Avi’s Choice
By Rebeka Rahmani Simhaee. Illustrated by Janice Hechter.
Merkos Linyonei Chinuch
Avi’s Choice is a nice tale that fluently illustrates to children a lesson: many times in life they are faced with a choice, and all too often it’s not easy to figure out the best course of action.
Avi’s choice is between playing baseball with his friends, a game he has been waiting all week for (plus the added fact that he’s providing the ball), and visiting his sick grandfather. His parents make it clear that they feel the right thing is for Avi to visit his grandfather, but they leave it up to him.
In the end, Avi does the right thing, with a bit of a twist.
The tale is well told by Rebeka Rahmani Simhaee and the pictures delightfully illustrated by Janice Hechter.
Some readers may quibble that the parents seem a bit heavy handed, but no doubt the kinds of sentiments that Avi’s parents express are ones that children often grapple with (innately or through outside pressure) when making choices like these.