I Can Be Anything! [Hardcover]

Jerry Spinelli (Author), Jimmy Liao (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

When I grow up, what shall I be?

This exuberant book offers up everything from a paper plane folder to a puppy dog holder, from a silly joke teller to a snowball smoother.

Newbery-Award winning author Jerry Spinelli's simple and charming rhymes are accompanied by internationally-renowned illustrator Jimmy Liao's vibrant and fantastical illustrations. This book is an imaginative joyride about hopes and dreams, and a reminder of all the possibilities life has to offer. So, what do you want to be? Remember--you can be anything!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2—The imaginative young boy in this marvelous story has some unusual answers to a frequently asked question. The youngster, clad in overalls and a cap, dreams of being "a pumpkin grower," "puddle stomper," or "silly-joke teller." Both the lilting text and amusing watercolor and acrylic illustrations are full of energy. The boy runs and skips from one adventurous goal to the next, accompanied by rabbits, frogs, and other little creatures. His animal friends gaze at him through the window of a homey kitchen in his future role as a "mixing-bowl licker." When he imagines being a "baby-sis soother," the smiling child is dressed in an elephant costume, and his sister laughs. In the end, on a four-page foldout, the boy decides, "So many jobs!/They're all such fun—/I'm going to choose…/EVERY ONE!" This outstanding book pairs well with Leonid Gore's When I Grow Up (Scholastic, 2009) or Jeanie Franz Ransom's What Do Parents Do? (…When You're Not Home) (Peachtree, 2007).—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA
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From Booklist

Spinelli takes the common theme of kids wondering what to be when they grow up and gives it a charming twist. In rhyming phrases a young boy considers: “When I grow up, what shall I be? / Of all the many, many jobs, which one will be the best for me? Pumpkin grower / dandelion blower / paper-plane folder / puppy-dog holder.” Spinelli’s cunning touch is that all of the possibilities are things a kid can do right now, without having to go through all the pesky waiting of growing up. A gatefold at the end provides the solution: he is going to choose every one of them! The exuberant, larger-than-life watercolor-and-acrylic illustrations evoke the whimsy of the imagined scenarios and include a troupe of rabbits that appears somewhere on each page. A simple concept wonderfully executed. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Julie Cummins

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (March 17, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316162264
• ISBN-13: 978-0316162265
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Growing up, Jerry Spinelli was really serious about baseball. He played for the Green Sox Little League team in his hometown of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and dreamed of one day playing for the major leagues, preferably as shortstop for the New York Yankees.

One night during high school, Spinelli watched the football team win an exciting game against one of the best teams in the country. While everyone else rode about town tooting horns in celebration, Spinelli went home and wrote "Goal to Go," a poem about the game's defining moment, a goal-line stand. His father submitted the poem to the Norristown Times-Herald and it was featured in the middle of the sports page a few days later. He then traded in his baseball bat for a pencil, because he knew that he wanted to become a writer.

After graduating from Gettysburg College with an English degree, Spinelli worked full time as a magazine editor. Every day on his lunch hour, he would close his office door and craft novels on yellow magazine copy paper. He wrote four adult novels in 12 years of lunchtime writing, but none of these were accepted for publication. When he submitted a fifth novel about a 13-year-old boy, adult publishers once again rejected his work, but children's publishers embraced it. Spinelli feels that he accidentally became an author of children's books.

Spinelli's hilarious books entertain both children and young adults. Readers see his life in his autobiography Knots in My Yo-Yo String, as well as in his fiction. Crash came out of his desire to include the beloved Penn Relays of his home state of Pennsylvania in a book, while Maniac Magee is set in a fictional town based on his own hometown.

When asked if he does research for his writing, Spinelli says: "The answer is yes and no. No, in the sense that I seldom plow through books at the library to gather material. Yes, in the sense that the first 15 years of my life turned out to be one big research project. I thought I was simply growing up in Norristown, Pennsylvania; looking back now I can see that I was also gathering material that would one day find its way into my books."

On inspiration, the author says: "Ideas come from ordinary, everyday life. And from imagination. And from feelings. And from memories. Memories of dust in my sneakers and humming whitewalls down a hill called Monkey."

Spinelli lives with his wife and fellow writer, Eileen, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. While they write in separate rooms of the house, the couple edits and celebrates one another's work. Their six children have given Jerry Spinelli a plethora of clever material for his writing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ENCOURAGES AND AFFIRMS YOUNGSTERS, March 17, 2010

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I Can Be Anything! (Hardcover)

As we all know most youngsters have vivid imaginations. They can think of all sorts of things, and often may wonder about growing up. What will they be when they are adults - a fireman? A nurse? A soldier? A model?

I CAN BE ANYTHING is an affirming, encouraging book reminding young ones that the possibilities are limitless. They can be anything they want to be. Jerry Spinelli's lilting rhymes answer the question, "What will I be when I grow up" with such imaginative suggestions as "Pumpkin grower, Dandelion blower;" "Deep-hole digger, Lemonade swigger," and more.

Many will elicit smiles while all remind of the infinite possibilities life holds.

Bold colored exuberant illustrations by Jimmy Liao accompany each rhyme, always emphasizing the joy in whatever is being done.

I CAN BE ANYTHING is a fun book that youngsters will choose to return to again and again.

- Gail Cooke

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read aloud - a gem!, April 6, 2010

By 

J. Prather (IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I Can Be Anything! (Hardcover)

This is a great read aloud for the preschool set! I asked a group of 3 to 5 year olds what they wanted to be when they grew up and received a variety of answers from them; one said a dentist, two girls said ballerinas and one cutie I think said he wanted to be a bear. Nobody said they wanted to be a "puppy holder" or a "snowball smoother", or a "tin can kicker" or a "mixing bowl licker". Those are just a few of the hilarious options in this book.

This book is sure to get some chuckles both because of it's great rhymes and it's colorful illustrations. Every kid can identify with being a "puddle stomper" - it's nice that they realize there are lot's of "jobs" they can do really well right now. Any "ear to ear grinners" out there?

This book has a sticker on the front that says it's great for graduates, and sure it gives a nice sentiment for people just starting out on their careers, but it's an even better book for little kids who might need a reminder of all the fun things they can do now. Don't miss sharing this one with your little ones, either as a group read or one on one so you can really relish all those energetic illustrations. HUGE RECOMMEND.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kinda cute..., July 12, 2010

By 

JBebe - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: I Can Be Anything! (Hardcover)

This book is cute, fun and imaginative. Honestly, the first time I read it I was a little disappointed. The book talks about all the many things you can be when you grow up, then talks about "jobs" like "apple chomper,"barefooted hopper,"jump and clapper" and "lemonade swigger." I'll be honest, I thought it was kind of weird. But, my two-year-old son really enjoyed it - it is a great one to read aloud, thanks to the fun rhymes.

The best part of this book are the colorful, imaginative illustrations. They remind me of Mary Engelbreit's illustrations in her books, like Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses. They are very fun to look at!

Overall, this book was so-so for me, but I do admit it is growing on me...