People You Gotta Meet Before You Grow Up: Get to Know the Movers and Shakers, Heroes and Hotshots in Your Hometown

Gr 3–6—This is a wonderful resource for curious students who like to ask a lot of questions. Rhatigan gives a brief and broad look at 35 careers, hobbies, and people, such as farmer, engineer, historical reenactor, as well as senior citizen, immigrant, chef. Each suggested interview includes an introductory paragraph, tips on how to land an interview, where to find the interview subjects, three-to-five specific questions to ask, web links, and a short list of famous men and women (equal numbers of each). Sample interviews from the author's friends and family reinforce the main message that children are surrounded by interesting subjects. Stock photos and a creative layout liven up pages, but offer little additional or supporting information. Bitly is the URL shortener of choice, and token descriptions are less than useful, especially since some links are already out of date, and many are simply the first hits on a Google search. While these elements detract from the overall quality of the lively text, this is still a prime choice for units on interviewing and careers, budding journalists, or for general browsing.—Jennifer Wolf, Beaverton City Library, OR