it is which path to take on a journey, or with which character to initially a conversation.  Depending on your choice, you would flip to a designated page, seeing the outcome of your decision.

With that first choice, the book went from being interesting to utterly engrossing.   The plots non-linear–meaning that, as you flipped to whatever page you were told to, you saw all the other possibilities that could choose later.  If you screwed up and got eaten by a dinosaur (been there), locked in an air-tight room (yup), or cursed by a vengeful mummy (several times), you could go back and re-try your decisions and discover what could have happened.  Which meant that you, as the reader, were in control of the plot.  And that is a kind of power that you don’t easily forget.

When I was a kid, I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books (another situation that demands bold, italicization, and underlining).  I took them on vacation and read them while walking down unfamiliar streets.  I took them out to dinner and read around my dinner while my parents pretended they didn’t mind being publicly shunned by an eight-year-old.  I got far too emotionally invested in them and occasionally got really stressed out over making the “right decision”…so I cheated.  I found the happy ending, then flipped around manically, reverse engineering a happy ending.  Then I read Inside UFO 54-40, a CYOA book with a happy ending that can only be accessed by cheating or intentionally flipping ahead (a ploy intentionally crafted by Packard and Montgomery in order to keep kids like me on their toes).  After that, I made a concerted effort to sit back, make the choices, and flip the pages without guilt or over concern.  Sometimes, I even succeeded.

But Bantam allowed the trademark to lapse after they were incorporated into Random House, so for years, it was a real pain to try and find CYOA books to give to other little kids in my life.  But in 2005, R.A. Montgomery, one of the original creators of one of the series that defined my childhood, bought the rights back, and founded Chooseco, a publishing company dedicated to giving the world more CYOA books.  Not just republishing the old stuff, which was great, mind you, but whole new books, with new premises and new choices and new consequences.  And we have them at the Library! 

And this past weekend, amidst the Thanksgiving hustle and holiday bustle, I sat down and a CYOA book for the first time in…well, longer than I am going to admit here.  And it was delightful.  All the old anticipation about finding a page with a decision and trying to decide where to go next, the heady excitement of finding out if that choice would lead to escaping the haunted warehouse, or being turned into a bit of furniture, and the conniving to understand the layout of the book, and which choices would lead to the longest stories, or the best endings, it was all there again.

So, this holiday season, if things begin to get to be just a little too much, I encourage you to find whatever book made your childhood a happy place, and to come and find that book at the Library. Revel in that old excitement and sink into the comfort of an old literary friend, even if only for a few minutes. You could even share it with a younger person in your life, and get them excited about that book, too.  It’s a great way to escape the stress of the season for just a little while, and there is nothing like reading to bring people a little closer together.  The choice is yours!

…If you need a further reason to embrace childhood memories, check out today’s Google Doodle, celebrating Louisa May Alcott’s birthday, and Little Women!