Ellie Mae Dreams Big!

by Kristina McMorris, Amanda Yoshida (Illustrator)

Overview

The sister duo of New York Times best-selling novelist Kristina McMorris and award-winning artist Amanda Yoshida makes their collaborative debut with a delightful story of a girl whose big dreams are far from ordinary.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

At the teacher's all-important question, Ellie Mae's mind swirls with ideas. An astronaut or a chef? Better yet, why not an astronaut-chef? Since the moon is made of cheese, her galactic grilled-cheese sandwiches could be known throughout the universe! Or . . . she could be a 'ballerina-painter,' creating masterpieces while leaping across the stage.

In the end, there are so many options, Ellie Mae fears she can't possibly pick—until the answer dawns on her. What she chooses will surprise her classmates as much as the reader! 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728256122
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	01/16/2024
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	413,619
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Kristina McMorris is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of two novellas and seven historical novels, including the million-copy bestseller Sold on a Monday. The recipient of more than twenty national literary awards, she previously hosted weekly TV shows for Warner Bros. and an ABC affiliate, beginning at age nine with an Emmy Award-winning program, and owned a wedding-and-event-planning company until she had far surpassed her limit of "Y.M.C.A." and chicken dances. Kristina lives near Portland, Oregon, where she somehow manages to be fully deficient of a green thumb and not own a single umbrella.

Amanda Yoshida is a graduate of the prestigious Gnomon School of Visual Effects and lives in Portland, Oregon. Motherhood inspired her transition from a 3D digital artist to her dream career since childhood as an award-winning picture book illustrator

Editorial Reviews

11/06/2023

McMorris encourages boundary-defying self-exploration in this standard dress-up drama. Ellie Mae doesn’t like “assignments with too many choices,” so she struggles when her teacher asks the class to dress up as what they aspire to be when they grow up. Luckily, “an exciting idea zapped into her mind,” and she’s soon envisioning a series of goofy costume mash-ups: astronaut-chef (“Her gooey, galactic, grilled cheese sandwiches would be known throughout the universe”), candy-farmer, pirate-dentist, zookeeper-teacher, and ballerina-painter. Unsure how to decide, the East Asian–cued child worries before coming up with a solution that wholeheartedly leans into the plethora of choices. Yoshida’s digital cartoon renderings of Ellie Mae’s imaginings have a static quality that nevertheless succeeds in extending the protagonist’s big dreams, which should inspire a similar creative spirit in readers. Ages 3–6. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Funny and imaginative Ellie Mae teaches readers to dream big and believe they can become anything. Ellie Mae is spontaneous and quirky, with lots of emotions and creativity, brought to life by vivid, candy-colored illustrations. Fun and silly—but sure to inspire kids to dream big." — Kirkus Reviews

"Encourages boundary-defying self-exploration... which should inspire a similar creative spirit in readers." — Publishers Weekly

"Children will enjoy the idea that their future needn’t be limited to only one career but that they can take what they enjoy doing and fuse those options into an amazing future." — Booklist

From the Publisher

2023-10-07
A young girl wonders what she’ll be when she grows up.

Ellie Mae, who presents as East Asian, loves school but doesn’t like assignments with lots of choices. It’s just too hard to make decisions. So when her class is asked to dress up as what they want to be when they grow up, Ellie Mae struggles. After much thinking, and eating, she finds inspiration in her grilled cheese sandwich—she’s heard that the moon might be made of cheese, which makes her decide to dress up as an astronaut-chef. But what about dessert? Ellie Mae next hits upon the idea of becoming a candy-farmer. With each idea spurring the next, Ellie Mae comes up with more and more fun possible dual-career ideas: a pirate-dentist! A zookeeper-teacher! Her mind racing, Ellie Mae takes a deep breath to slow her thoughts until she comes up with the perfect solution. Funny and imaginative Ellie Mae teaches readers to dream big and believe they can become anything. While readers will laugh at the fun ideas and silly pictures, the message is clear: The sky’s the limit when it comes to career choices. The book also demonstrates a way to calm down when overwhelmed. Ellie Mae is spontaneous and quirky, with lots of emotions and creativity, brought to life by vivid, candy-colored illustrations.

Fun and silly—but sure to inspire kids to dream big. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews