Would you rather ... by John Burningham

With a barrage of questions and images, Burningham covers enormous ground, from fairy tales (stirring a caldron with a witch) to horror stories (being locked in a haunted house), from the biblical (being swallowed by a fish) to the universal (being lost in a crowd). He uses the pictures as both sword and shield, jabbing with the provocative yet protecting with lean, almost slapstick images. The main character, a small curly-headed child, seems undaunted by the wild journeys, and ends up safe but exhausted in bed.  New York Times

Yesterday I mentioned Bookworm : A memoir of childhood reading by Lucy Mangan.  Would you Rather by John Burningham is another book which Lucy loved as a young child:

"Burningham opened up the eternal horrors and pleasures of the thought experiment to me, via his Would you Rather ...  But why? And why not? And why does the person reading it to or with you disagree? ... Oh it is a book of fathomless depth and endless wonders, to be debated long into the night..."

I have been a huge John Burningham fan since entering the world of school libraries. I drove for three hours once just to hear him speak and then drove home again arriving home well after midnight. I love to read aloud Cannonball Simp (renamed Simp), Where's Julius, Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present and the classic Avocado Baby, which is a must read for every Kindergarten class.

We do own Would you Rather in our school library (first published 1978) but it is thanks to Lucy Mangan that I have taken the time to really read and look at it properly. Now I find it is such a delightful book which would make a fabulous discussion starter in a family or class and could also be used as a writing model.  You might also use the questions as a springboard to problem solving with a design and make focus where the children plan devices to solve or escape from each scenario.

The first question, which sets up the premise, seems fairly straightforward.  Would you rather your house was surrounded by water, snow or jungle? In a class you might then add - now justify your choice. It is the second question which introduces the fun. Would you rather an elephant drank your bath water, an eagle stole your dinner, a pig tried on your clothes or a hippo slept in your bed?  As you can see the accompanying illustrations are perfect.

My favourite question is Would you rather help a fairy make magic, gnomes dig for treasure, an imp be naughty, a witch make a stew or Santa Claus deliver presents? I can't decide between making magic or digging for treasure.

Here is the star review by Kirkus.  The New York Times offer two other books to explore with a similar question and answer format - Which would you rather be?  by William Steig and Was it a good trade by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers.

And here is exciting news - there is a sequel to Would you Rather with the great title More Would you Rather: