When I Grow Up
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4.5 • 25 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Grammy Award winner and pop culture icon “Weird Al” Yankovic delivers his first picture book, bringing his trademark wit, wordplay, and silliness to a story that explores the timeless question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Funny and charming, this is a celebration of creativity and possibility.
An Amazon Best Book of the Month! "The farce and parody make this a rare book with appeal to both kids and adults" (Booklist).
It’s Show-and-Tell time in Mrs. Krupp’s class, and Billy just can’t wait for his turn! Today the class is discussing what they want to be when they grow up, and our exuberant eight-year-old hero is bursting to tell everyone about his future career plans.
In dazzling wordplay and delicious rhymes, Billy regales his patient teacher and amazed classmates with tales of the variety of careers he wants to pursue—each more outlandish and wildly imaginative than the last!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A boy's careening imagination fuels the zingy verse and art in this lighthearted take on a familiar theme. Comedian and musical satirist Yankovic opens his first children's book with Billy hogging the spotlight during show-and-tell: "I proudly stood up and began my oration/ Concerning my choice for a future vocation." His formality gives way to freewheeling fantasies as he envisions himself a world-famous chef ("My walls will be filled with awards that I've gotten/ For toast-on-a-stick and my Twinkies au gratin"), a snail trainer ("Why, that's a no-brainer!"), a lathe operator, and a giraffe milker ("It's oh-so-clich to get milk from a cow,/ And I bet all those cows need a break anyhow"). The tempo quickens when the boy begins listing rather than describing potential professions, even the most mainstream of which Hargis (Jackson and Bud's Bumpy Ride) portrays with comedic hyperbole. He offers especially outlandish depictions of Billy as gorilla masseuse, deodorant tester, and tarantula shaver. After all the wackiness, Yankovic's poem wraps up on a more realistic note, as the boy finds career inspiration closer to school. Ages 4 8.
Customer Reviews
We love it!
A wildly funny and empowering story. Perfect match of brilliant (and unpredictable) rhymes and hilarious art encourages kids to dream big and believe in themselves. We've spent hours pouring over the pages and return to this book again and again.
And Weird Al's own narration can't be beat. Inspired and unexpectedly touching. Enjoy!