Hahahahaha. A Choose Your Own Adventure picture book. Or at least, I think it resembles that. As I read the book, I felt I was watching the scene in The Little Mermaid when Sebastian the crab was fleeing the French chef ;)

Seriously, this book is comical. It's about Lenny the Lobster who attends a dinner party. But there is more to this dinner party than meets the eye. ;)

I wish there had been more options for us to change the storyline as opposed to just one. Still, it is a start. Perhaps there will be more books similar to this one one day. ( )

A choose-your-own adventure that depends a lot on context and prior knowledge. Very amusing for adults. ( )

When Lenny the lobster is invited to a dinner party, the polite crustacean makes sure to bring gifts for his hosts, from a cake and flowers to bubble-gum. But what will he do when he discovers he is to be the dinner? There are two options left up to the reader in this "choose-your-own-adventure" style picture-book, although if one chooses the option of having Lenny stay at the party, one is eventually redirected. Fortunately, Lenny's gifts prove thoughtful in more ways than one, and he manages to make his escape...

I'm not sure how successful Lenny the Lobster Can't Stay for Dinner is as a "choose-your-own-adventure" story, given that everything is eventually routed to the same conclusion - aren't multiple conclusions more the norm, with this sort of thing? - but leaving that aside, I can imagine that many young readers will find this an amusing tale. Like any story in which animals (or vegetables, as the case may be) resist becoming dinner, it may lead to questions from children, so parents and adults should be prepared for that. The artwork is humorous, and well-matched to the story, and I was interested to learn that French illustrator Catherine Meurisse got her start working for Charlie Hebdo. Recommended to readers looking for new picture-book adventures with a slightly oddball sense of humor. ( )