Choose Your Own Adventure and Interactive Books for Children and Teens
Choose your own adventure books put children in control: each choice changes what happens next. This list spans interactive picture books for sharing, branching adventures and gamebooks for independent readers, alongside graphic novels for teens. Choices invite prediction, conversation and creative writing, giving families, teachers and librarians an easy route into books that make reading active. The age sections point to a read-aloud, an early independent story or a teen adventure. This list features books by Tom Fletcher, Pippa Goodhart, Mo Willems, R.A. Montgomery, Scott Cawthon, Helen Rutter, Hervé Tullet, Mac Barnett, Sarah Coyle, and Andy Prentice.
Choose Your Own Adventure and Interactive Books for Children and Teens – our recommendations
Interactive picture books for 3-7 year olds
You Choose by Pippa Goodhart, illustrated by Nick Sharratt
Every spread opens up choices about an imaginary life: where to live and sleep, who to meet, which friends to have and what games to play. Children point to their selections and build a different world each time, while the grown-up reading aloud can ask what might happen next. Nick Sharratt’s detailed illustrations invite close looking and discussion. The open-ended format gives young children plenty of room to shape the story together.
You Choose Fairy Tales by Pippa Goodhart, illustrated by Nick Sharratt
Which fairy-tale hero would you choose, where would you go on a quest and which baddy would you rather avoid? Children make up a fresh story by choosing the answers, then change their minds and start again on another reading. Nick Sharratt’s comic pictures offer plenty to notice as the adventure takes shape. This creative picture book encourages intrepid 3+ year olds to invent their own fairy-tale routes.
The Button Book by Sally Nicholls, illustrated by Bethan Woollvin
What might happen if you pressed a button? One makes you sing, another tickles, and the book’s readers supply the sounds and play. Each prompt turns a page into a small shared performance, with children deciding how to respond and joining in as the story goes along. The button sequence moves towards a sleepy goodnight ending, so this imaginative board book can be read at bedtime or whenever a group wants a lively, participatory story.
To Activate Space Portal Lift Here by Antoinette Portis
Open the cover and suddenly Zrk and Blrg are staring right at you, eager to check your teeth, quiz you about “Planeturth”, and call in their friends before the lights cut out. Every page feels like they are speaking straight to you, with flashing buttons and a cosmic portal that could snap shut at any second. Antoinette Portis keeps the pace playful and slightly anarchic, so bedtime or storytime turns into more of an otherworldly adventure than a quiet read! Highly recommended, this uniquely bold alien and space themed picture book is perfect for imaginative 4+ year olds.
Press Here by Hervé Tullet
Printed dots become an invitation to interact: press, tap, rub, shake, tilt and blow, then turn the page to discover a new pattern or change in colour. Children follow the prompts and see what the next page reveals, creating a playful reading experience that feels like a game. Hervé Tullet builds the sequence with simple shapes and direct instructions, making this book especially suited to interactive shared reading, where adults and young children can take turns giving the cues.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
When a bus driver steps away, he gives the reader a clear instruction: don’t let the pigeon drive the bus. The determined bird tries pleading, bargaining and flattery, and children get to answer each attempt. Told entirely through speech bubbles, the book turns its audience into part of the comic scene. This interactive picture book for 3-7 year olds invites children to voice both sides and decide whether the pigeon gets behind the wheel. Highly recommended.
There’s a Bear in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Greg Abbott
Sleepy Bear appears inside the book, ready for bed but needing help with his bedtime routine. Young readers are invited to settle him and take part in the small actions that help him drift off to sleep. The gentle prompts make the reading itself part of the story, while the bedtime setting keeps the pace calm. This interactive picture book gives children a chance to help Bear through the evening before they turn out their own lights.
There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Greg Abbott
A cheeky monster is loose in the book, and the reader must help him escape. Tom Fletcher’s prompts ask children to shake the book, tickle the monster’s feet and make a loud noise; the audience becomes part of the action as each attempt leads to the next. The playful sequence encourages children to follow instructions and respond aloud, making the story an energetic shared read for young children who enjoy getting involved.
Twenty Questions by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Mac Barnett’s picture book presents twenty playful and thoughtful questions, each opening a conversation with more than one possible answer. Children can speculate, explain their reasoning and take the discussion in unexpected directions, while Christian Robinson’s bright illustrations give the questions a vivid visual setting. This highly interactive story invites 3+ year olds to share ideas, ask their own questions and discover where curiosity leads. The questions can take a reading group in many directions.
Pick a Story: A Pirate Alien Jungle Adventure by Sarah Coyle, illustrated by Adam Walker-Parker
Vincent’s dog Trouble has disappeared, and children choose whether to search a pirate world, alien territory or a jungle. Choices on each page send the adventure down a new path, while activities such as mazes, search-and-find and odd-one-out puzzles are woven into the story. Sarah Coyle’s lively picture book gives children repeated chances to decide what happens and what to look for, bringing a game-like format to a lively shared reading experience.
Story Path by Kate Baker, illustrated by Madalena Matoso
This board book invites children to choose their characters, settings and plots at each turn. The path can move through a playful mix of fairy-tale princesses, deep-sea monsters, vampire cats and silver-unicorn journeys, with the combinations changing as readers make new decisions. Madalena Matoso’s bold, quirky artwork helps children imagine where a new choice might lead. It is an open-ended storytelling game for reading together or making up stories aloud. Highly recommended.
Where’s The Spy? by Alex Frith and Laura Cowan, illustrated by Colin King
Where’s The Spy? by Alex Frith and Laura Cowan throws readers into an interactive espionage hunt. Si the Spy is on the trail of the elusive Twindicate, but he needs sharp eyes and quick thinking to crack the case. From bustling train stations to shadowy secret lairs, readers must track Si, crack codes, and piece together clues to stop an international crime ring. Packed with puzzles and Colin King’s detailed illustrations, this seek-and-find adventure is perfect for keeping 6+ year olds immersed.
Interactive stories for children aged 7-12
The Boy with Big Decisions by Helen Rutter
Fred’s never been great at making decisions, always going along with what his parents pick. When he ends up at a school he doesn’t like, he spots a bus to one he’d actually enjoy. This interactive book reflects real-life and school-based situations that 8+ year olds will experience and empathise with. The narrative lets readers guide Fred through his choices, offering a chance to explore decisions and their consequences. It’s perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson and Lisa Thompson.
The Game Changers by Helen Rutter
A screen-free summer camp puts Tig into a team with four strangers: competitive Maya, intense Joni, grumpy Frank and sporty Jake. A highly engaging and absorbing option for 8+ year-olds, this uniquely interactive adventure invites the reader to make choices through physical and mental challenges, while strange noises, wild weather and suspicious staff turn Game Camp into a Traitors-like mystery. Highly recommended.
You Decide Your Adventure by Bear Grylls
This engaging interactive adventure lets young explorers call the shots alongside survival expert Bear Grylls. Kids tackle wilderness challenges, making choices that shape their journey – each decision flips to a different outcome. Handy survival tips and quirky nature facts add real-world flavour. It’s a clever way to nudge readers outdoors without screens, and each new read-through is refreshingly unpredictable. You Decide Your Adventure is perfect for ages 7+ who don’t usually read for fun, KS2 pupils who struggle with concentrating on books, and primary-aged children who love being outdoors. It’ll quickly become a permanent favourite in your upper-primary classroom. Highly recommended.
Dragonflare by Jamie Hammond
Intrepid 8+ year old readers are pulled headlong into the Wingrider Trials, where humans and dragons team up to solve puzzles inside a dangerous labyrinth. Flynn, an unlikely competitor, must rely on his dragon partner to stay ahead of rivals and avoid the traps closing in. Progress depends on readers helping to crack puzzles along the way. Illustrated by Jamie Hammond, this innovative, addictive and exciting interactive adventure blends humour, teamwork and action, with bravery and trust at the heart of the plot. Highly recommended for KS2. Read our full review.
You’ve Got This! Birthday Party Palooza by DK
Twins Tami and Sam want a birthday celebration but have different ideas about what makes the best party. In this choose-your-own-path story, children steer the siblings through decisions about planning and compromise, with each choice shaping what happens. The book is part of a series of pick-your-own adventures built around real-life situations and character skills. This party-planning story for 8+ year olds can be revisited to explore different routes and outcomes.
You’ve Got This! Maya Pyramid Mystery by DK
Cami joins her mother at an ancient Maya site in Mexico, where she must also keep an eye on her two younger brothers. When they go missing, Cami follows clues and makes choices that could lead to a major discovery or help bring her brothers home. Readers decide what she does next and can revisit the plot to try other paths. This interactive story for 8+ year olds also includes questions about the decisions and character traits in the story.
Traitors in Space: A Pick-Your-Own-Path Adventure by Tim Collins
Traitors in Space by Tim Collins throws readers straight into the action as a young scientist on a mission gone awry. Woken from cryosleep, you must figure out who’s human and who’s under alien control. Packed with branching storylines – over 45 endings! – and puzzles that keep you guessing, this interactive sci-fi adventure is perfect for kids aged 9+. Add in gripping illustrations and you’ve got a thrilling mix of mystery, action, and problem-solving that’s hard to put down.
Escape from a Video Game: The Secret of Phantom Island by Dustin Brady, illustrated by Jesse Brady
Readers take the role of Cooper Hawke, a treasure hunter exploring the mysterious Phantom Island, a video game world that was never officially released. Puzzles, hidden clues, dangerous traps and giant creatures shape the route, with more than 30 possible endings. Decisions can send Cooper back to a checkpoint or end the game, so children may retrace their steps and try different options. This interactive adventure for 8+ year olds turns a book into an immersive and replayable game.
Detectograms® The Parrot Who Knew Too Much by Tim Collins, illustrated by Steven Wood
Detectograms by Tim Collins sends Inspector Cross and her team after the elusive Dempsey Gang, but there’s a twist: every short chapter ends with a puzzle that 8+ year olds must crack before the case can continue. Codes, clues, maps and hidden details make up the 46 Detectograms, turning the story into an interactive chase. Steven Wood’s illustrations add extra hints and atmosphere, giving children a lively mix of mystery and hands-on problem solving. Uniquely engaging, Detectograms is highly recommended for KS2.
Escape from a Video Game: Mystery on the Starship Crusader by Dustin Brady, illustrated by Jesse Brady
A mysterious video game competition takes place aboard the Starship Crusader, where eight players compete for a million dollars and crew members start disappearing. Readers investigate a possible saboteur, explore hidden rooms, solve puzzles and make alliances as their choices change the story. The branching science fiction adventure has multiple endings and rewards revisiting the book to test another route. This interactive novel for 8+ year olds suits fans of space mysteries and game-like storytelling.
Storm Quest by Andy Prentice, illustrated by Tom Knight
Storm Quest casts the reader into a sea adventure involving towering waves, sea monsters and a race to find the one thing that can save someone they love. As a gamebook, it asks children to make decisions, solve puzzles and use dice-based combat as the story unfolds. The route changes with each choice, so the book can be played through more than once. 9+ year olds can follow the choices and challenges in Andy Prentice’s illustrated adventure.
Beano: The Day We Got Uploaded by Beano, Craig Graham and Mike Stirling, illustrated by Wayne Thompson
Rubi has invented a virtual reality game that pulls Dennis, Gnasher and friends into its world. When the game is hacked and Gnasher is dognapped, the reader must play by Walter’s rules and race to rescue him. Choices put children into the lead role and can change the route through the story, creating a comic, game-inspired adventure for KS2 children. Wayne Thompson’s illustrations bring the Beano characters into the interactive paperback.
Choose Your Own Adventure: Space and Beyond by Jeremy Lambert, illustrated by Dani Bolinho
This graphic novel adapts R. A. Montgomery’s classic space story into a comic adventure where readers choose their route through the planets and galaxies. The reader starts by choosing the planet of their birth, then travels through space and time to determine what comes next. Dani Bolinho’s illustrations carry the branching action across the page, and the interactive structure gives each return a different path to follow. 7+ year olds can explore a choice-driven science fiction story in highly immersive graphic novel form.
Chews Your Own Tasty Adventure by Sai Pathmanathan
This clever cookbook combines practical instructions with bright and inspiring illustrations. Each recipe needs only six ingredients and the culinary tips encourage KS2-aged children to be creative and experiment. There’s a diverse range of dishes for children to try: some with adult supervision, such as churros and stuffed parathas, and others independently, such as basil pesto and sauerkraut. The interactive challenges add a zesty twist to the engaging and lively format.
Journey Under the Sea by R.A. Montgomery, illustrated by Sittisan Sundravej
The reader becomes a deep-sea explorer searching for the lost city of Atlantis. Choices direct the underwater expedition through risks and discoveries, with different routes leading to separate outcomes. As in other Choose Your Own Adventure titles, readers decide which page to visit next and can begin again after reaching an ending.
The Abominable Snowman by R.A. Montgomery, illustrated by Laurence Peguy
The reader sets off on a mountaineering expedition in search of the fabled yeti. The route through the mountains depends on decisions made at key moments, so each ending follows a different sequence of risks and discoveries. With multiple outcomes, the story invites readers to turn back and test another approach after one expedition is over.
Curse Breaker by Simon Tudhope, illustrated by Tom Knight
You begin in a prison cell, a city guard jailed after someone whispered a mysterious word in your ear. When the door opens, your adventure takes you into the dark streets of Mirewick, where strange creatures, sinister characters and dangerous secrets await. Every decision matters as you choose whom to trust, which enemies to fight and how to investigate the mystery. Combining illustrated puzzles, a game log and dice-based combat, with an online dice roller also available, Simon Tudhope’s Curse Breaker is an absorbing interactive fantasy adventure for readers aged 9+. Tom Knight’s atmospheric illustrations add to the tension, making this Usborne Adventure Gamebook an excellent choice for upper KS2 and KS3 readers who enjoy fantasy, mysteries and tabletop gaming.
Interactive stories for teens aged 13+
So You Wanna Be A Pop Star? by Zachary Sergi
Everly and Vinny compete in a reality singing show before learning they and three other contestants have been brought together as a new supergroup. Readers make character and plot choices as the group prepares for its first concert, navigating friendships, ambitions and romance. Alternating chapters give Everly and Vinny’s viewpoints, and the choices lead to different outcomes. This interactive pop novel for 13+ year olds also lets readers build a playlist and consider what sort of musician they would be.
Escape Castle Dracula by Sam Fern, illustrated by Adam Allori
Sam Fern invites readers into a spectacular interactive adventure set within Count Dracula’s castle. Readers are challenged to help characters like Victor Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll in 14 classic horror narratives, all while solving tricky puzzles and mazes in this highly illustrated hardback. Cleverly combining storytelling with problem-solving, this book is a great way to explore classic literature. Illustrated by Adam Allori, the detailed artwork is mesmerising, and Escape Castle Dracula promises hours of entertainment. This book is absolutely fantastic, and children will read and re-read it for years to come.
Choose Your Own Adventure: Eighth Grade Witch by Andrew E.C. Gaska and E.L. Thomas, illustrated by Valerio Chiola
Rabbit arrives as the new kid in eighth grade and enters a world of witches, ghosts and nightmares. This graphic novel adaptation gives readers control over which supernatural path to take, from encounters with the mysterious Prudence Deadly to graveyards and ghostly ancestors. Each decision can send Rabbit towards a different adventure or ending. The horror-tinged story for 13+ year olds combines contemporary school life with supernatural choices in a graphic novel format.
Choose Your Own Adventure: Forecast From Stonehenge by Stephanie Phillips, illustrated by Dani Bolinho
As a young traveller attending a solstice gathering at Stonehenge, the reader encounters disguised druids, a wizard, a fairy and a woodland nymph. The story sends its detective through London’s underground as they search for answers about the monument and a magical scythe. Each choice determines who becomes a friend or foe and where the adventure goes next. This graphic novel for 13+ year olds combines prehistoric mystery, fantasy and branching storytelling.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Return to the Pit by Scott Cawthon and Adrienne Kress
Oswald is the reader’s role in this interactive return to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. A ball pit at Jeff’s Pizza takes him back to 1985, and he brings a dangerous animatronic into the present; choices determine what happens to Oswald and his friends. More than 25 endings and two difficulty settings create several routes through the horror story. This paperback for 12+ year olds reworks a popular Five Nights at Freddy’s tale as a decision-led novel.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Escape The Pizzaplex by Scott Cawthon and Lyndsay Ely
Cassie is trapped inside Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex, chased by animatronics and nightguards. Readers choose her actions as she tries to make it out alive, giving the story a branching, replayable structure tied to the Security Breach setting. The interactive format puts readers in charge of the route and ending, with each decision carrying a risk. This accessible horror adventure for 12+ year olds suits teenagers who enjoy gaming worlds and choice-based fiction.
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Choose Your Own Adventure books resources for teachers
- Teachwire’s Author In Your Classroom series features a free KS2 teaching pack with author and video game writer Rhianna Pratchett. Based on her book Crystal of Storms, the four-session unit includes a podcast, PowerPoint, book extract, world-building activities, character development exercises and planning sheets to help pupils write interactive stories with three possible endings.
- The official Choose Your Own Adventure publisher’s website provides downloadable teachers’ guides, reading-level information and discussion materials. Resources include guides for The Magic of the Unicorn and the historical Choose Your Own Adventure Spies titles, including Mata Hari and James Armistead Lafayette.
- BookTrust’s school library activities include a Choose Your Own Adventure game in which pupils use Google Slides or similar software to create interactive stories. Children can develop alternative plots, introduce choices and endings, and incorporate illustrations, multimedia and digital scenery.
- Tes Resources offers a free interactive storytelling unit for KS2. The downloadable materials include a PowerPoint presentation, lesson planning and writing resources designed to help pupils create branching narratives. The activities can be developed into longer creative writing projects, with opportunities for independent work and differentiation.
- For KS3 English, Tes Resources’ You Decide Your Own Adventure provides two free PowerPoint-based creative writing activities, Nine Lives Hall and The Secret of Nine Crystals Cave. Pupils make decisions about narrative structure, perspective, dialogue, descriptive language and pacing, exploring how different writing choices influence the direction of a story.
- Twinkl’s Choose Your Own Adventure writing worksheets provide story-planning activities, simple and complex mind maps, and a printable booklet template. The resources help pupils organise multiple plotlines, plan decision points and turn their ideas into interactive stories, making them useful for upper KS2 and lower KS3 creative writing lessons.
- ReadWriteThink has developed an eight-session Choose Your Own Adventure writing unit for learners broadly equivalent to UK KS3. Pupils explore second-person narration, character, setting and plot before working collaboratively to plan and produce linked stories. The lesson includes graphic organisers, writing guidance, assessment materials and activities exploring hypertext fiction.
- BookTrust’s article by Ian Livingstone, co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, explores how branching narratives combine reading, decision-making, problem-solving and imaginative play. Livingstone discusses the development of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, plotting alternative routes and endings, and the appeal of interactive books to children who enjoy video games.
- For younger pupils, BookTrust’s guide to Pick a Story: A Pirate + Alien + Jungle Adventure introduces Sarah Coyle’s interactive picture book. The reader’s decisions lead to different settings and outcomes, providing a starting point for KS1 shared reading, oral storytelling, predicting consequences and discussing how changing a character’s choices can alter a story.
- Twine is a free, open-source tool for creating interactive, non-linear stories. Pupils can link passages together, build branching plots and experiment with alternative endings without needing to write computer code. More advanced students can introduce variables and conditional logic, making it particularly useful for combining KS3 English creative writing with computing and game design.
- The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s I Made You a Book project introduces digital book creation using Scratch. Step-by-step activities encourage children to plan pages, develop characters, design backgrounds and use code to create interactive elements. Teachers can extend the project by introducing different routes through a story, clickable choices and alternative endings.
- The National Literacy Trust’s Dream Up a World project, featuring author Steven Camden, provides classroom activities exploring interactive story-building, imaginative settings, characters and narrative structure. The downloadable teaching sequence supports planning, drafting and editing, with curriculum links for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It offers useful preparatory activities before pupils create their own branching adventures.
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