What's It Like to Be a Puppeteer

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- These books attempt to introduce career options to young children, but their success is hindered by the authors' notion that it is necessary to fictionalize nonfiction topics for young children. . . . Teacher is the most saccharine (although it does score points for portraying a male elementary teacher). The text concentrates on the affective requirements for teachers such as smiling, accepting mistakes, and drying wet shoes and socks rather than on educational requirements or typical teaching duties. Beckman's I Can Be a Teacher (Childrens, 1985), while not an outstanding book, has more factual information, better illustrations (photos), and includes an index and a glossary. . . . Puppeteer, the weakest of the three, is really more of a story than an informational book. A boy and his grandmother go to the park to see a puppet show and are asked to help. Sock and rod puppets are described, and there are brief comments about creating voices and facial expressions. Wood's Jim Henson: From Puppets to Muppets (Dillon, 1987), for a slightly older audience, is an appealing book with many full-color photographs that could be enjoyed by a younger age group. . . .Dairy Farmer describes the daily life on the fictitious Sunrise Dairy Farm, including milking, caring for the cows, and transporting milk to the dairy. Some specific "dairying" vocabulary is used in the text and sometimes labeled on the illustrations, but there is no index or glossary in this or the other titles. Gail Gibbons' The Milk Makers (Macmillan, 1985) is a superb book on dairying for this age group, with better illustrations, more information, and an excellent glossary. --Kathryn Weisman, Willowbrook School, Glenview, Ill.
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