When I Grow Up

I purchased this book to read to my children and my classroom. Was perfect for career day and the kids shared several laughs.

For as long as I remember I have been a fan of Al Yankovic. I have always had the utmost respect for him and considered him to be a lyrical genius. I am now 37 years old and have two daughters of my own, 8 and 5 years old. I have had a great time introducing his music to them. It's so refreshing to be able to play up-beat, tolerable, HYSTERICAL music around my kids, without having to worry about having an uncomfortable talk with them about the lyrics. My girls ask to hear his music everyday, which is fine with me! I have taught the young grasshoppers well. Anyway enough about his music, this is about his book! Woo-hoo!I purchased 3 copies through Amazon, one for each kid (including me). I bought one at B&N because I couldn't wait, plus I figured my kids' school library could use a copy.I absolutely love this book. So do my kids. Perhaps we are a bit partial, but who cares? The dialogue flows good and is fun to read. I've always loved reading to my kids, and I'm good at changing up my voice to go along with the moods and characters. This was perfect for that. Some of the vocabulary is a little above their heads but hey, that's what us parents are here for right? The occupations he comes up with are so creative. I love the Snail part the best. The illustrations are amazing and there are a lot of little details to notice in the pictures. Hint: Make sure you look really close at all of the kids in the cafeteria. ;)Mostly I like the message. So many adults push to put a career label on kids way too soon. Whether they expect their kids to follow in their own footsteps, or they are trying to live vicariously through their child with stuff they weren't able to accomplish for themselves. As "Billy" puts it in the book "cut me some slack". Let kids be kids, and figure out for themselves what will make them happy.As usual, Al Yankovic not only meets but exceeds my expectations. He seems to have a never-ending ability to create brilliant writing, whether it be his lyrics or dialogue. He is the nicest, most decent celebrity figure out there. He is SO much more than the "Eat It" guy. I am so happy for him for the success he has had, and so rightly deserves with his career. I wish him nothing but the best.

Such a cute and fun little story. Definitely a must read if you have kids. It's funny and rhymes.my daughter and I loved it

As a lifelong fan of "Weird Al" Yankovic, I was thrilled when I heard that he would be writing a children's book. I thought Al's gift of rhyme would be perfect for writing such a thing, and I'm glad to say that I was not wrong!"When I Grow Up" tells the story of an eight year-old child named Billy, who, when given the question "When I grow up, what am I gonna be?" in his class's show-and-tell, launches into a fabulously imaginative discussion of a vast array of potential future careers. It's rife with Yankovic's signature brand of absurdity.As an education student hoping someday to be a teacher (when I grow up!), I can confidently say that this book will certainly be in my classroom. The words (and there are a lot of them) are a bit above the lower elementary school level, but even the big words that children may not necessarily know are presented in contexts that will probably help them figure out. Not only is it a wonderfully entertaining story, but I think it carries an important message for kids, and even for adults. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a question that's very commonly asked of children, and one on which we place a false belief that the question must have a definitive answer. Children need to know that it's okay to not know what they want to be when they grow up. As Billy puts it in this book, "See, I'm only eight now, so frankly I'm hopin' you'll cut me some slack if I leave options open."

Kind and fun story. Old and young love it. Worth the purchase.

Story is fun and interesting for kids ages 5 to maybe 10. Al's voice is a bit too much for me though.

Now I bought this because I'm a Weird Al Yankovic fan.I figured that because I enjoy his crazy lyrics so much, I would love this too. And I was right, I do love it. It's a great way to introduce my little ones to Al Yankovic's humor.The rhymes are clever and fun to read. I find myself getting tongue-tied if I try to read it too fast. But for my son, that's part of the fun. My take away from the book is that it's okay to dream big and consider anything and everything you may want to do in life. That's something that society drills out of children far too early, when we tell them the goal of life is to find a great paying job regardless of what it does to our spirit. This book captures all the imagination that a child is supposed to have. Of course many of the jobs are silly and outlandish, while some are very specific (lathe operator who makes the hydraulic torque wrench calibrator...) and maybe not even possible. but I want my children growing up thinking about possibilities rather than limitations.This book always makes me smile and excited to read to my kids.(As an extra, I would grab the audio book edition from either audible or itunes. Weird Al himself is reading it and it gets pretty crazy!)

In classic Weird Al, he tells the story in a unique way. He does not disappoint with this book. It is an entertaining book. Not exactly what I was looking for when looking for with a career book for my young son, but entertaining.

Awesome rhyming, funny humor, great artwork, and adorably relatable for children. Really worth reading aloud; you can definitely read the genius of Al Yankovic in the writing. Highly recommended. My small one liked the message within the book too

Divertido libro de un gran artista, perfecto para enseñar las profesiones en clase de inglés

Very funny and thought out. It's exciting, emotional, and even thought provoking.

Product was delivered within a very short time frame, which very much appreciated.

We thought this book was funny and an enjoyable read,. Kids really enjoyed it and they are 8 and 5.