Copyright Date:
2021
Edition Date:
2021
Release Date:
04/13/21
Illustrator:
To, Vivienne,
Pages:
1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN:
1-250-24525-7
ISBN 13:
978-1-250-24525-0
Dewey:
E
LCCN:
2020019861
Dimensions:
24 x 29 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
School Library Journal
(Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)
PreS-Gr 3 A rhyming smorgasbord of career ideas will inspire readers to dream big. Hitchman's poetry rolls off the tongue with a bouncy "Choosing Shoes" (Frida Wolfe) meter: "Fire awesome / Hire awesome / Helping to inspire awesome." The somewhat obtuse text works because of the colorful cartoon-style spreads that are interspersed with spot illustrations and pages divided diagonally to help make each interest-to-career pairing clear: a child playing with a stuffed elephant next to the same child dressed as a ranger feeding a real elephant, for example. The illustrator leaves no representation rock unturned: characters range from plump to skinny, skin tones from coffee to cream, hair a variety of textures and colors, and one mom is wearing a hijab. Adding to the diversity: a girl in a wheelchair hammers a nail on one page while on another, a girl using a white cane and a seeing-eye dog goes for a hike with some friends. The pictures and sound of the words will be pure fun for preschoolers while older readers will appreciate the message that there are enough kinds of awesome to include them and their passions. Back matter facilitates a more direct discussion of how a child's interests could lead to investigating certain careers. VERDICT A read-aloud hit perfect for the community helpers or career day shelf. Hillary Perelyubskiy, Los Angeles P.L.
What kind of awesome will you be? Jess Hitchman's joyful, playful picture book, All Kinds of Awesome, celebrates children finding their passions and embracing their own awesomeness, and is paired with adorable illustrations by Vivienne To of a diverse and multicultural group of kids, all coming together on the final line of: "You will always be awesome to me."