Common Sense Media Review
By Bess Maher
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sweet what-to-be-when-you-grow-up book taps parental hopes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU WILL BE begins with an illustration of a mother and daughter holding hands and the line, "When I look at you, and you look at me, I wonder what wonderful things you will be," setting the tone for a meditation on parental love and expectations. The narrator wonders what possibilities lie in store for the child. Will it be in the realms of art, music, or medicine? What kind of person the child will become? Will the goodness seen in the child today continue to flourish?
Is It Any Good?
This gentle picture book has a sweet message told in soothing rhyme and truly beautiful art that's at once nostalgic and modern. It's filled with lively artistic details, such as a mouse band that mimics the kids' rock band, a tin-can phone at a slumber party, and colorful hot air balloons floating over a dream landscape. The art, in subdued shades of blue, yellow, and red has a gently surprising relationship with the text. For instance, when the narrator wonders if her child will "take care of [much smaller] things,""the complementing art includes a little blond boy with measuring tape wrapped around his shoulders sewing pants for a squirrel.
While the story is mainly a vehicle for parents to express their love and hopes for their children, young readers will also enjoy the pictures of kids dressed up in fun costumes (superheroes, bears, ballerinas) trying out different roles (musician, artist, veterinarian); the recurrence of woodland and wild creatures; and the cute details. Older children should also enjoy wondering what the future holds for them.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the reader would like to be when he or she grows up. A musician? An artist? An actor or writer? A veterinarian or doctor? An inventor? What else?
What's special about the different kids in the story? What's special about you? Is there something you do really well?
How many balloons can you count in the book? How many stars? How many different kinds of animals?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Emily Winfield Martin
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Arts
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Random House Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : January 23, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 3 - 7
- Number of pages : 36
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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