By Balloon to the Sahara

ISBN 0553209493 - Stumbling across this book, sheerly by accident, has me wondering why I'd never heard of the series before! Based on this particular title, this is an excellent idea and will engage budding adventure fans from the start. The storyline, of course, is practically impossible to recount in any way, because the storyline depends on your choices. The only constant is how it starts - you visit friends in France, rent a balloon and hop in. From there, at every turn, you have to make decisions. Go north or go south, peaceful negotiations or attack, swim for the shore or wait for rescue. Every choice leads you to a different page and takes the story down a different path. A few choices lead to rather sorry - even scary - endings, and not just endings of the story, but your own ending! For example, one storyline has you drifting away into space, where the lack of oxygen leads to your demise. Maybe not appropriate for the ultra-sensitive or kids under 10 (depends, of course, on your kid!). All in all, a fun ride and even a few lessons - the first of which is everything you do has a consequence! Great stuff.

You are floating high above the earth in a giant balloon. Below you is the Sahara Desert, with its endless, golden sands, hundreds of camels, and mud-walled villages. Suddenly you see a large silver dome twinkling in the distance. Should you land the balloon and see what it is? If it's a flying saucer, it might be dangerous. Should you play it safe and stay in the clouds? 40 possible endings.

"D. Terman" has to be a pen name, doesn't it? But anyway, this is one of the bedrock greats of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series for kids. Just about anything can happen in this exciting everything-but-the-kitchen-sink set of tales.