All The Things I Can Be

I liked the young girl depicted in the illustrations and enjoyed envisioning her in a variety of careers. The style of the illustrations was simple and the text used a fun font giving this picture book a unique appeal. This would be an excellent book to use on career day at school. It would make a good gift for a young girl thinking of what she’d like to do when she grew up. The ending illustration showing the young girl in all the occupations explored was a good touch.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Kafilat Shobajo's All The Things I Can Be, an important and empowering book for girls everywhere who can do - and become- anything that they set their minds to. As an early childhood teacher, I'm always looking for books that we can add to our unit about Careers and Community Helpers. This is perfect because it gives an easy-to-understand explanation about a wide variety of careers, and the illustrations are excellent. It also reinforces the message that boys and girls can have any job that they want as long as they put their hearts into it!

This book is a favorite in our house for my little boys. It’s a great message for all children. I want my boys to know that they can be anything they want and so can the girls around them and I love the perspective this book provides.

I thought this book had a wonderful message for young girls that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. I loved the fact that some of the professions she talks about are male dominated professions. The illustrations were wonderful and helped the story. This would be a great addition to any elementary aged library.

A good message, that girls, particularly girls of colour, can be anything they want. I appreciated the variety of careers that were shown. The illustrations were colourful and I think would keep the attention of most children. This would be a good book to add to a class for a career focused unit. My one critique is that the careers that are depicted are still in the typical range that are shown in most books of this type. It might be nice to include some of the lesser known careers (for example x-ray technologist, or scientific researcher) to introduce some of the lesser known careers.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

An empowering little book bursting with grand possibilities. Celebrating education and dreams, ardent with the message that every child can grow to become everything they wish for, All The Things I Can Be is the kind of book I wish I had as a child.

Empowering children's book about various careers a little Black girl, Kofo, is considering for when she grows up. The book does a great job of presenting a wide variety of jobs -- including doctor, plumber, hair stylist, lawyer, musician, and president -- with the overarching message that these jobs are for everyone (with the primary intended audience seemingly being girls of color... that said, I think all kids would benefit from reading this book). I wish the story had included a bit more nuance -- namely, that it had communicated that our jobs do not reflect our value as human beings -- and hadn't fallen into problematic cultural language around perfection.

"All the Things I Can Be" is a remarkable picture book that inspires and empowers young girls to dream big and believe in themselves. It beautifully showcases a diverse array of professions without elevating one over the other, delivering a powerful message of gender equality and individual strength. The simple yet captivating illustrations bring to life a young girl exploring numerous careers, making it an ideal read for career day at school or a thoughtful gift for any young girl pondering her future. This book sends an important message that resonates with children and adults alike, fostering a belief that girls can achieve anything they set their minds to. Kudos to the author and illustrator for creating such an encouraging and uplifting story. It's a must-have addition to any child's bookshelf, and I'll certainly be sharing it with all the little girls in my life. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Will be running out to buy this book for my daughter. She absolutely loved listening to all the things she can be when she’s older.

Pictures are beautiful and match the jobs and story. So makes it easy for children to follow along.

Thank you!

I will be running to buy this for all the little girls in my life! I absolutely adored the way every single occupation is touched on in such a positive way and none are held above others!

"I want every girl to know that she is strong and capable."

A good story for children as the Barbie craze comes back for a spell.

This a story for girls to help nurture ideas about what they can grow to be. I enjoyed that it focused on career choices that haven't really been considered feminine or "high class" historically but are just as important parts of society as a whole.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

I love the message this book sends! It is done in such a simple but beautiful way. I also love the fact that all kinds of jobs are mentions in the book and not just the 'typical' jobs people use a lot of the time in these sort of conversations, like doctor/lawyer etc. Very nice book that I would recommend to all parents with daughters and to all teachers or other people who work with children!

Pros: I am always looking for books I can gift to the kids in my life, and this is just the kind of book I want to share with them because it encourages them to think about their future. The illustrations in this book are bright and cheerful, just like the message of the book. I appreciated that this book included a variety of careers (president, plumber, architect, teacher, etc) and treated each with respect.

Cons: The only con I can think of is that books like this--that teach/remind readers that girls can be anything--are still needed in our society because girls/women are not valued as much as boys/men.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this book.

This is an excellent resource for girls to start dreaming about being anything that they want to be as they get older. I love that the highlighted career paths are varied and provide insights into why each one is important and encourages contribution to the broader society. I do wish this was in a little more of a story format, but I do understand that would be very difficult to do with the content that is presented. It is especially important for me personally to have books like this to read with my daughter as she gets older and I'm so grateful books like this one exist! Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for sharing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I can imagine many little girls who will enjoy this book, and have their imagination run wild on all the possibilities in their futures. What I personally love the most is that it goes into women in trades because we can absolutely be great plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc. We need more females in trades :)
The one feedback I have for the book is that I wish there's also a part at the very end that helps children appreciate who they already are as a person in this very moment, and hopefully all the moments after. After all, the start of the book did talk about the importance of believing in ourselves. Children should also know what they do for work in the future does not define them because that's only one part of life. Living in a world where we're constantly chasing after the next achievement, milestone, glory, its important that we also learn to appreciate wherever we're at right here, right now :)

All the things I can be is a kids book narrating from a little girl's perspective all of the various professions she can follow. The text is simple breaking down what each profession does and how it benefits the community with some fun facts from a kids perspective. The images make it easy to visualize the little girl as a plumber, fire fighter, lawyer, musician and the variety is appreciable. This read gives affirmation to little readers and instills self belief.
I received this eARC from NetGalley. All opinions my own.

Loved this little book, it’s empowering and uplifting, and I loved the little girl/main character in the pictures!
A darling inspirational book, a perfect little gift for any young girl. You CAN be anything, indeed.

This book is about showing children the world's jobs, all available to anyone. My favorite thing about this book is that it primarily aims at girls of color, reminding them they can do whatever they want.

This book is so refreshing to see a black little girl naming everything that she can be. Anything is possible. The illustrations also go along with the story. It is a beautiful book.

Super sweet book talking about girls empowerment while exploring career opportunities. The story talks about the value of education, following your dreams and believing in yourself as well as themes of perseverance.

The book takes the reader on a tour of a variety of job fields and the main character finds something amazing about each one, showing value in all the jobs.

Wonderful illustrations in this great book about gender equality and the strength inside you. A really uplifting story.