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Epiphany-OviedoELCA library section 10 D: Youth (grades 6-8), Character Building/Service. This book covers ten different careers working with animals, from wildlife management, to veterinarian to bird handler. It introduces a woman in each career, what she does each day, and tips on what sort of person would be good at that particular career. There are some very helpful features, one of which is each person's career path, starting when they were small and what steps they took to reach their present career. This is so important because often adolescents do not know how to build life experiences, summer jobs, internships, or training and education to attain a particular career.
There are personality checklists for each job, lists of books to read, salary information, how to balance work, relationships, and childcare, supportive organizations to contact for scholarships, mentoring, or internship programs, and so much more.
In a world where girls often are not encouraged to plan for their futures, or where they know they love animals, but cannot see beyond the career of a veterinarian (which takes gobs of money, brains, and YEARS of study), it's refreshing to see a very down-to-earth, practical book about careers with animals that will help girls (and boys) really begin thinking and planning their middle and high school years, internships and summer work to aim toward a specific career. ( )

This Informational Book provides details on ten animal careers, ranging from pet sitter and exerciser to zookeeper to small animal veterinarian. Each section profiles a professional woman currently working in the field and gives a checklist for the reader to use to evaluate if the career might be a good fit. Each woman discusses the steps she took to establish her career and gives suggestions on things the reader should look into if she’s interested in the career. Job outlook and salary ranges are also provided for the reader, along with an index in the back containing suggestions for further reading and a list of professional organizations.

My daughter purchased this book at a Scholastic book fair last year, and we enjoyed reading through the book together. Since she wants to become a veterinarian, there are questions and comments written all over that particular section, so reading it for a second time was a bit of a challenge. This would be a good book to have available in the classroom library.

In the classroom I would use this book when doing a unit on careers. Children usually do not have much exposure to careers outside the typical doctor, fireman, businessman, etc. so this would be a great way to show that there are many options available. Although times are changing, girls don’t usually think of becoming ostrich farmers when they grow up. This book will help expand the class’s knowledge of some of the many career options that are in the world. Another classroom suggestion would be to introduce the book to the class and have them brainstorm to see how many animal careers they could think of in a few minutes. We could then check the book for matches and break into groups to further research a few of the careers that were suggested but not listed in the book. Another idea would be for the students to pick two careers and compare and contrast the requirements and skills needed to follow that career path. ( )