Some picture books remind children that there isn't just one way to grow, learn, or find their place in the world.
My Path by Jana Curll offers a gentle invitation to explore this idea through a whimsical character and a beautifully illustrated world.
Everyone has their own path to follow.
It's a simple message, but one that opens the door to meaningful conversations about individuality, confidence, patience, and discovering what feels right for us.
In a world where children are often encouraged to keep up, reach the same milestones, and follow the same routines, this story offers a lovely reminder: we don't all have to move at the same pace or take the same road.
Sometimes, the most meaningful thing we can do is give ourselves the space to find our own way.
What Is My Path About?
At the heart of My Path is the idea that everyone has a journey of their own.
Through its enchanting illustrations and imaginative atmosphere, the book invites readers into a world where curiosity and discovery take center stage.
The title itself encourages us to think about what a path can represent. It might be the direction we choose, the experiences that shape us, or the little steps we take as we discover more about ourselves and the world around us.
A path doesn't always have to be straight.
It doesn't have to look like someone else's.
And it doesn't need to lead us to the same destination.
For young children, these ideas can become the starting point for conversations about making choices, exploring new possibilities, and learning to trust their own pace.
Why Children Connect with This Story
Childhood is full of firsts.
The first time we try something unfamiliar. The first time we make a choice independently. The first time something doesn't go as planned.
Children are constantly discovering who they are, what they enjoy, and how they want to interact with the world.
Along the way, they may wonder whether they are doing things the right way or compare their experiences with those of others.
My Path creates an opportunity to explore these feelings through a story.
It reminds us that every child brings something different to their experiences. Some children observe before joining in. Others jump straight into exploring. Some need time, while others are eager to move ahead.
There is room for all these ways of being.
And perhaps that's one of the most valuable messages we can offer children: you don't have to be someone else to find your way.
A Story That Opens Meaningful Conversations
One of the beautiful things about picture books is how naturally they invite us to slow down and talk.
Rather than rushing through the pages, take time to look closely at the illustrations and invite children to share what they notice.
You might ask:
What do you think a path is?
Where do you think this path might lead?
Does everyone need to follow the same path?
What do you like to discover on your own?
What do you do when something feels new or unfamiliar?
Is it always easy to find our way?
Can two people choose different paths and both be right?
What does finding your own way mean to you?
There are no single correct answers to these questions.
The goal is to create space for children to wonder, imagine, explain their thinking, and connect the story with their own experiences.
Sometimes, the most meaningful learning happens in the conversations that unfold between the pages.
Try These Book-Based Activities
A story like My Path can inspire invitations to play, create, explore, and discover. These simple activities extend the reading experience while allowing children to engage with the story in their own ways.
Create Your Own Path
Invite children to create a path using loose parts such as wooden pieces, stones, buttons, shells, or natural materials.
They can arrange the materials into straight paths, winding paths, circles, or unexpected shapes.
Some children may create a path with a clear destination. Others may simply enjoy exploring different patterns.
As they work, ask:
Where does your path begin?
Where might it take you?
What happens if you change its direction?
Can you create a path that looks completely different from everyone else's?
There is no need for a finished model to copy. The process of arranging, changing, and experimenting is part of the experience.
Follow the Path
Create a simple pathway on the floor using tape, fabric strips, cushions, or natural materials.
Invite children to follow it in different ways. They might walk slowly, take tiny steps, move sideways, or invent their own way to travel.
You can also introduce playful challenges:
Can you follow a winding path? Can you make a new path? What happens when you choose a different direction?
This activity combines movement, spatial awareness, and decision-making through play.
Draw a Path to Somewhere Special
Provide paper, pencils, crayons, or watercolors and invite children to draw a path leading to a place they love or somewhere they would like to explore.
It could lead to a garden, a treehouse, the beach, a friend's house, or an entirely imaginary world.
Encourage them to add details along the way.
What might they see? Who might they meet? What could they discover?
This invitation supports storytelling, imagination, drawing, and oral language without requiring every child to produce the same result.
Build a Path with Loose Parts
Offer a collection of open-ended materials and invite children to work individually or together to build a path.
They might use blocks, cardboard pieces, sticks, stones, fabric, or recycled materials.
Observe how their ideas develop.
Do they plan a route before beginning? Do they change their minds? Do they negotiate with a friend? Do they discover a new possibility halfway through?
These small moments offer opportunities for problem-solving, collaboration, and creative thinking.
Explore Paths in Nature
Take the story outdoors and look for paths in the natural world.
Children might notice a trail of ants, a winding garden path, stepping stones, branches on the ground, or the routes people and animals follow.
Invite them to observe, compare, and ask questions.
Where does this path lead? Who might use it? How is it different from another path?
Children can collect observations through drawings, photographs, or simple conversations.
A familiar walk can become an opportunity to look at the world with fresh eyes.
Make a Map of Your Own World
Invite children to create a simple map of a familiar place, such as their home, garden, playground, or a favorite corner where they like to play.
They can decide what to include and how to represent it.
Some might draw recognizable places, while others may invent symbols or create an imaginary landscape.
Encourage them to explain their maps to a friend.
This activity supports spatial thinking, visual representation, storytelling, and the understanding that everyone may see the same place a little differently.
Discovering the Story Through Its Illustrations
The illustrations in My Path create a rich, imaginative setting filled with natural forms, layered foliage, soft colors, and curious details.
Instead of looking at the pictures only to understand what happens next, invite children to become little picture detectives.
Pause on a page and ask:
What do you notice first?
Which details catch your attention?
What colors can you find?
What do you think this character might be feeling?
What do you imagine is beyond the path?
If you could step inside this picture, where would you go?
Give children time to look before offering your own interpretation.
One child might notice a tiny detail that everyone else missed. Another might invent a story about something hidden among the leaves.
These different observations are part of what makes sharing a picture book such a rich experience.
Growing Language Through Story
Stories offer meaningful opportunities to develop language because children have something interesting to talk about.
With My Path, you can invite children to explore vocabulary connected to directions, movement, nature, feelings, and discovery.
Words such as path, journey, explore, discover, wander, follow, turn, direction, and destination can become part of everyday conversations.
You can also encourage children to describe what they see, make predictions, explain their choices, and tell their own stories.
For children learning English, the illustrations provide a helpful visual context for introducing and practicing new vocabulary naturally.
Rather than turning every new word into a separate exercise, let language emerge through play, movement, observation, and conversation.
A Gentle Connection to Social-Emotional Learning
One of the most meaningful ideas to explore through My Path is individuality.
Children can begin to understand that people have different interests, preferences, ideas, and ways of approaching new experiences.
They can also explore what it means to make a choice, change direction, or discover that something they expected doesn't feel right for them.
Consider asking:
What makes you feel confident?
What do you enjoy doing in your own way?
Is it okay to change your mind?
How can we respect someone else's choices?
What can we do when our path looks different from a friend's?
These conversations don't need to become formal lessons.
They can happen naturally while children build, draw, explore, or share their ideas.
The important thing is to create an environment where children feel comfortable expressing themselves and where different ways of thinking are welcomed.
A Reggio-Inspired Invitation to Explore
My Path also lends itself beautifully to an open-ended, Reggio Emilia-inspired approach to learning.
Rather than deciding in advance exactly what every child should create, begin with a story and a thoughtful selection of materials.
Offer natural objects, loose parts, paper, drawing tools, and opportunities for movement.
Then observe.
What captures the children's attention? Which materials do they return to? What questions emerge? How do their ideas change as they experiment?
You may discover that one child is fascinated by the shapes of winding paths, another wants to build a miniature landscape, and another is inspired to invent an entirely new world.
These different directions are not distractions from the learning.
They are the learning.
When we leave room for curiosity and choice, a single picture book can become the starting point for many different discoveries.
Extending the Learning with a My Path Book Companion
A beautiful story can inspire so much more than a single reading experience.
My My Path Book Companion offers opportunities to revisit the story, explore its ideas, and extend learning through meaningful activities connected to the book.
It can help bring together early literacy, vocabulary, comprehension, storytelling, and creative exploration while keeping the story at the heart of the experience.
The intention is not to turn every page into an assignment or to fill children's time with activities.
It's to offer thoughtful ways to return to a story, notice something new, and make connections that grow over time.
Because sometimes, one small invitation is all a child needs to begin exploring an idea in their own way.
Final Thoughts: Everyone Has a Path to Follow
Perhaps the most beautiful message we can take from My Path is that there isn't one single way to move through the world.
Children don't all learn in the same way, explore at the same pace, or discover the same things.
And they don't need to.
When we share stories, offer open-ended materials, and make room for children's ideas, we give them opportunities to explore their own interests and develop confidence in their discoveries.
We don't have to plan every step of the journey.
Sometimes, we simply need to provide a starting point, stay curious, and see where the story takes us.
Everyone has their own path to follow. And every path deserves the space to unfold.
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