Some books lend themselves well to playing games. Which Would You Rather Be? by William Steig is such a book. This isn’t just a book to read aloud. This is a book to discuss and have fun answering the questions. Your children’s answers and reasoning may surprise you.
As the book opens the illustrations by Harry Bliss show a boy and a girl sitting across from a rabbit. The rabbit has a wand and magicians black hat. The rabbit asks the children which they would rather be, a stick or a stone. The rabbit seems to bring both of them out of the hat and shows a stick and a stone hovering in air. Each page has different questions. Would you rather be an elbow or a knee? A cat or a dog? A snake or a crocodile?
What’s great about this book is that there aren’t any right answers. The children in the story only answer a couple of questions. One page asks if the children would rather be a grownup who is shown reading a newspaper or a kid shown riding a skateboard. The kids don’t waste any time in answering that they would rather be kids. I do wish the grownups weren’t portrayed as being so boring. Another question the rabbit asks is if the children would rather be alone or together. The kids look at each other and reply that they will have to think about that one.
The book continues with questions such as would you rather be a mouse or an elephant, tall or short, a moon or a sun, rain or snow, thunder or lighting? The illustration shows the huge elephant cowering before the tiny mouse. Would you rather be a boy or a girl? Both children are shown as hockey players.
This is a different kind of book. The questions invite all sorts of discussion which makes it a great book for traveling or waiting. It’s fun to come up with your own questions too.
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C D B! and C D C? – William Steig