Fun(ny) things kids want to grow up to be! Personalized ABC Book galore! (Updated, May 2024)

(Editors Note: Since we last wrote this blog, our collection has grown with three exciting new variations of the beloved ABC - What Will I Be? book. Our original ABC book sparks children's imaginations with dreamy and fun professions like Ice Cream Inspector and Ninja, ensuring that the alphabet is anything but boring.

ABC - What Will I Be? - Manimal Tales

But why stop there? We've taken the fun to new heights with our ABC - What Will I Be - Sports Edition! This personalized book is perfect for kids who eat, sleep, and breathe sports. From A to Z, each page is filled with sporty illustrations of all the coolest sports, making it a slam dunk for any little athlete.

ABC - What Will I Be: Sports Edition!

And for the spookiest time of the year, we present the ABC - What Will I Be? Spooky Edition! This version is packed with ghoulishly imaginative professions that provide thrills and chills. Imagine your child finding their name hidden amongst witches, vampires, and ghostly pirates on every page. It’s perfect for Halloween or anytime they crave a spooky adventure.


ABC - What Will I Be (Spooky Version!)

These personalized books are more than just fun for kids—they're a delight too!  Dive into our magical world where every book is a personal adventure and a keepsake to treasure forever!)




One of the books I am currently writing is a personalized ABC book aimed at young children about professions that kids want to be when they grow up (If you'd like, you can check out our other personalized books here). I thought it would be fun to write it from the perspective of the child and not from the adult. 

So, instead of thinking of professions like “Lawyer” and “Doctor”, or even “Firefighter” and “Police person”, and to make them fun and whimsical, I tried to think of professions that would excite kids and stretch their imagination (think “Ninja” and “Ice cream Inspector”). 

Of course, I first did research on some of the weird and whimsical professions that kids do think of when asked about what they wish to be. 

Not surprisingly, the majority of kids do want to become what most adults think they would: doctors, vets, firefighters, police officers, engineers, teachers, athletes, and astronauts. It’s completely understandable because most young kids naturally gravitate toward  respected authority figures in society and ones that they have exposure to – either in real life or through books and TV.

Also, interesting (but not totally surprising) is the gender skew in dream jobs: way more girls want to be doctors, vets or teachers. Boys? They want to be firefighters, police officers, engineers, or astronauts. Only two of the top 10 professions have a relatively equal gender ratio: scientist(!) and musician. 

 

Kids Professions

 

Thankfully though, there are a lot of kids who are quite happy to break the mold and push their imaginations and come up with ideal careers that are quite simply wonderful. Below are some of the (very real) responses that kids have given when asked that oh-so-important question. 

(Note: the answers below have been collected from a wide variety of sources, and I have linked to the original source article wherever possible).

 

Kid's Professions

Image Source: Reddit user astrocat16 via Imgur

 

 

Black Spiderman

 

Black Spiderman: Hey, if they have a Black Panther, why not a Black Spiderman? Of course, in this case, the real superpower wouldn’t be climbing up walls…(he’s probably referring to Venom, but it’s just so much fun to take it at face value!). 


Crazy cat lady: Sadly, I think this girl got her wish. And she lives down the street from me.

 

What Kids want to be

 

Dragon Breeder: I laugh, but getting dragons to breed is no joke and takes real skill. 

Ice Cream Man at Costco: What’s so great about this is that an ice cream man at Costco probably exists. And he’s living the dream! As with all grown-up stuff, it’s probably not quite as fun as it seems (he probably has to fill in spreadsheets of orders and hordes of other boring stuff). However, Ben & Jerry’s have real-life flavor gurus whose job is to develop the next generation of ice cream flavors. I could settle for that.

Fence Doctor: Who else would you call when your fence is feeling weak?

Lego Star: Is it the star of the next Lego movie? Or someone famous for building Legos? Who knows? Who cares! Fun fact: turns out, Lego Professor is a real profession

Librina: What’s a librina? A librarian ballerina obviously. Duh. 

Mob Wife: Somehow, I suspect this kid watched way more Soprano’s than she should have. But hey, mob bosses have to have wives too. 

Princess of the world: Because just being a “normal” princess of a country is just too boring. 

Rainbow Girl: If you can’t become a unicorn kitty doctor, it’s probably the next best thing.

 

Kid's goals

 

Ruler of the world: Ruler of the World is a pretty popular one in general. What’s great is that this kid has his priorities straight!

Smarty Pants: I am pretty sure that’s my job, dude!

Sprinkled Red-Frosted Donut: Because no other donut would just be good enough.

The Guy Who Presses The A Guy Who Presses The Button For The Carnival Ride: I’m not sure this one is fully thought out - I’d rather be the person on the ride!

Unicorn Kitty Doctor: This kid didn't want to be just any doctor, but a unicorn kitty doctor. What’s a unicorn kitty? Ah, that’s the question!

 

Last Thoughts

Some other kids had hilarious responses that weren’t exactly professions but were still relevant to what they were going to do when they grew up.


Not all dreams were unrealistic to begin with. I am pretty sure the kid below did achieve his dreams:

 

Kid's goals

 

Others were pretty clear-eyed about their ambition, like Albert below:

 

Kid's professions

 

Lots of kids just wanted to change into inanimate objects like mailboxes, potatoes, dogs, wolves fire hydrants, and all sorts of other stuff - like that would ever happen!

And of course, there was this kid who had figured out the true meaning of happiness way early on in life! I must admit there are days when I definitely wished that’s what I had grown up to be!

 

What kids want to be

General Questions

Manimal Tales is a publisher of beautifully illustrated personalized books. We have personalized books for children and adults. From birthday books to new baby tales, and from bedtime stories to ABC books, we have custom books for all occasions!

We even offer PhotoStories, our personalized picture books with photos.

At Manimal Tales, we fervently believe every child should be the hero of their own story!

Personalized books (or custom books as they are sometimes referred to) allow the reader to become the hero of the story - literally.

The main character in the story is the reader / receiver of the book, and is represented by an avatar that looks like them. There are usually lots of additional personalized details printed in the stories, including the receiver's name, age, family members and more.

Our PhotoStories offer a whole new level of personalization by allowing you to add your own photos into the story and have them printed out with the book.

Browse through our collection of custom books to see which ones work for your loved ones!

It's super easy to personalize your own book!

Browse through our collection of personalized stories and select the titles you want. On the product page, add the details required to personalize the book (name, age, family members, photos etc.). You can then preview the entire book before you buy, so you know exactly what you're going to get!

Once you're satisfied, add the book to your cart, enter your payment details and your unique, one-of-a-kind personalized book will arrive on your doorstep in 6 to 9 days!

The short answer is that it depends on the personalized book title in question!

All books will have your loved one as the main protagonist and their name will be printed on the book cover as well as in the story.

In some of our books like Dreamland and What Will I Be? the (the An ABC Story) your loved one's name is printed on every page.

In our Manimal Tales series, in addition to your child's name, you can select an avatar that looks like your child.

In our custom baby tales, Your Baby's Story and Your Baby's Story (Sibling version), you have to enter names and select avatars for the parents and the siblings as well.

And for our PhotoStories, you can further customize the books by uploading and adding your own photos directly into the book. The stories have been written to incorporate the photos as part of the story itself.

Whichever personalized book you do choose, we guarantee your loved one's will love our custom tales just as much as we do!

We have books for all ages and occasions! On the menu bar at the top of the page you can filter through our collections of personalized books by a variety of different criteria.

We have personalized books for:

- Birthdays

- New babies / baby showers

- Bedtime books

- Back To School / ABC books

- Seek & Find books

We also offer custom books with engaging stories about:

- Friendship and bravery

- Standing up for your beliefs

- Animal rights and adventure

We have personalized books across all ages:

- 0 to 3 years

- 3 to 6 years

- 6 years and above

- Adult stories

Lastly we have our PhotoStories, which allow users to upload photos and have them become part of the story!

- Happy Birthday Personalized PhotoStory

- Your Baby's Personalized PhotoStory

Nothing beats getting a book with your name on it!

Personalized books are treasured and loved by all, and make great keepsakes.

We offer custom books for all occasions, ensuring you will always find a book to meet your needs.

You can always reach us by filling out our Contact Form.

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