Ellie Mae Dreams Big!

November 1, 2023
A young girl wonders what she'll be when she grows up. Ellie Mae, who presents as East Asian, loves school but doesn't like assignments with lots of choices. It's just too hard to make decisions. So when her class is asked to dress up as what they want to be when they grow up, Ellie Mae struggles. After much thinking, and eating, she finds inspiration in her grilled cheese sandwich--she's heard that the moon might be made of cheese, which makes her decide to dress up as an astronaut-chef. But what about dessert? Ellie Mae next hits upon the idea of becoming a candy-farmer. With each idea spurring the next, Ellie Mae comes up with more and more fun possible dual-career ideas: a pirate-dentist! A zookeeper-teacher! Her mind racing, Ellie Mae takes a deep breath to slow her thoughts until she comes up with the perfect solution. Funny and imaginative Ellie Mae teaches readers to dream big and believe they can become anything. While readers will laugh at the fun ideas and silly pictures, the message is clear: The sky's the limit when it comes to career choices. The book also demonstrates a way to calm down when overwhelmed. Ellie Mae is spontaneous and quirky, with lots of emotions and creativity, brought to life by vivid, candy-colored illustrations. Fun and silly--but sure to inspire kids to dream big. (Picture book. 3-6)

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November 6, 2023
McMorris encourages boundary-defying self-exploration in this standard dress-up drama. Ellie Mae doesn’t like “assignments with too many choices,” so she struggles when her teacher asks the class to dress up as what they aspire to be when they grow up. Luckily, “an exciting idea zapped into her mind,” and she’s soon envisioning a series of goofy costume mash-ups: astronaut-chef (“Her gooey, galactic, grilled cheese sandwiches would be known throughout the universe”), candy-farmer, pirate-dentist, zookeeper-teacher, and ballerina-painter. Unsure how to decide, the East Asian–cued child worries before coming up with a solution that wholeheartedly leans into the plethora of choices. Yoshida’s digital cartoon renderings of Ellie Mae’s imaginings have a static quality that nevertheless succeeds in extending the protagonist’s big dreams, which should inspire a similar creative spirit in readers. Ages 3–6.

January 31, 2024
Preschool-Grade 1 Ellie Mae loves just about everything at her school. But one day her teacher makes an assignment that fills the girl with dismay: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Not only do the students need to have an answer to that question by tomorrow but they have to dress up in clothing that depicts their career aspiration. Since she is unable to limit her choices to just one, the girl's wild imagination takes her to unheard-of jobs, including the outlandish idea of combining careers, such as astronaut-chef, pirate-dentist, and ballerina-painter. Clean, clear illustrations feature every object outlined and filled with color. From vignettes to full-page, the frames are filled from margin to margin with details and hues that entice the eye. Children will enjoy the idea that their future needn't be limited to only one career but that they can take what they enjoy doing and fuse those options into an amazing future.

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