Cleo Wade’s What the Road Said is a powerful new book for children and adults alike. Thought provoking, inspiring, and perfect for anyone at a crossroads, this is a must have for your child’s bookshelf!
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Cleo Wade’s What the Road Said will be Your Family’s New Favorite Book!
Cleo Wade nailed it in her powerful new picture book, What the Road Said, illustrated by Lucie de Moyencourt.
If you’ve ever stood at a crossroads, struggling with competing feelings of fear and excitement, What the Road Said is for you.
If you’ve stood there feeling only uncertainty, anxiety, and nerves that leave your hands shaking and your stomach hollow, What the Road Said is for you.
If you have stood at this crossroads, grappling with which path to take, which answer is right, which road will lead you to success and happiness and fulfillment and love, What the Road Said is for you.
If you’re an adult, a parent, a teenager, a child… this book is for you.
What the Road Said Inspires Kids and Adults Alike
Whether you are young or old, making decisions when faced with two competing options is never easy.
Option A? Option B? Whichever should you choose?
How do you make such an important decision, and what on earth will you do if you mess up?
These are the precise questions a child asks in What the Road Said, and Wade answers them with both wisdom and heart. Her words are poignant, and de Moyencourt’s loose illustrations so perfectly match the fluidity of the story. Why? Because life is fluid. There is no definitive, no right or wrong. We make choices, we grow, we learn.
What the Road Said beautifully reminds us that we are all in a continuous state of evolution, no matter our age, so long as we lead and pursue and take chances.
A look Inside What the Road Said
In the first spread, the child walks home one day and out of nowhere, as if by some stroke of luck or magic, a road appears.
Naturally, the child asks where the road leads. But instead of giving her an easy answer, the road suggests she be a leader and find out. This leads to more questions, of course, because so many of us hesitate before embarking on a new opportunity. We want to know where it will take us, how it will play out, what happens when we take this chance…
The girl frets for a moment. After all, what happens if she goes the wrong way? In perhaps one of my favorite pages of the book, the Road says, “Do not worry. Sometimes we go the wrong way on our way to the right way.”
Mic drop.
These words. They are so powerful. Each time I come to this page it feels like a breath of fresh air, and I have no doubt these words will become foundational in our home. They take so much pressure off of making a “wrong” decision, said in such a way that even the youngest child can understand their meaning.
The story then meanders through the seasons, up mountains, and over rivers, with the child asking questions and the Road giving answers, always encouraging the child to look within, trust in herself and take chances big and small. Kindness, whether to yourself or to others, is paramount. Persistence, even when roads are uncertain, is supreme.
And when the uncertainties don’t stop — when they flood your head and build mountains you believe are insurmountable — you keep going.
Keep going, keep going, keep going…
Cleo Wade’s Newest Book Offers Great Language to Discuss Decision Making and Resilience with Children
The last several years have presented many challenges to our family and, accordingly, many different paths for me to take. I’ve struggled with each and every decision, but I’ve also grown more confident with each one, trusting in myself and believing I will land on my feet even if my choice doesn’t end up as planned. And if I make a wrong turn, I now understand that it will present some opportunity for growth.
While I’ve come to understand this innately, it’s always a struggle to find the words to explain this to my boys. But What the Road Said has given us all a gift.
This empowering new picture book helps parents discuss the idea of right and wrong choices, no matter how big or small, in a way that children can readily understand. It honors children with language they can grasp, with illustrations that are accessible, and with an appreciation for resilience that will allow them to focus on the journey rather than the conclusion. It helps them understand their relationship to the world around them and the choices set before them at any given time.
I’ve fallen hard for this book. It resonated deeply and is one I am so excited to turn to again and again because the story is timeless, appropriate for people at any age, in any place, on the cusp of any new experience.
It makes the perfect gift for a child at the end of the school year, one embarking on a new adventure, or any person (big or small!) who needs a pick me up and confidence boost.
Absolutely, positively splendid. Two major trunks up for this beauty!
Want the book? You can purchase Cleo Wade’s What the Road Said on Bookshop.org (where all funds go to support indie bookstores around the country!) or Amazon.
Looking for your next favorite children’s book? Check out our hand picked picture books on growth mindset and self-confidence! To see our nearly 100 book lists alphabetized in one easy spot, click here!
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