I Want to Be explained

I Want to Be
Author:	Thylias Moss
Illustrator:	Jerry Pinkney
Country:	USA
Language:	English
Genre:	Children's literature, Poetry
Published:	1993 (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Media Type:	Print (hardback, paperback)
Pages:	32 (unpaginated)
Isbn:	9780803712867
Oclc:	26552997

I Want to Be is a 1993 picture book by Thylias Moss and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl who is asked what she wants to be and the imaginative answers she gives.

Reception

A review of I Want to Be by Booklist, wrote "The ambitious text at times goes over the top and becomes pretentious in its imagery, but there is much here with which children can identify. All the pulling and pushing of life comes out in Moss' lilting writing, feelings that kids know all too well.", and recommended its use as "a starting point for discussion to get kids talking about what they would like to be."^[1]

I Want to Be has also been reviewed by Horn Book Guide,^[2] Kirkus Reviews,^[3] and Publishers Weekly.^[4]

It is a 1993 CCBC Choice^[5] and a 1997 NCTE Kaleidoscope book.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: I want to be . Buffalo and Erie County Public Library . March 22, 2017.
2. Web site: I want to be . Pinkney's illustrations perfectly complement the mood of the prose. . catalog.wccls.org . March 22, 2017.
3. Web site: I Want to Be . In Moss's headlong style, image piles on image; but Pinkney's artistic ingenuity matches even her most over-the-top similes .. Exhilarating, verbally and visually: the very essence of youthful energy and summertime freedom. . August 1, 1993 . Kirkus Media LLC . March 22, 2017.
4. Web site: I Want to Be . Some readers may need to be guided through the kaleidoscope of metaphors that tumble across the pages; .. Both author and illustrator push the limits of their arts; they deliver illusions with the texture of truth. . January 4, 1993 . Publishers Weekly . PWxyz LLC. March 22, 2017.
5. Book: CCBC Choices 1993: Poetry . Kathleen T. Horning . Ginny Moore Kruse . Megan Schliesman . Merri V. Lindgren . 1994 . 35 . Friends of the CCBC Inc. . March 22, 2017.
6. Book: Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8 - Picture Books: Primary and Beyond . 99 . Rosalinda B. Barrera . Verlinda D. Thompson . Mark Dressmon . 1997 . NCTE . March 22, 2017.