What Will I Be When I Grow Up?

This picture book is What Will I Be When I Grow Up?, written by Japanese author Ryō Michiko, illustrated by Shirō Hata, translated by Peng Yi, and published by New Star Press.

It is a children’s picture book full of childlike wonder and imagination, suitable for children aged 3–6. It aims to encourage children to think about the future and boldly express their dreams.

With lively, nursery-rhyme-like language and rainbow-bright colors, the book depicts conversations between children and things in nature — like dandelions, little fish, and crayons. A dandelion wants to become a mighty and kind lion; a little fish wants to become a great whale swimming across all four oceans; a crayon dreams of turning into a rainbow forest. These seemingly “impractical” dreams actually encourage children to break free of conventions, imagine freely, and shout out their own unique wishes.

Author Ryō Michiko was once a Ministry of Foreign Affairs staffer and advertising planner before becoming a fairy tale writer and poet. Her works are full of poetry and philosophy. Illustrator Shirō Hata is widely loved in Japan for his distinctive造型 and color style, and his illustrations bring joyful, warm, visual life to the story.