What Do You Do With a Chance? — New York Times best seller - Hardcover

Yamada, Kobi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1943200734 ISBN 13: 9781943200733

Publisher: Compendium, 2018

Synopsis

The award–winning creators of The New York Times best sellers What Do You Do With an Idea? and What Do You Do With a Problem? return with a captivating story about a child who isn't sure what to make of a chance encounter and then discovers that when you have courage, take chances, and say yes to new experiences, amazing things can happen.

In this story, a child is visited by his first chance and unsure what to do with it, he lets it go. Later on, when a new chance arrives he reaches for it, but this time he misses and falls. Embarrassed and afraid, he begins ignoring each new chance that comes by, even though he still wants to take them. Then one day he realizes that he doesn't need to be brave all the time, just at the right time, to find out what amazing things can happen when he takes a chance

The final addition to the award-winning What Do You Do With...? picture book series created by New York Times best-selling author Kobi Yamada and illustrator by Mae Besom, What Do You Do With a Chance? inspires kids of all ages and parents alike to find the courage to go for the opportunities that come their way. Because you never know when a chance, once taken, might be the one to change everything.

Praise for What Do You Do With a Chance?

• “This is a simple tale with a big message: about embracing life, overcoming fears and insecurities, and flying free.”—Foreword Reviews
• “This is a book that will grow with readers: use it to inspire conversations of a philosophical nature as well as for practical problem-solving.”—Kirkus Reviews
• “A read-aloud worthy of repeated reading, Yamada and Besom once again urge young readers to live inspired lives, to face their fears, and to know that the full range of their feelings makes them human.”—The Children’s Bookshelf
  
• “Children of all ages will be inspired to take chances as it ‘just might be the start of something incredible.”—School Library Journal 
• “Yamada’s relatable story urges readers of all ages to take the chances that come their way—they could be the start of something incredible.”—BookPage

 

About this title

About the Author

Kobi Yamada is a New York Times best-selling author, the creator of many inspiring gift books and ideas as well as the president of Compendium, a company of amazing people doing amazing things. He happily lives with the love of his life and their two super fun kids in the land of flying salmon where he gets to believe in his ideas all day long. He thinks he just might be the luckiest person on the planet.
Illustrator - Mae Besom began her career as a character designer in Sichuan, China, after graduating from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. She then decided to embrace her love of illustration and now works as a full-time children’s illustrator. She uses traditional media—both pencil and watercolor—to create texture and light within her enchanting illustrations.

Review

Perfectionists and those with social anxiety will find encouragement in the reminder that embarrassment is temporary and even the fearful can choose to take chances.
The tunic–clad child with shaggy, dark hair and a light complexion who appears in the duo's prior works ( What Do You Do with an Idea?, 2014, and What Do You Do with a Problem?, 2016 ) is now presented with chances, which materialize in the form of golden, origami–style butterflies. Finally attempting to grasp one, the child falls and is mortified when it seems that others titter in amusement. Deciding it's better to avoid the possibility of future mishaps, the child ignores other chances but inside feels increasingly bereft, contemplating a safe but dull existence. When at last a chance thrillingly does appear again, the child decides to take the leap literally and feels jubilant exhilaration. Set in a pseudo–medieval fantasy world, the story makes abstract concepts usefully concrete. An ideal discussion starter at home and in the classroom, it will inspire conversations about humiliations endured ( and recovered from ) and chances taken (or not).Through the use of color, the watercolor–and–pencil illustrations vividly accentuate the contrast between the drabness of a risk free life and the brilliant intensity of one fully lived.
This is a book that will grow with readers: use it to inspire conversations of a philosophical nature as well as for practical problem solving. --Kirkus Review

Follow along as a tunic–clad boy and his animal companions find, lose, miss, ignore,and hold on tightly to the chances that come their way. This is a simple tale with a big message: about embracing life, overcoming fears and insecurities, and flying free. Enchanting and inspiring illustrations utilize color and shade to chase the unfurling wings of a gliding golden chance as it brings light and hope to a wild, untamed land of possibilities. --Foreword Reviews

A chance, depicted as a gold, origami–like flying creation, flies by a child accompanied by a
multigenerational family, but the child doesn t take it. In an inspired combination of words and images, the
child imagines trying to catch the chance, and the fear and anxiety attached to falling or failing, and then
being judged by others. When the chance passes by, the child expresses unhappiness and disappointment,
wondering if ignoring a chance would mean fewer chances in the future. Luminescent pencil–and–watercolor
illustrations make the abstract ideas more understandable. The child has to get some physical
separation from the family in order to make an independent decision. Friendly animals help the child equip
for a journey, gathering books and supplies. Following this period of contemplation and preparation, when
the chance appears again, the child is ready. In making the decision to take the next step, to grab the
chance, the child s excitement becomes larger than fear. "So, what do you do with a chance? You take it...it just might be the start of something incredible." --Booklist

"In this delightful third story by the author and illustrator team, readers are asked the essential question: What do you do with a chance? With great deftness and imagery, Yamada and Besom explore how opportunities come to be and the emotions associated with them. Readers learn that chances, though unexpected, can consume one's thoughts. Yet, even when they desire to have a decision presented to them, fear of failure or embarrassment may stop them from reaching out and taking it. Yamada's use of simple text coupled with Besom's progressive use of watercolor takes children on a journey from fear of the unknown to courage. This title is an ideal read-aloud and discussion starter and is every bit as charming, insightful, and revelatory as its predecessors, What Do You With an Idea? and What Do You With a Problem? VERDICT Children of all ages will be inspired to take a chance as 'it just might be the start of something incredible.'"—School Library Journal

Edition details

• Publisher: Compendium
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1943200734
• ISBN 13: 9781943200733
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 36
• Illustrator: Besom Mae