The Lost Tribe

The Choose Your Own Adventure series offered an option every few pages to choose how the story would continue. According to your preference, you would follow its instructions by turning to the appropriate page of the book as indicated by your choice. This was a popular and revolutionary idea when the series was first launched in the early 1980s, driving it to incredible sales levels for many years until it was overshadowed by variants on the idea that took the concept to more elaborate lengths (e.g. Fighting Fantasy) and especially by other interactive media.

The plot: in New Zealand you encounter (if you're lucky) an isolated tribe of traditional Maori.

Observations: I'd cite this as the first entry in the series that offers a genuinely show more educational element (a tone set immediately by the glossary of terms at the start), although arguments could be made about the Maya (#11) and others. I came out of this actually having learned a thing or two about another culture. The story presents them very respectfully. A lot of future entries in the series would borrow this approach.

Personal memories: a lot of my appreciation for Maori culture to this day still stems from this early exposure. Author Louise Munro Foley was a welcome new voice. show less