I’m going to be doing a careers course with my son too, I think I will have him read World’s Coolest Jobs before we begin. It will be a great way to get his brain working about the 40 careers found within the pages of this excellent read by Anna Brett. It is my pleasure to review this Lonely Planet Kids book for Raincoast Books.
What’s inside World’s Coolest Jobs
Lonely Planet Kits introduces us to 40 interesting and different jobs, ones that many people wouldn’t even think exist. You’ll find jobs such as a ravenmaster, professional sleeper, and a sand sculptor. More familiar jobs would be volcanologist, airline pilot, or an acrobat.
You’ll be able to follow along in the lives of six different positions. A Legoland model maker, a children’s book illustrator, a volcanologist, an astornaut, a ravenmaster and an acrobat.
Most of the job descriptions take place over a two-page spread. Each of the Day in the Life has a four-page spread. They detail where the job takes place, the type of things you do in each position over the first two pages. The second spread details the events over the course of the day.
The copious use of full-colour images and bright colours fill this 96 page soft-cover book. I just love the images, you get a great feel for what some of these different positions entail.
Should you get it?
Even though it’s geared for children 6-9 years old, the World’s Coolest Jobs would do a great job of helping students struggling with future careers. It won’t give the answers but it will open their eyes to the wide range of possibilities. It might even lead them to see that one career path might lead to a different path not even previously considered. For instance… who thinks about being a ravenmaster, train pusher or a professional sleeper? They are jobs I have never heard of before… and somedays… being a professional sleeper seems like a WONDERFUL idea, don’t you agree?
My Goal
I’m planning on using World’s Coolest Jobs with my lad to get him thinking about different career options before I take the Career Explorations class on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. You could also take this course! It’s part of the ultimate membership package which is currently on Sale (pretty cool eh?).
Do you know of Mike Rowe? He covers a multitude of hands-on jobs that are often forgotten. I haven’t seen it this year but he also gives scholarships to students pursuing some of those trade jobs instead of college. I LOVE that!
yes, we used to watch his “dirty jobs” show. I didn’t know about the scholarship thing…