with Terri Schlichenmeyer

6/30/2009 by Terri Schlichenmeyer

When I Grow Up by Jessica Loy

©2008, Henry Holt and Co. $16.95 37 pages

For most of your life —for sure, as long as you’ve been able to talk — adults have asked you what you want to be when you grow up.

When you were a really little kid, you probably had some goofy ideas about that, but now you’re older and you’ve paid attention to what grown-ups do at their workplaces.

Although you’ve got plenty of time, it’s fun to dream about your future. To learn about some really cool jobs, read When I Grow Up by Jessica Loy.

So what’s your favorite thing to do? Is there someone you admire, or maybe a business you know a lot about because someone in your family is an entrepreneur? In her book, Loy says your hobbies and the things you know now might become your career some day.

Say you love bugs. You’re not one bit scared of spiders or creepy-crawlies; in fact, you have several in your room (and you wonder why Mom won’t go in there). Maybe you’ll grow up to be an entomologist, which is a fancy word for someone who studies bugs and insects.

Did you ever find a treasure on the ground? Do you really dig dirt? Then you’d probably enjoy being an archaeologist, or someone who looks for bones and clues to prehistoric human life. If you prefer your people alive, you could be a biologist and study human innards. Maybe you could even cure a disease some day!

Or, wait. The two things you love most in life are video games and… video games. Would you believe that you could make a living by creating games for big-name companies? How about becoming a robotics engineer, and making robots all day long? And if that’s not enough fame for you, you could be a set designer for a theater or for Hollywood movies.

Maybe the only thing you love more than food is making food. You might like being a chocolatier or a cheesemaker, then. At least you could eat your mistakes.

From indoors to outside, hand-crafted art to food-as-art, this book will give you lots of ideas for a future that’s interesting and fun.

Are you a business owner or do you work for someone else? Either way, you naturally want your child to someday have a great, high-paying job that he or she enjoys. is a good way to start a “what-would-you-like-to-do” conversation.

Using the things they love best, author Jessica Loy shows kids how those fun hobbies or fascinating interests can be converted into a great, grown-up career. These are undoubtedly cool jobs, but Loy doesn’t candy-coat the work that goes into being successful, nor does she forget to subtly mention the education it takes to do the jobs profiled in this book.

Whether following in Mom or Dad’s career-footsteps or breaking out in an unusual field of business, “When I Grow Up” is perfect for any 10-to-13-year-old who’s incessantly asked what they want to “be.” Give them this book and they’ll be pretty happy.

Terri Schlichenmeyer lives in Wisconsin, where every room and closet in her house is stuffed with books.

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