This positive compendium of possibilities should encourage children to embrace their paths, wherever they lead.
Appealing illustrations and a multiracial cast give kids an opportunity to picture themselves in an array of career roles that run the gamut from A to Z.
Like the earlier ABC What Can She Be? (2018), this follow-up is designed to stimulate a child’s imagination and broaden their sense of the possibilities before them. The overall message is stated plainly on the cover: “Boys can be anything they want to be, from A to Z.” There’s a deliberate gender neutrality in the selection of career roles depicted even as the masculine pronoun is repeated over and over. “A is for Astronaut. He blasts into space to explore new worlds” is followed by “B is for Ballet Dancer. He gracefully dances with leaps and turns. He is so flexible and strong.” Other occupations presented include environmental engineer, fashion designer, jet pilot, karate instructor, nurse, quantum physicist, race car driver, yoga instructor, and xenobiologist (less obvious than X-ray technician, if a bit esoteric), to name a few. The artwork and lettering are brightly colored; the illustrations make each occupation look appealing and often exciting. The word “HE,” when it introduces each job description, appears in varying colorful letters suggestive of the rainbow pride flag, perhaps to underscore the book’s message of inclusivity. Caregivers of nonbinary kids will be hoping, however, for a forthcoming ABC What Can They Be?
This positive compendium of possibilities should encourage children to embrace their paths, wherever they lead. (Board book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63322-724-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Walter Foster Jr.
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children.
Social-equity themes are presented to children in ABC format.
Terms related to intersectional inequality, such as “class,” “gender,” “privilege,” “oppression,” “race,” and “sex,” as well as other topics important to social justice such as “feminism,” “human being,” “immigration,” “justice,” “kindness,” “multicultural,” “transgender,” “understanding,” and “value” are named and explained. There are 26 in all, one for each letter of the alphabet. Colorful two-page spreads with kid-friendly illustrations present each term. First the term is described: “Belief is when you are confident something exists even if you can’t see it. Lots of different beliefs fill the world, and no single belief is right for everyone.” On the facing page it concludes: “B is for BELIEF / Everyone has different beliefs.” It is hard to see who the intended audience for this little board book is. Babies and toddlers are busy learning the names for their body parts, familiar objects around them, and perhaps some basic feelings like happy, hungry, and sad; slightly older preschoolers will probably be bewildered by explanations such as: “A value is an expression of how to live a belief. A value can serve as a guide for how you behave around other human beings. / V is for VALUE / Live your beliefs out loud.”
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children. (Board book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-742-8
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
So rocket science can be fun.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
If they haven’t already thought about their futures (and they probably haven’t), toddlers and preschoolers might start planning after perusing this cheerful first guide to scientific careers. Plump-cheeked, wide-eyed tykes with various skin and hair colors introduce different professions, including zoologist, meteorologist, aerospace engineer, and environmental scientist, depicted with cues to tip readers off to what the jobs entail. The simple text presents the sometimes-long, tongue-twisting career names while helpfully defining them in comprehensible terms. For example, an environmental scientist “helps take care of our world,” and a zoologist is defined as someone who “studies how animals behave.” Scientists in general are identified as those who “study, learn, and solve problems.” Such basic language not only benefits youngsters, but also offers adults sharing the book easy vocabulary with which to expand on conversations with kids about the professions. The title’s ebullient appearance is helped along by the typography: The jobs’ names are set in all caps, printed in color and in a larger font than the surrounding text, and emphasized with exclamation points. Additionally, the buoyant watercolors feature clues to what scientists in these fields work with, such as celestial bodies for astronomers. The youngest listeners won’t necessarily get all of this, but the book works as a rudimentary introduction to STEM topics and a shoutout to scientific endeavors.
So rocket science can be fun. (Informational picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62354-149-1
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
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