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When I Grow Up
“A small child muses about the future as Mom guides the bedtime routine…Winning text and illustrations for bedtime.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“The whimsical pictures fill every page with happiness and variety as Chen presents exuberant ideas for the big dreams and wishes of childhood.” — Booklist
“As a mother helps her young son get ready for bed…Mom assures him that the future is wide open, and ‘No matter what, I will always be there for you.’” — Publishers Weekly
A little boy shares with his mom his dreams of what he might be when he grows up in this tender picture boo k from Julie Chen the host of Big Brother and formerly the host of The Talk and N ew York Times bestselling artist and Caldecott Honor recipient Diane Goode.
One night while getting ready for bed a little boy starts to wonder what will life be like when he grows up. He could be a painter, a musician, a mountain climber, a mayor…
He tells his mother all about his big ideas…and all of the other things he wants to do. But when will he grow up? And why does it take so long?
“The whimsical pictures fill every page with happiness and variety as Chen presents exuberant ideas for the big dreams and wishes of childhood.” — Booklist
“As a mother helps her young son get ready for bed…Mom assures him that the future is wide open, and ‘No matter what, I will always be there for you.’” — Publishers Weekly
A little boy shares with his mom his dreams of what he might be when he grows up in this tender picture boo k from Julie Chen the host of Big Brother and formerly the host of The Talk and N ew York Times bestselling artist and Caldecott Honor recipient Diane Goode.
One night while getting ready for bed a little boy starts to wonder what will life be like when he grows up. He could be a painter, a musician, a mountain climber, a mayor…
He tells his mother all about his big ideas…and all of the other things he wants to do. But when will he grow up? And why does it take so long?
32 pages, Hardcover
Published October 2, 2018
1 person is currently reading
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 27, 2019
When celebrities write children’s books...
Strange flow, abruptly ended with the mother’s response that didn’t seem to totally balance out the rest of the book.
Strange flow, abruptly ended with the mother’s response that didn’t seem to totally balance out the rest of the book.
October 14, 2024
Tops for me with the illustrations, that leave room for the child to add to the story from the illustrations. Delightful read of the day.
August 24, 2023
The illustrations are beautiful, the story short and sweet and the story of wondering what you could be is simple and imaginative. This is one of my favorite children’s books!
May 17, 2023
I love/miss my mom
October 27, 2021
I loved this book!!! The illustrations look like water colors and are very bright and appealing. They are creative: one page has the mom and son as they are and the opposite page goes along with the ideas the main character has. He is a very curious and ambitious kid and I think I connected to it because he clearly wants to make the world a better place and this has been my goal for whatever career I ended up with. I had an 'identity crisis' similar to this when I didn't know what I would do or who I would be. He believes he can do anything and I think we can all relate to that feeling throughout our childhood. At the end of the book we see him and his mom all ready for bed, and she talks about supporting him no matter what. This was really special to me because I am very close with my mom and she has told me this my whole life. This book makes me want to be a kid again!
August 9, 2023
What a lovely variation on the picture books about a young child going to sleep at night, books that often start off whiny.
By contrast, in this book, right on the first page...
The narrator asks, "Mom, when I grow up,
what do you think I will be?"
Delightful answers follow, as the narrator is being prepared to go to bed for the night.
Which delightful answers?
* Fanciful answers
* Big dream answers
Such a lovely way to prepare a toddler to go to sleep: Especially the ending. (Not that I'm going to give you a spoiler, no no. Besides, it will be such fun to read this book for yourself.)
My recommendation is FIVE STARS.
Thank you, author Julie Chen and artist, Diane Goode.
By contrast, in this book, right on the first page...
The narrator asks, "Mom, when I grow up,
what do you think I will be?"
Delightful answers follow, as the narrator is being prepared to go to bed for the night.
Which delightful answers?
* Fanciful answers
* Big dream answers
Such a lovely way to prepare a toddler to go to sleep: Especially the ending. (Not that I'm going to give you a spoiler, no no. Besides, it will be such fun to read this book for yourself.)
My recommendation is FIVE STARS.
Thank you, author Julie Chen and artist, Diane Goode.
May 5, 2022
the genre for this book is picture book. the age group for this book is for children of all ages. it is a story about a little boy that is dreaming about dreaming and wondering about what he is going to do when he grows up also what he will be like when he grows up. at the end the mother said that he can be whatever he wants and that she will always be there for him. i gave this book a five star because it was a great book about how you can do whatever you want if you try. it also has great color and great illustration.
October 26, 2018
This was a great choice for my Books Before Bedtime program! A young boy questions his mom about what he will be when he grows up. The children enjoyed all of his possibilities. It has a sweet ending, his mom assured him no matter what, she would always be there for him. "Let's dream of tomorrow together." We then discussed the different things the children want to be when they grow up.
January 11, 2019
The illustrations were great, the story just so-so. (Also, given how the book began, I had "Que Sera, Sera" stuck in my head the whole time, and that made the text really jarring because I was expecting it to rhyme.)
I did like that this was clearly an established part of the bedtime routine, and the mom's answer (and cuddles) were nice.
I did like that this was clearly an established part of the bedtime routine, and the mom's answer (and cuddles) were nice.
September 6, 2019
“When I Grow Up” is a question every kids asks and sometimes adults too! The child’s imagination is great with all the great ideas of what they can be when grown up. While reading the story, I was reminded of that time when I was asking what I would be when I grow up. This story is a great way to get the questions coming.
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February 9, 2020This book explored the imagination of a kid while talking to his mother about what he could be when he grows up. Will he be a baker, teacher, writer, or the mayor and run the town. Perhaps a painter, astronaut, gardner, or a musician. Its a very good illustrated book to aide kids in their imagination.
October 26, 2018
A young boy thinks through all the possible things he could be when he grows up.
I'm VERY far removed from what actually works with children as far as books go, but I wasn't a fan of this. It seemed overly sentimental and there just wasn't anything special about it.
Meh.
Grades K-3
I'm VERY far removed from what actually works with children as far as books go, but I wasn't a fan of this. It seemed overly sentimental and there just wasn't anything special about it.
Meh.
Grades K-3
November 21, 2018
Sometimes, the vastness of the future leaves us with many questions. What will I be when I grow up? What will I do? What will life be like? Julie Chen addresses all of these possibilities in this lovely children's book. The artwork is super simple and fits beautifully with the themes of the book.
December 12, 2018
Cute illustrations. The story is simple and cute, but a little overly cutesy at the end. I like the illustrations though, mostly how the dog is a key part of all of them. I liked it, but didn't love it...the end kind of killed it for me.
April 24, 2018
Mother-child bond, kids growing up. Got a little teary-eyed.
October 8, 2018
These illustrations are great, and I love the little dog included in them. While I enjoyed the various "what will I be" scenarios, the ending felt lacking in some way.
October 31, 2018
Nice book about the love and support a mother gives her child, plus the encouragement in telling her child they can be whatever they want to be.
November 7, 2018
Heartwarming and simple. A mother and son interact as the son dreams of all he might be someday.
November 9, 2018
Add another to the Celebrity Author pile of meh.
November 21, 2018
Why are all the best questions always asked when you're putting a little one to bed? Such is the case in this charming story. Mom, when I grown up what do you think I'll be .....
November 30, 2018
3.5. Sweet with great pictures.
December 30, 2018
Didn't feel that the text flowed
February 16, 2019
Good for prek story class.
Themes - jobs, imagination, love, mothers
Themes - jobs, imagination, love, mothers
February 18, 2019
A little boy talks about growing up and all the things he could be and do. A sweet story of a mother and child bonding. Lovely illustrations.
March 27, 2019
Really liked this to talk with my kids about their future aspirations.
April 3, 2019
Why "funny OR smart"? Can't someone be both?
July 6, 2019
It was short and pretty boring.
September 22, 2019
Random. No rhythm or flow.
September 26, 2019
The illustrations are delicately done, but I don't care for storyline so I rated the whole book based on that.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews