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Great Choice, Camille!
Making choices can be tricky! This installment in the I See I Learn® visual learning series uses easy-to-follow diagrams and a warm, charming story to teach basic decision-making strategies to the youngest readers.
Camille is excited to start a new project at school. She’s given two she can build a kite or plant a vegetable. Making a decision is difficult for Camille. With the support of friends and her teacher, Camille soon learns to make thoughtful, timely choices. Part of the sixteen book I SEE I LEARN® series for happier, healthier, more confident children!
Camille is excited to start a new project at school. She’s given two she can build a kite or plant a vegetable. Making a decision is difficult for Camille. With the support of friends and her teacher, Camille soon learns to make thoughtful, timely choices. Part of the sixteen book I SEE I LEARN® series for happier, healthier, more confident children!
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Stuart J. Murphy
167 books61 followersPICTURES & WORDS, STORIES & BOOKS
MathStart http://www.mathstart.net
I See I Learn http://www.iseeilearn.com
I was one of those kids who talked all the time in class. I loved telling stories. One day in the 4th Grade, my teacher said, “You tell such good stories, maybe you should try writing some of them down.” “Wow,” I thought. “She thinks my stories are good.” That’s when I started to really enjoy writing.
I was also the class artist. When I wasn’t talking,I was drawing. When I was older, I studied art at the Rhode Island School
of Design. That’s where I became interested in visual learning—how we decode and acquire information from graphs, charts, diagrams, models, illustrations and other images.
I became especially interested in educational publishing and have worked on the development of over a dozen major textbook programs, championing visual learning strategies from Pre-K through high school in every major curriculum area.
MATHSTART
The inspiration to write math stories for children was sparked by my work on a high school mathematics program. Visual learning strategies helped teens—who had been characterized as “reluctant learners’—understand difficult math concepts. Putting math in the context of stories based on their experiences made them feel more comfortable with abstract concepts. They actually became eager to apply math to real-life problems.
If this approach worked for older students, I began to wonder what might happen if younger children were introduced to math this way!

Even before children can read—or speak many words—they can interpret visual information with ease. The MathStart books use simple stories coupled with diagrams, graphs and other visual models to teach everything from probability and pattern recognition to area, capacity and negative numbers.
The Best Bug Parade, (comparing sizes) was my very first published book. It was absolutely thrilling to see my name in print! I never expected that one day there would 63 MathStart books, split over three levels for ages Pre-K to Grade 4.
Each book includes two pages of review and activities designed to help teachers and parents extend learning beyond the story, along with suggestions of related books by other authors. After all, if a child enjoys learning math through stories, then let’s have more stories!
(Pictures, Words & Math: An interview with Stuart J. Murphy )
THE MAIN STREET KIDS' CLUB: A MATHSTART MUSICAL
Now get out your dancing shoes—there is a musical based on six of the MathStart books! The Main Street Kids’ Club was workshopped at Northwestern University and adapted by Scott Ferguson, who also created the perennially popular production of Schoolhouse Rock Live!
The songs are terrific. The math is spot on. And the club motto makes my heart sing: “Math Skills are Life Skills!”
STUART J. MURPHY'S I SEE I LEARN
My latest series of books is focused on young children—Preschool and Kindergarten age.
I See I Learn books teach social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills, such as how to make friends, build confidence, play safely, work together, manage emotions, and make plans. These skills are important for school readiness and for living happy, healthy, productive lives.

The stories “star” a wonderful bunch of friends who live in See-and-Learn City and attend Ready Set Pre-K. The cast includes Freda, Percy, Emma, Ajay, Camille, and Carlos. And, of course, Pickle, the green bull dog—who happens to have a soft-spot for butterflies—and Miss Cathy, their teacher.
I See I Learn stories are modeled on real-life situations and, just as in real-life, often involve more than one skill. For example, Freda Plans a Picnic is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. Percy Plays It Safe focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group also requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.
Each book is reviewed by a tea
MathStart http://www.mathstart.net
I See I Learn http://www.iseeilearn.com
I was one of those kids who talked all the time in class. I loved telling stories. One day in the 4th Grade, my teacher said, “You tell such good stories, maybe you should try writing some of them down.” “Wow,” I thought. “She thinks my stories are good.” That’s when I started to really enjoy writing.
I was also the class artist. When I wasn’t talking,I was drawing. When I was older, I studied art at the Rhode Island School
of Design. That’s where I became interested in visual learning—how we decode and acquire information from graphs, charts, diagrams, models, illustrations and other images.
I became especially interested in educational publishing and have worked on the development of over a dozen major textbook programs, championing visual learning strategies from Pre-K through high school in every major curriculum area.
MATHSTART
The inspiration to write math stories for children was sparked by my work on a high school mathematics program. Visual learning strategies helped teens—who had been characterized as “reluctant learners’—understand difficult math concepts. Putting math in the context of stories based on their experiences made them feel more comfortable with abstract concepts. They actually became eager to apply math to real-life problems.
If this approach worked for older students, I began to wonder what might happen if younger children were introduced to math this way!

Even before children can read—or speak many words—they can interpret visual information with ease. The MathStart books use simple stories coupled with diagrams, graphs and other visual models to teach everything from probability and pattern recognition to area, capacity and negative numbers.
The Best Bug Parade, (comparing sizes) was my very first published book. It was absolutely thrilling to see my name in print! I never expected that one day there would 63 MathStart books, split over three levels for ages Pre-K to Grade 4.
Each book includes two pages of review and activities designed to help teachers and parents extend learning beyond the story, along with suggestions of related books by other authors. After all, if a child enjoys learning math through stories, then let’s have more stories!
(Pictures, Words & Math: An interview with Stuart J. Murphy )
THE MAIN STREET KIDS' CLUB: A MATHSTART MUSICAL
Now get out your dancing shoes—there is a musical based on six of the MathStart books! The Main Street Kids’ Club was workshopped at Northwestern University and adapted by Scott Ferguson, who also created the perennially popular production of Schoolhouse Rock Live!
The songs are terrific. The math is spot on. And the club motto makes my heart sing: “Math Skills are Life Skills!”
STUART J. MURPHY'S I SEE I LEARN
My latest series of books is focused on young children—Preschool and Kindergarten age.
I See I Learn books teach social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills, such as how to make friends, build confidence, play safely, work together, manage emotions, and make plans. These skills are important for school readiness and for living happy, healthy, productive lives.

The stories “star” a wonderful bunch of friends who live in See-and-Learn City and attend Ready Set Pre-K. The cast includes Freda, Percy, Emma, Ajay, Camille, and Carlos. And, of course, Pickle, the green bull dog—who happens to have a soft-spot for butterflies—and Miss Cathy, their teacher.
I See I Learn stories are modeled on real-life situations and, just as in real-life, often involve more than one skill. For example, Freda Plans a Picnic is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. Percy Plays It Safe focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group also requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.
Each book is reviewed by a tea
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 23, 2018
Great for preschool aged kids who are learning about making choices. This may help reinforce action making for indecisiveness. Cute book!
December 26, 2013
This is part of a that is probably great for preschool and to help teachers develop their metacognition skills, which is probably what makes Stuart Murphy's math series so wonderful. I do love the note about visual learning which is probably in all the books in the series.
May 9, 2020
This book is about making choices, and the power each of us have when we make our own choice. Camille is a cow like animal in a town full of animals of indeterminate species. She goes to school and is challenged to make her own choices with what is presented her. She struggles at first, but gets better at it over time. Neat, but very preachy to kids so CHOOSING this is up to you, like anything else in life.
Three stars
Camille is the deal! Good Choice!
Three stars
Camille is the deal! Good Choice!
May 31, 2017
A useful book for discussing decision making with toddlers. Miss 2 enjoyed it and I've referred back to the book sometimes when needing her to make a choice.
July 18, 2013
When Camille's teacher tells her class that they will be doing several special projects, the children are excited. Camille has trouble making decisions, though, and she faces several difficult choices throughout the day, from whether to plant a garden or build a kite, to which veggies to eat from the finished gardens. Her teacher guides her and gives her tips on making up her mind. By the time she reaches the final choice at the end, she knows just what to do.
A nice exploration of the topic of making choices -- something children have to do many times a day and often have difficulty with. The author suggests several things to consider when making decisions, from asking yourself if you can change your choice to picking your favorite option before it's no longer available. Some of the suggestions could seem obvious to adults, who are practiced at making decisions, but are helpful for children who are still developing that skill.
A nice exploration of the topic of making choices -- something children have to do many times a day and often have difficulty with. The author suggests several things to consider when making decisions, from asking yourself if you can change your choice to picking your favorite option before it's no longer available. Some of the suggestions could seem obvious to adults, who are practiced at making decisions, but are helpful for children who are still developing that skill.
September 5, 2014
This isn't my favorite, but it does illustrate the decision-making process pretty well. It gets the point across, but it just feels a little contrived.
October 27, 2014
Camille learns a valuable lesson about the importance of making decisions in a timely manner the hard way. Years from now, waiters will be grateful for this fact.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews