This book from imagination press is about making choices. Sometimes you can fear the idea of making a choice, but you need to do it anyway or else things could turn out badly. I like that this didn’t follow the standard educational material format but at the same time, I don’t think the book did a good job imparting its lesson. I do think the illustrations are fun and there will be people who like this book but overall it’s just too long and semi boring.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I chuckled when I realized why she was called Waffles. The book is pretty got and if great tool for kids who get stuck in their own heads.

I've never come across a children's book that tackles the challenge of decision-making quite like this one—definitely an A+ for originality! While there were moments where the connection between ideas felt a bit unclear, the overall balance of valuable life lessons and pure fun makes it an engaging read for kids.

Thank you, NetGalley!

Making decisions is hard. For Waffle, it's he worst. In Waffle Can't Decide, by Brenda S. Miles, Waffle's inability to make decisions causes problems, such as lateness. Waffle needs to learn how to make a decision in a timely manner. Waffle goes through a trial and error process, trying to find the best possible system for streamlining the decision making process. This book is cute and the illustrations by Monika Filipina are charming. Don't read while you are hungry as Waffle's world is populated by yummy breakfast foods. This could be a helpful book for a child who struggles to develop decision making skills. Teachers or caregivers could use this book as a way to introduce this topic.

An adorable book about making decisions. I love that this book will help kids identify the difference between types of decisions and the importance and impact of them. Plus Waffle is just so cute!

My son's review:
It's good! I loved the parts about space and how she made the stars and planets on the black wall.

My review:
This was a cute book to help kids reduce the stress of deciding. Understanding other stuff can help them decide on things or to limit the choices to less to make it easier to decide between 2 things. I truly enjoyed this book. Being indecisive myself, it was a cute read and very helpful! I also loved the illustrations!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Magination Press to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

I thought that the concept behind this book was great and it was really well done.

The story was well written and it was easy to follow and understand.

The illustrations in the book were great and they worked well to bring the story to life.

My daughter can be indecisive at times so we could sympathise with Waffle and it will help children that do have this issue of incisiveness and overthinking about the choices to be make.

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

Waffle just can't decide. There are just so many options and she's easily overwhelmed with indecision. RELATABLE. I love the hand-drawn colored pencil-like artwork. The facial expressions of the characters. I felt each one. Since this one has food as characters, I'll be able to use it for my all-abilities reading group of adults. This will be fantastic, with the real-world struggle of anxiety. I can't wait to share it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher, American Psychological Association, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A great tool for helping children understand choice-related anxiety and strategies to use when they are faced with choice -elated anxiety themselves. This is a great introduction for a conversation at home or in a therapy setting to help young children see choice-related anxiety on the page and give them the words and relatable examples to express their own experiences. The main character also mentions a few helpful strategies that can be expanded on in conversation with a knowledgeable parent or therapist, whether private or school-based. Back matter is great for parents in helping them better understand this very real anxiety that can be crippling for some children (and their families as a result). A fabulous therapeutic resource!

Thank you to Netgalley and Magination Press for my copy of the digital ARC.

The artwork is 5/5! So cute but also vibrant and goofy. My four year old was cracking up at the food acting like people. Unfortunately, the storyline was hard to follow and wasn't very compelling. My son had a difficult time following the line of thought throughout, and the concept of making decisions was very abstract and not developmentally appropriate for his age. I might recommend this to an older child (ages 5-10), but the artwork is very young, so I'm conflicted. Overall, this would be a nice book for the right audience, that just isn't me and my child at this time.

Waffle Can’t Decide
Brenda S. Miles PhD.
Monika Filipina, Illustrator
When we have trouble making decisions, we refer to it as Waffling. In Waffle Can’t Decide we have an actual waffle that has trouble making decisions. This is an adorable book that will help children learn how to make a decision and to accept the consequences of that decision. Some of the decisions children make may seem inconsequential but those simple decisions assist in learning how to make the big decisions. What should I wear to school? That may seem like a simple decision to an adult but not so simple to a child (not so simple to some adults either.) Do I wear a swimsuit to school? Probably not a good idea. What color socks should I wear? Red with yellow stripes, blue with red dots, or purple with green frogs. Should I do my homework or play a video game? That’s an important decision. What happens if I don’t do my homework? Do I stay up most of the night on a school night or do I go to bed at a reasonable time? All decisions have consequences.
In our story, Waffle considers the consequences of different decisions. Waffle tries different ways before she does anything. This is a fun book as well as being educational. I love the play on words, waffle. This is a logical book. It teaches problem solving and critical thinking. Many adults could benefit from reading this book. This is a great book for parents or educators to share with their children. The illustrations are fun, bright, and cheerful; they add support to the text.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

My five year old son really enjoyed this book. Waffle was fun and engaging. At the end of the story my son and I were able to discuss in what ways he was similar to waffle. The illustrations are beautiful. I loved the colors and whimsy used throughout. This would be a great book to read to a classroom of young children. A great way to facilitate some good conversations about the difficulty of making decisions, big or small!

Waffle struggles with even the smallest choices. Red socks or blue socks? Pink glasses or green glasses? She tries to make random choices, no choices, or rely on others to choose for her. None of them work but she does find a solution that works for her by making the choices in smaller increments, adding context to choices, and realizing the larger world around her isn’t impacted by her choices.

This book is adorably illustrated, sentient donuts go to school with sentient waffles in a colorful way. The drawings are illustrated and bright. I love the busier textured backdrops and the deep black of the night sky, reflected in the deep black of Waffle’s sadness.

The back few pages are info for parents from a psychological standpoint. The author gives you definitions and action tasks for your child like modifying behavior. This is a great book to keep on your shelf to remind yourself and your children on how to make good choices.

Sometimes, it is really hard to make a good decision and time is ticking. May be, because we do not have skill to decision making. Waffle Can't Decide is a super relatable and engaging story about making decisions and being decisive in your life.

The perfect book that would be perfect for 2-4 graders learning how to make decisions quickly. I love the way it mapped out ways to make decisions: focusing on fewer choices, measuring the impact of the choices, and even researching as a means to narrow choices down. The illustrations are absolutely amazing! Highly suggest for a library storytime or classroom read aloud.

"Waffle Can't Decide" written by Brenda S. Miles, PhD (a pediatric neuropsychologist) and illustrated by Monika Filipina is a picture book about Waffle, a waffle who keeps waffling about decision making whether it is a big choice or a small choice. A color for her wall? An ice cream flavor? A shape for her eyeglasses? She tries several different ways of making decisions that don't really work out, before realizing that she can make mini decisions by limiting her choices and that while some decisions may be hard to make, most are not permanent. A helpful guide for parents about helping kids with decision making and the psychology behind it is at the end of the book. A recommended purchase for picture book collections.

As someone who struggles with anxiety and decision-paralysis, I felt seen by Waffles' character. No matter if choices are big or small, or will effect the present or future, making decisions can be mind-numbing and debilitating. Waffle knows what she likes, but when it comes to making decisions each day, she waffles! She tries to manage her decisions by following other's leads/ideas, and even attempting to surprise herself, but those don't make her feel quite right. It's only when she looks up to the stars that she realizes that breaking things into smaller pieces can help her feel more confident in deciding. The illustrations in this book were beautiful watercolors that didn't detract from the story, and I liked the reader's note. I think that is a wonderful social-emotional book that students would be likely to pick up because of the illustrations, but put down after reading feeling more confident in themselves.

A nice short story about indecision. I liked the story and the puns. It includes techniques for overcoming indecision, which I thought would be very helpful for anxious kids. Quick, but helpful. I wouldn't read this book for fun, but could be a very useful teaching tool for kids who are nervous.

I was provided with a review copy by netgalley.

I love 'Taco Falls Apart,' so I was excited to see Miles releasing a new SEL title this year! One of my co-workers said of 'Taco Falls Apart,' "My therapist could have just given me this book and saved two years." 'Waffle Can't Decide' certainly lives up to the hype of it's predecessor.

In this picture book, Waffle spends a lot of time 'waffling' back and forth on decisions big and small, but throughout the book they build skills and create tools that help them make those hard decisions. This is a great lesson for kids (and adults) that struggle with decision making.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher, American Psychological Association, via NetGalley.

I loved this book, it was so cute and hilarious. Waffle (an actual waffle) has a hard time deciding and often “waffles” in her decisions. Her friends are all breakfast foods and I love the little details like her friend juice spilling some liquid while playing soccer. The illustrations are great and there is a fair amount of chaotic drawings in the background which are not distracting but help show the amount of anxiety that can be going on in someone’s head while they are making decisions. Written by the American Psychological Society, this book is clearly intended to help young readers understand why decision making can be difficult. The strategy given is to turn big decisions into lots of mini decisions which are easier to make. Comparing decision making to outerspace, with some planets far away, some small etc, the authors help show that there are many decisions to make but that they do not need to all be made at the same time, which can be overwhelming. At the end of the book is a readers note that has a lot of information about brain development, anxiety and decision making for parents and care givers. I think this would be a fabulous addition to my classroom library and could definitely see myself reading this specifically with anxious children in mind. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this beautiful book.