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40% OFF Store Wide Use Code : BOOM

One Day Delivery Available in US

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Hand-illustrated · Ages 3–10 · 24 books

Real careers. Real stories. Written so children actually believe.

24 board books that open up a world of careers. Told through characters your child will love, remember, and grow up wanting to become.

Every illustration drawn by hand. Every story written by a grandmother and educator of 25 years who wanted children to see what was truly possible.

★★★★★ Loved by parents, teachers and librarians across the US
A grandmother reads to a laughing toddler, surrounded by the When I Grow Up book series
✏️
Every illustration drawn by hand
📖
Written by a 25-year educator
🌟
24 careers across 4 themes
❤️
Profits fund children's education in India

What parents, teachers and librarians are saying

★★★★★

"My daughter asks for Caroline the Veterinarian every single night. She now tells everyone she meets she wants to be a vet. I genuinely didn't expect a book to do that."

Asha Cavalli — Parent

★★★★★

"As a teacher, I love how diverse and approachable these are. Every child in my class sees themselves in at least one character. That's incredibly rare."

Lauren Brooks — Elementary School Teacher

★★★★★

"One of the most borrowed series we've had in years. Parents keep coming back asking what else we carry. The mix of real careers and great storytelling just works."

Prisha Choudhury — Children's Librarian

★★★★★

"My son saw Trenton the Air Force Pilot and refused to put it down. He's five. He now asks daily how to learn to fly. These books plant seeds that actually grow."

Marcus Webb — Parent of Three

★★★★★

"We bought the full library for our school. Three grade teachers are now using them in morning reading circles. The illustrations are so warm — clearly made with real love."

Danielle Osei — Kindergarten Teacher

★★★★★

"I bought four as a baby shower gift. The mum cried when she opened them. They feel completely different from every other children's book — more real, more human."

Camille Fontaine — Parent & Pediatric Nurse

★★★★★

"My granddaughter carried Serena the Pro Athlete everywhere for a month. She made up her own version at bedtime. These books spark imaginations in a way I haven't seen before."

Dorothy Reyes — Grandmother

★★★★★

"My daughter asks for Caroline the Veterinarian every single night. She now tells everyone she meets she wants to be a vet. I genuinely didn't expect a book to do that."

Asha Cavalli — Parent

★★★★★

"As a teacher, I love how diverse and approachable these are. Every child in my class sees themselves in at least one character. That's incredibly rare."

Lauren Brooks — Elementary School Teacher

★★★★★

"One of the most borrowed series we've had in years. Parents keep coming back asking what else we carry. The mix of real careers and great storytelling just works."

Prisha Choudhury — Children's Librarian

★★★★★

"My son saw Trenton the Air Force Pilot and refused to put it down. He's five. He now asks daily how to learn to fly. These books plant seeds that actually grow."

Marcus Webb — Parent of Three

★★★★★

"We bought the full library for our school. Three grade teachers are now using them in morning reading circles. The illustrations are so warm — clearly made with real love."

Danielle Osei — Kindergarten Teacher

★★★★★

"I bought four as a baby shower gift. The mum cried when she opened them. They feel completely different from every other children's book — more real, more human."

Camille Fontaine — Parent & Pediatric Nurse

★★★★★

"My granddaughter carried Serena the Pro Athlete everywhere for a month. She made up her own version at bedtime. These books spark imaginations in a way I haven't seen before."

Dorothy Reyes — Grandmother

24 characters. 24 careers. One child who can be any of them.

Four color-coded themes, six books each. Every character is diverse, joyful and fully illustrated by hand. Scroll down to shop by theme or pick any book directly.

All 24 characters across 4 themes — Innovators, Builders, Changemakers and Creators

Choose the theme that fits your child

Not sure where to start? Pick the world that excites them most. Every book is $19.99. Every one is worth it.

Hand-illustrated · Not AI

Every page drawn by hand.
See what's inside.

These aren't stock images or AI art. Every single illustration was drawn by hand for this series.

Molly the Computational Biologist — interior illustration
Colin the Climate Scientist — interior illustration
Aggy the Digital Creator — interior illustration
Nick the Architect — interior illustration

Each book contains 24 fully illustrated pages — all drawn by hand in the UK.

Browse all 24 books →

The more they read, the more they dream.

Save when you buy a theme set or the full library. Makes an unforgettable gift.

4-Book Starter Pack

4-Book Starter Pack

Mix and match any four books from across the whole series. A great way to discover your child's favourites.

$75 $80 Save $5
Build your pack →
6-Book Theme Set

6-Book Theme Set

Choose one theme — Innovators, Builders, Changemakers or Creators — and get all six books at once.

$110 $120 Save $10
Choose a theme →
Sandhya Jaiprakash, author and educator
25 years teaching young children before writing a single word

This series started at bedtime, with a question a grandmother couldn't answer.

Sandhya Jaiprakash spent 25 years running one of Bangalore's largest early childhood education centres. She has sat with thousands of children and watched closely what lights them up and what doesn't.

One evening, reading to her granddaughters, she noticed something. Every children's book showed the same handful of careers — doctor, teacher, firefighter. The same ones, over and over. Her own children had gone on to do far more interesting things, and there were no books to show that to a child.

"So many stories repeated the same old professions. I wanted children to know there's a whole world of possibilities out there — told in a way a three-year-old could understand and love."

So she wrote them herself. Every book was illustrated entirely by hand by award-winning illustrator Tom Burchell. No AI. No shortcuts. Just two people who cared enough to do it properly.

✏️ Hand-illustrated, every page 📚 Written by a real educator 🌍 Not AI. Not a template. ❤️ Profits fund kids' education in India

Start small. Dream big.

One book. One story. A spark that can stay with a child for life.

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