What Will I Be from A to Z

Laura W. Carter is a native of Oxford, Alabama. After graduating from the University of Montevallo with an MEd in 2009, she began her career as a high school history teacher. Laura writes kidlit for all ages and has dedicated her adult life to encouraging children (and adults) to explore their world through stories, history, and learning. Her first picture book, A Steminist Force, released in 2024 from Familius. Her second picture book, What Will I Be from A to Z, will release in 2025, also from Familius. Laura currently resides with her husband and son in Huntsville, Alabama. She loves miniature schnauzers, road trips, and all shades of green. Anna Doherty is an illustrator and author from Edinburgh, based in Cambridge, UK. Since graduating with an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art, Anna has illustrated several picture books across all age ranges and genres. She is the creator of Fantastically Feminist, a mini-series of biographical books, and especially enjoys working on projects that celebrate and explore positive themes like equality and inclusion. Anna loves mustard yellow, popcorn, and dogs.

A little girl bookends this story as she gives serious thought to the profession she wishes to pursue in her future. The author primarily focuses on STEM careers but also includes a few more traditional career options that children typically consider, such as teaching and veterinary medicine. Young readers will be introduced to careers not usually considered in childhood, such as oncologist, neurologist, urban planner, and horticulturist. These introductions provide opportunities for vocabulary building. The author has cleverly embedded each profession into a whimsical rhyme, providing a rudimentary description of the often complicated career choice. The illustrations serve to further explain the vocation and feature a diverse cast of multicultural children, both at work and at play. Backmatter includes a section that explores questions for career research. These questions may lend themselves well to a classroom research project, where students select a career from the book and use the questions to learn more about the occupation. Reading this book with children provides numerous opportunities for important discussions on various topics, whether it is at school with peers and teachers or at home with parents, siblings, or extended family.