What Do Grown-ups Do All Day?; Virginie Morgand

What do you want to be when you grow-up? I remember being asked this question repeatedly as a child and I’m sure this is the case for many children. But how are you meant to know what you want to be when you grow-up? There’s just too much choice, especially in the twenty-first century where children can do and be anything they want to be and it is highly likely that children of the present will be doing jobs in the future that haven’t even been invented yet!

The book itself is a brilliant insight into what many of the grown-ups in the world do every day. It gives children a wonderful window into the working world and of the many different jobs that they could do when they become a grown-up. Each work place is introduced in a double page scene that is bursting with detail and includes a short paragraph about the workplace. The following double page features eight people who can be found at that workplace and what they do there. These eight people introduce themselves and share a little bit about what their job involves. This format is repeated fourteen times as children get to visit workplaces including the hospital, the theatre, the newsroom and the airport. More generalised workplaces include action-packed jobs and jobs in the great outdoors.

What I really like about this book is the diversity, both in the job roles and in the illustrations. Job roles are incredibly varied. Over one hundred different jobs are featured and readers get to meet all sort of employees including an engineer, a flight attendant, a tree surgeon, a make-up artist and a shepherd. Illustrations are gorgeous and feature a mix of genders and races.

The book is published as a large format coffee-table sized book with thick pages that will hold up to endless hours of exploration.

A stylish and exceptionally well-presented read that is a superb introduction to some of the potential careers that young children might embark on when they become grown-ups. Teacher, helicopter pilot, opera singer, butcher, secret agent? You’ll find them all in here.

Recommended for 5+.