Just like the other books by Yamada, this book does a brilliant job of taking an abstract idea like a chance, and making it something concrete for readers to analyze. While this is aimed at children, I think adolescents and adults could benefit from this book. Especially since chances don’t stop coming into your life just because you’re an adult.
The basic premise of this book is that a boy comes across a “chance” or a shiny gold thing. He tries to pursue it and is never able to catch it. Instead, he embarrasses himself in front of his family and decides to never try to catch a chance again. During this period, he notices that chances stop coming. Then one day there’s a big chance on the horizon. He reflects on what happened in previously and decides that he doesn’t have to be perfect at catching a chance ever
y time, just at this one time. If he’s going to succeed, he knows that he’s going to have to give it all he can in order to succeed that this chance.
It’s a great message, this idea that sometimes when we take a chance we will fail. But it’s not about being successful every time we take a chance. It’s about committing to act of taking a chance and giving it our all. There’s also this idea that we have to be evaluating and analyzing what made us successful, or not, in the past and how we can learn from these experiences without letting them define us.