Author Daryll Scott wrote his first children's book Find Another Way to help his son think about different ways of solving a problem. Billed as "Creative thinking for kids" it also carries a recommendation from Dr John Grinder, co-creator of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NPL). NLP is a therapeutic technique used to reprogramme patterns of thought and behaviour – for the better so that we see situations and problems in a different light!In Find Another Way, Curious Joe "whose itchy feet took him out in search of someone to meet" encounters various characters each of whom has a problem: a toad with a toy car stuck in a glass jar, a llama unable to peel a banana until he reaches the top of the hill and the wise old owls who point out that repeating something that obviously isn't working is a waste of time - something has to change ...
Curious Joe goes back down the hill and helps each character to relax and see the situation in a different light to reveal a solution. If that sounds a bit complicated, it isn't at all. Find another Way is a fun story, simply told in rhyme and makes it point without labouring it.
The illustrations by Rachel Baker are charming and my only real criticsm of the book is that I feel the narrative poem could have done with a little more work just to make it flow and scan a bit better - but I don't suppose many young children will notice and complain!
Published by Soap Box Books, Find Another Way: Creative Thinking for Kids
is available from Amazon.