Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

On the day of her birth, Corky was given a set number of calendars (days) and a key. She was told to choose her days carefully and decide whether they will be sunny or cloudy. Corky races through the days of her life, then realizes that she is nearly out of time, but still has many things she wants to do.

If my review was based on the illustrations alone, I would have nothing but good things to say. The pictures are bright and lively, and honestly, do a better job of telling the story than the story itself does. This could almost be a wordless book. I say almost, because the opening of the book is confusing with or without words. The aim of the book is apparent. Live each day to the fullest, so that when the end comes, you don’t regret what you never got around to doing. Unfortunately, the path taken to get to this point is pretty convoluted and confusing. This book is targeted to children ages 3 to 7, but I don’t see a child understanding it. It almost feels as though the book was translated from another language and just didn’t translate well. Ms. Wallace is an excellent illustrator, but I feel she missed the mark with this story.
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A veiled reminder that much of what happens in your life is up to you and you should make the best of it. Choose your Days is a beautiful and visual embodiment of a sentiment expressed by Abraham Lincoln as “Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”

The wise bear in Choose Your Days advises,
"Choose your days, make them sunny or gray."

Good advice, gently given.

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Children's Fiction (ages 3-7)
Paula S. Wallace
Choose Your Days
Cinco Punto Press
Paperback, 978-1941026380 (also available in hardcover and as an ebook), 32 pgs., $8.95
April 12, 2016

When Corky was born, Old Bear, "keeper of time and keys," gave her a calendar, a "To Do" list, a "Dreams" list, a key and the instruction to "Choose your days, make them sunny or grey."

Before you know it, Corky is an old woman. She asks Old Bear for more time: "For work undone. For play postponed. For music unsung." Old Bear reminds Corky that she holds the key.

This synthesis of Old World folktale and Native American parable from artist Paula S. Wallace is a tender but firm exhortation to use your time well, to fill your days with work and play. It may seem counter-intuitive to tell a child that time is a finite resource but Wallace's distinctive illustrations combine with the text to create a positive encouragement to action and consciousness, and gentle reassurance that you hold the key to a full life. Choose Your Days is optimistic, dedicated to those "who have lived their days with courage, compassion, and curiosity." ( )