

Montgomery, Bantam went on to publish 184 titles in the series between 19, plus nearly 100 books in various spin-off series. After signing a six-book contract with the brainchild of the concept, the late R.A. Not surprisingly, many credit the Choose Your Own Adventure series for originally igniting this middle-grade fiction phenomenon.

We spoke to editors about their recent and forthcoming releases that put kids behind the storytelling wheel, and here pull together their thoughts on the appeal and value of letting kids propel the plot-and what’s fueling this apparent trend. Though interactive novels giving kids control of their fictional destinies have been on bookstore shelves for decades, 2018 has brought a resurgence of the format, with at least a half-dozen publishers offering new entries across a variety of genres.
