I’ve been giving a lot of thought over the last few weeks to what it is that makes a good children’s book, the process of reviewing one isn’t the same as an actual novel. Plot spoilers don’t matter, they are short, and there is a subtle layer of complexity to them due to the audience. If a book is too “busy” in the illustrations it can distract from the text as your child asks questions about little details in a well illustrated picture. But if a book is too simple and too short, it doesn’t have much re-read value for your child. If the pages are of low quality, they’ll inevitably be mishandled and ripped to shreds, as has happened to kids books in my house by my two children many times. A quality kids book looks simple but has lots of complex design decisions that go into them.
The Message
What Kind of Man Will I Be is a short rhyming book written and illustrated by a husband and wife, Alex and Joshua Kestrel, and is dedicated to their kids. The book shows various vocations and features a little boy dressed up in the accoutrements of each one to represent them and a smooth rhyming description to accompany each. It groups these occupations together by their core quality they have in common such as artistry, STEM intelligence, nature, or physical strength. The message is essentially that a little boy has a lot of choices in life about what they want to do when they grow up, and that no matter what your core strength is there is something out there that will fit you.
The Book
I read the book before bed last night to my son, and there are several aspects of it that shine in particular. When I read kids books with a storyline, my 5 year old son frequently chews the scenery too much and asks questions about every little detail, which causes me to have to stop and start reading over and over again. The illustrations are minimalist and in this case that is absolutely perfect. Short of a page or two with some scenery filler, the illustrations are all of the little boy representing the different occupations so there weren’t any questions that were irrelevant. On the other hand this book inspires lots of very relevant questions. “What is an architect?” asks my son, and before turning the page we have a short back and forth about what it is exactly that an architect does, with nothing else distracting him from my explanation on the page.
The Rhyme
(The pages are a longer than normal format, so there are slightly faded/blurred colors as a result of the top of my scanner not being able to close all the way around the book, keep this in mind)
Many men have lived before me
But what kind of man will I choose to be?
I know there are many paths I could travel
As my future unfolds a story unravels
I could be a philosopher with a mind full of strife
Or maybe a poet who celebrates life
Perhaps even an author crafting written word
Or a composer, a musician, so my art can be heard
While painters make paintings that capture a scene
There are also sculptors of statues pristine
And when I think of all a man can be
Becoming an architect sounds good to me
But if I don’t want to be so creative
I could be a man who is more calculative
While crunching numbers as a bright engineer
Or a political figure who people revere
As a doctor I’d help people wherever I go
Or I could focus on science and learn all there’s to know
So what kind of man will I choose to be?
I could live a good life of simplicity…
As a strong farmer who tends to his land
Or build as a carpenter and work with my hands
And just as a shepherd guides all of his herd
I could guide as a preacher and spread the good word
Or maybe a chef cooking food that’s nutritious
Whether salty or sweet it’s always delicious
And if I’ll be a man who likes exploring
The job of a sailor I won’t be ignoring
I could be a soldier who bravely defends
His people, his country, his family and friends
Deciding on the work that I’m going to do
Will not only affect me but will also affect you
Because every great man who lived before me
Helped influence the type of man I will be
And as I grow and make my selection
I must set aside some time for reflection
Because the kind of man that I will be
Will be a small piece of each before me
Whether leader, warrior, or common man,
A great man will help me become who I am.
In Summary
This feels less like a book you read to your son, and more like a conduit to connect with him, and a way to give context to the past, the present, the future, and the choices of other people. It is delivered with a simple elegance for a topic that, in the eyes of a young boy, is very very complex and difficult to explain if you tried to do it with only words. When it comes to re-readability, which is a prime consideration when evaluating the value of a childrens book, this one is a real keeper because every time you finish it you can ask your son what kind of man he thinks he will be, and in true kid fashion get a different answer every day. A father connecting with his son can be a difficult and complex thing, and this book is an excellent vehicle for making that a habit and I look forward to reading it over and over with my child.
Where should you read this book?
Before bedtime. In a tent in your backyard. Or on a lazy rainy weekend. Get it for the boy in your life. It could be your son, or it could be a thoughtful gift at a baby shower for someone you know, or a birthday present for the child of a friend or family member.
Where can you buy this book?
This book is one of the first two to be published by our good friends at Antelope Hill Publishing, who are doing an amazing job building a culturally sane publishing house from the ground up and have stood up a childrens section which publishes under the title Little Frog Hill. You can order this book either directly from them, or from their Amazon link where they have it posted. The main difference is going to be that while it is a few dollars more expensive on Amazon, it is Prime eligible, but I will say that when ordering from Antelope Hill directly they have packaged everything I have ever ordered from them extremely securely, and their customer service is top notch and responsive. I spoke to the fine folks over there and asked if they had anything they wanted to say about this direction that I could put in my review, and this was what they told me:
Our overall intention is to publish high quality children's books which could have been published by any publisher in the 50's. The reason we are doing it is because there is a lot of creativity in our milieu in regards to children's books, and we want to serve as an outlet for that.
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Thank you for such a wonderful and thoughtful review of this book. I cannot wait to get a copy for my grandsons.
I'll be picking up a copy of this. Great overview.