Roy the Koi Asks for Career Advice

Title: Roy the Koi Asks for Career Advice

Series: Roy the Koi

 Author: Matthew Smeltzer

Illustrator: Ben Rowberry

Publisher: Matthew Smeltzer

Genre: Children's Fiction

Source: Reedsy Discovery

My review:

I wanted to read this book simply from the title! My son is sixteen and this is where we are at! He is trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. So, when I saw the title, I was curious about how it would be presented in a children's book.

Roy the Koi Asks for Career Advice is written by Matthew Smeltzer.  It is written in a lyrical format with easy to understand wording. The storyline flows smoothly and gives the reader several career options to ponder. Roy the Koi is not sure what he wants to be when he grows up so he decides to talk with some adults that he knows. The overall message that every adult Roy spoke with was "in order to have the right kind of knowledge, you need to graduate from a college."

There was much to appreciate about this story. First, the illustrator, Ben Rowberry, has done an excellent job with the illustrations. They are fun, colorful, engaging, and represent the story well. Second, the author has introduced children to a wide assortment of career choices. He has broken them down into language that young children will understand. Finally, the author has not stuck with gender stereotypes with the career options. 

The only thing I did not like is that every single career presented led to college. This is a noble goal, but not every child can or should go to college.  When Roy went into the restaurant I was like "Yes! He is going to talk to a restaurant worker." But, he did not and I was so disappointed! He ran into someone else to talk to. All jobs are valuable, not just the ones that college is needed for. Where would this world be without restaurant workers, janitors, garbage men, and a whole host of other jobs that need to be done, but do not need college?

I would recommend this book to children from the ages of 3-7.  It would be a wonderful teaching tool for preschool and lower elementary teachers to use in classrooms, and a great addition to any home or public library. It is never too early to start teaching children about the vast amount of job opportunities out in the world.

Thank you to Reedsy Discovery for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Roy the Koi fish does not know what he wants to be when he grows up, so he decides to talk to some grownups to learn about a series of different jobs!

Roy talks to an electrical engineer, a doctor, a teacher, and a fashion designer to learn what they do each day at work. After learning about a few new careers, will Roy find the job that is right for him?

"Roy the Koi Asks for Career Advice" is a fun book for young ones to learn about job opportunities!