Charlie Chooses

Praise

Peacock’s text humorously conveys Charlie’s worries about making the wrong choices without ever stooping to poke fun while Slater’s cartoon art adopts a retro style that makes the picture book feel somehow familiar. . . When Charlie finally does decide that a pet dog would be the perfect birthday present, he confronts his biggest conundrum yet: which pup to pick at the animal shelter?. . . In a pitch-perfect ending, the perfect pup chooses Charlie, relieving him of the need to make a decision and giving him a companion who helps ease his worries from that point on. . . Choose this one, for sure.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Concise and well attuned to the audience, the narrative leaves plenty of space for the illustrator to expand the storytelling visually. While the colorful digital artwork is inviting throughout, kids are likely to linger longest on the pages filled with dogs and look back through the pictures for glimpses of Charlie’s canine companion. A satisfying picture book for dog-lovers.
—Booklist

Written by Lou Peacock and illustrated with retro exuberance by Nicola Slater, the book puts a humorous cast on what can be, for the possessor, a frustrating personality trait. . . . What’s neat about the seek-and-find detail in Ms. Slater’s pictures is that, even as children experience Charlie’s indecision, they’ll be practicing the art of noticing their own preferences.
—The Wall Street Journal