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Later, When I'm Big
As a child and her mother walk up to the swimming pool, she dreams about everything she’ll do when she’s older. Maybe she’ll dance with jellyfish. Maybe she’ll fly to Saturn in a space rocket. She could even play with the monster under her bed! But for now, she’ll have to face that terrifyingly tall diving board…
40 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 6, 2024
In this picture book, a child and parent go to the pool. While at the pool, the child dreams about all the things they can do, "Later, when I'm big." The child is dreaming about doing things such as helping a zookeeper clean animals' teeth and swimming without arm floaties. In the child's dreams, they travel through many different places including a forest, the North Pole, and Saturn. This book is a Batchelder Award honoree. The book includes colorful and detailed illustrations that would be captivating for young children. This book would be appropriate for younger children (grades K-2). There are some challenging words for beginning readers, so it would probably work best as a read aloud. There is alliteration throughout the book, so it could be used to teach that skill. This book does not include much diversity. The name, age, and gender of the main character is not mentioned.
February 1, 2024
How I loved the wild and confident dreams of this small girl, whose stuffed bunny stands in for her at times and who will roam the world and have marvelous, brave experiences - later, when she's big. I appreciated Mattias De Leeuw's wonderful, free illustrations.
April 21, 2025
A Mildred L Batchelder winner that has been translated from Dutch, "Later, When I'm Big" by Bette Westera is a beautifully written and illustrated piece of literature that fits perfectly into a younger student classroom. Reading this piece was so fun because the acrylic style "paintings" really jump off the page! In this piece we follow a mother and her daughters relationship as they talk about all the big and beautiful things she wants to do when she gets older. Her dreams are big and teachers the motto "We can do hard things" perfectly. From swimming to the bottom of the ocean "WITHOUT floaties" to patting a Polar Bear, she shows the kids reading the story that we can in fact do all the things we could possibly want to do. This story would fit perfectly into a "What do you want to do when you grow up" unit for elementary students in the 3rd-4th grade. They can learn to reach for the stars and accomplish any goal they set out to achieve!
September 10, 2023
“Later, when I’m big, I’ll dare to do lots and lots of things.”
Later, When I’m Big transports readers straight into the whimsical mind of a child where anything and everything is possible. The narrator fantasizes about all of the adventures she will have once she grows up, including traveling to unfamiliar faraway places, spending the night in a spooky haunted castle, and petting a real-life polar bear in its natural environment. She places no limits on what she can accomplish and craves to expand her boundaries by pushing herself out of her current comfort zone. With colorful, immersive drawings, Later, When I’m Big is perfect for all young readers who dream big.
I adore that the picture book Later, When I’m Big empowers children to set aside their fears and think big by envisioning a world where nothing is an impossibility. The whimsical nature of the plot is a journey that inspired me to expand my horizons and be less closed-minded about what I can achieve and experience. This valuable life lesson encourages innovation and exploration in younger generations. Most of the activities include meeting young reader’s favorite exotic animals accompanied by adorable illustrations. The narrator also fantasizes about other common dreams of children, such as swimming with mermaids and flying to other planets in a spaceship. I also appreciated the inclusion of feasible childhood goals in addition to the whimsical dreams, like swimming without needing floaties, jumping off a high diving board with your eyes open, and overcoming a fear of the dark by playing with the monsters and dragons that live under your bed. Highlighting these achievable objectives helps readers also to appreciate more mundane ambitions they may have as opposed to only seeking out whimsical pursuits. Later, When I’m Big inspires young readers to follow their dreams and understand that they will continue to accomplish many things—both big and small—as they grow.
(Pine Reads Review would like to thank Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for sending us a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.)
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
Later, When I’m Big transports readers straight into the whimsical mind of a child where anything and everything is possible. The narrator fantasizes about all of the adventures she will have once she grows up, including traveling to unfamiliar faraway places, spending the night in a spooky haunted castle, and petting a real-life polar bear in its natural environment. She places no limits on what she can accomplish and craves to expand her boundaries by pushing herself out of her current comfort zone. With colorful, immersive drawings, Later, When I’m Big is perfect for all young readers who dream big.
I adore that the picture book Later, When I’m Big empowers children to set aside their fears and think big by envisioning a world where nothing is an impossibility. The whimsical nature of the plot is a journey that inspired me to expand my horizons and be less closed-minded about what I can achieve and experience. This valuable life lesson encourages innovation and exploration in younger generations. Most of the activities include meeting young reader’s favorite exotic animals accompanied by adorable illustrations. The narrator also fantasizes about other common dreams of children, such as swimming with mermaids and flying to other planets in a spaceship. I also appreciated the inclusion of feasible childhood goals in addition to the whimsical dreams, like swimming without needing floaties, jumping off a high diving board with your eyes open, and overcoming a fear of the dark by playing with the monsters and dragons that live under your bed. Highlighting these achievable objectives helps readers also to appreciate more mundane ambitions they may have as opposed to only seeking out whimsical pursuits. Later, When I’m Big inspires young readers to follow their dreams and understand that they will continue to accomplish many things—both big and small—as they grow.
(Pine Reads Review would like to thank Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for sending us a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.)
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
September 14, 2023
My five-year-old is currently at a place where he is interested in age. He loves to pretend to be a baby—never mind that’s he’s already over four feet tall! He’s also curious about how old one has to be to do certain things like drive a car or have a job or drink soda or Be On The Computer Without An Adult Present. Later, When I’m Big follows that theme by having a child imagine all sorts of things they will do when they’re big.
The first panel of the book reads “Later, when I’m big, I’ll dare to do lots and lots of things.” The illustrations are of a mom and child walking in a giant and imaginative water park. Every panel that follows has some sort of outlandish and impressive thing that the child will do Later, When I’m Big. Kissing an elephant, sleeping in a haunted castle, biking around the world…you get the idea. This continues until the final panels, which shows the mom and child leaving the water park with the words “But not just yet.”
The book is fine, but it’s quite what I was hoping for. There’s basically an introduction, a series of outlandish things, and an ending. None of the things the child will do are remotely based in reality—real things that kids might want to do when they’re older—except for drinking soda. The result is that there’s no real depth to the book. It’s just a series of odd things (well-illustrated, I might add) but that’s it. While this book might be good for a single read through and a chuckle, that’s about it.
The first panel of the book reads “Later, when I’m big, I’ll dare to do lots and lots of things.” The illustrations are of a mom and child walking in a giant and imaginative water park. Every panel that follows has some sort of outlandish and impressive thing that the child will do Later, When I’m Big. Kissing an elephant, sleeping in a haunted castle, biking around the world…you get the idea. This continues until the final panels, which shows the mom and child leaving the water park with the words “But not just yet.”
The book is fine, but it’s quite what I was hoping for. There’s basically an introduction, a series of outlandish things, and an ending. None of the things the child will do are remotely based in reality—real things that kids might want to do when they’re older—except for drinking soda. The result is that there’s no real depth to the book. It’s just a series of odd things (well-illustrated, I might add) but that’s it. While this book might be good for a single read through and a chuckle, that’s about it.
July 27, 2024
Later, When I’m Big by award-winning Dutch author, Bette Westera with illustrations by Mattias de Leeuw and English translation by Laura Watkinson is an invitation to let your imagination soar along with the young protagonist.
A trip with her mother to a local pool sets up this tale of whimsical adventures that might come to pass “Later, when I’m big.” The possibilities are vast—kissing an elephant, sleeping in a haunted castle, riding a bicycle hands-free around the globe, diving with a mermaid, playing with dragons, flying to Saturn. First, however, she must return to reality and face the giant diving board—"But not just yet.”
De Leeuw’s playful watercolor illustrations bring the text brilliantly to life as he celebrates the little girl’s fancy with an extravagance of his own. Flamingoes emerge on the inside front cover and provide an unexpected hide-and-seek thread drawing the readers from page to page. Surprises abound—the toy rabbit stuffed into the child’s bag has a life of its own as it joins the little girl’s travels. There’s a lot of detail hidden here to encourage a second and third look.
Entertaining from page one—Later, When I’m Big is a wonderful opportunity to explore with young readers what they might aspire to in the future.
A trip with her mother to a local pool sets up this tale of whimsical adventures that might come to pass “Later, when I’m big.” The possibilities are vast—kissing an elephant, sleeping in a haunted castle, riding a bicycle hands-free around the globe, diving with a mermaid, playing with dragons, flying to Saturn. First, however, she must return to reality and face the giant diving board—"But not just yet.”
De Leeuw’s playful watercolor illustrations bring the text brilliantly to life as he celebrates the little girl’s fancy with an extravagance of his own. Flamingoes emerge on the inside front cover and provide an unexpected hide-and-seek thread drawing the readers from page to page. Surprises abound—the toy rabbit stuffed into the child’s bag has a life of its own as it joins the little girl’s travels. There’s a lot of detail hidden here to encourage a second and third look.
Entertaining from page one—Later, When I’m Big is a wonderful opportunity to explore with young readers what they might aspire to in the future.
July 22, 2025
This picture book was such a sweet and imaginative read. Later, When I'm Big beautifully captures the voice of a curious, thoughtful child dreaming about growing up. Each page is filled with big ideas, playful dreams, and quiet moments of wonder. Bette Westera does a lovely job writing in a poetic, conversational style that feels both genuine and heartwarming. The illustrations by Mattias De Leeuw are whimsical and colorful, perfectly matching the tone of the text and adding so much depth to the narrator's daydreams.
I read the Kindle edition and the formatting held up well, though I imagine the print version would be even more engaging for younger readers with the full-page spreads. This would be a great book to use in early elementary grades to spark conversations about hopes, dreams, and what it means to grow up. It’s gentle, relatable, and well written.
I read the Kindle edition and the formatting held up well, though I imagine the print version would be even more engaging for younger readers with the full-page spreads. This would be a great book to use in early elementary grades to spark conversations about hopes, dreams, and what it means to grow up. It’s gentle, relatable, and well written.
February 11, 2024
3 stars (I liked it)
It's that time of year where all the ALA Youth Media winners and honors I put on hold came in at the library...
This was one of the books that won for being translated into English. Sometimes that can make the story hard to understand but I think it worked out okay in this instance.
I liked the imagination that is celebrated in this book. After my first read, I went back to look more closely at the beginning illustrations to see what things in the pool area inspired the child's dreams.
I'm not a huge fan of the watercolor illustrations but they did work pretty well with the tone and theme of the book.
It's that time of year where all the ALA Youth Media winners and honors I put on hold came in at the library...
This was one of the books that won for being translated into English. Sometimes that can make the story hard to understand but I think it worked out okay in this instance.
I liked the imagination that is celebrated in this book. After my first read, I went back to look more closely at the beginning illustrations to see what things in the pool area inspired the child's dreams.
I'm not a huge fan of the watercolor illustrations but they did work pretty well with the tone and theme of the book.
February 25, 2024
A little girl tells her mother all the things she will do when she's big, like helping the zookeeper clean the lions' and tigers' teeth, or swimming in the ocean with mermaids, or petting a polar bear.
The illustrations are full page watercolors, and there is a lot to see on each page. In her imagination, there's this giant rabbit which is her toy IRL. It might be fun for the reader to spot it in the picture although it's usually with or near the little girl. A good story to use if talking about learning to be brave. The child and her mother are white
Cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
The illustrations are full page watercolors, and there is a lot to see on each page. In her imagination, there's this giant rabbit which is her toy IRL. It might be fun for the reader to spot it in the picture although it's usually with or near the little girl. A good story to use if talking about learning to be brave. The child and her mother are white
Cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
January 4, 2025
Liked-ish. I liked the imagination and playfulness of this one, but I really wish it wasn't framed around fear since it 100% doesn't need to be. As such, I did heavily modify it away from that context, and into the fun things the kid is imagining doing when they're older (removing the idea that the reason they're not now is because they're fearful of it.) My toddler would 100% be latching onto phrases like "big bad wolves" and monsters under bed. Maybe this would work as-is for a kid who is fearful already, but I don't want to mess with our really healthy respect/caution but not fear around
a lot of the concepts covered.
a lot of the concepts covered.
February 13, 2024
I didn't have high expectations for this picture book because there are so many picture books where a little kid imagines, "When I grow up, I'm going to do this or that." But wow, this one proves once again that even a story that has been told a thousand times can be wonderful, depending on how the author imagines it.
Bette Westera's short sentences open up a world of endless imagination,
and Laura Watkinson captures that world beautifully in bright acrylic colors. Both artists made the little kid in me jump for joy. Good Job.
Bette Westera's short sentences open up a world of endless imagination,
and Laura Watkinson captures that world beautifully in bright acrylic colors. Both artists made the little kid in me jump for joy. Good Job.
February 29, 2024
The big picture feel of this picture book is delightful. The colors are vivid and it's similar in theme/topic to Blackall's If I Was a Horse. Eventually our pint-sized character will do great things about the beasts of the world. So we follow the little on their adventure into the wilds to cozy up with lions and elephants and more.
Vivid and provides that magical growth mindset thinking.
Vivid and provides that magical growth mindset thinking.
July 19, 2024
LOVE the art, but wish the translation put the verbs in future tense. It was a stumble of a read. (I wish it said "Later when I'm big... I'll pick mushrooms... sleep beside bats.")
I was also a little confused by the fact there were two characters (the girl and her bunny) -- gah! -- despite the fact I love a complication (and bunny friends). But it's just that sometimes the bunny gets to do the things and not the girl...
This book was a fun way to launch writing about what we will (and won't do) when we're "big."
I was also a little confused by the fact there were two characters (the girl and her bunny) -- gah! -- despite the fact I love a complication (and bunny friends). But it's just that sometimes the bunny gets to do the things and not the girl...
This book was a fun way to launch writing about what we will (and won't do) when we're "big."
July 3, 2024
A young girl and her mom are going to the pool for a swim. Along the way, the girl has a running inner dialogue of all the things she would like to accomplish when she is bigger/older. A wise child with lots of dreams - she realizes there are lots of things to hope for and it's OK to wait to do some things until you are older (and braver!) -- grand adventures await!
I really enjoyed the illustrations - especially the tiger and the polar bear.
I really enjoyed the illustrations - especially the tiger and the polar bear.
December 19, 2024
Five star illustrations, but I would have loved it if this book had some realistic things that are scary and some of the more fanciful ones (there were only a couple of examples of things kids really would do-- there's plenty worth doing that is exciting but still real).
Fun and unique way to frame fear in a picture book.
Fun and unique way to frame fear in a picture book.
January 22, 2024
Was able to check this out right after it was honored with a Batchelder honor. It's interesting how well illustrations can translate. Not so sure about the fig leaf, but it would be a great start to, "What will you do when you are big?"
January 26, 2024
This speaks to my inner five-year-old self. Perhaps it reminds me a little of Remy Charlip’s Fortunately, a book that I had at the same age (a copy of which someone had gotten my name included in the narrative).
February 7, 2024
There's something about this book that feels like an up-to-date manifesto written by Bemelmen's Madeline. A sweet collection of imaginative adventures and bold claims about what the child will do when they're big.
February 14, 2024
Artful, stylized illustrations encourage a world of wonder from a young person's perspective. I like the play between small and large, the unique perspective shifts this book invites.
Themes: adventures, creativity/wonder, the great big wold
Ages: K-2nd grade
Pub year: 2023
Themes: adventures, creativity/wonder, the great big wold
Ages: K-2nd grade
Pub year: 2023
February 27, 2024
A small gal's imagination, assisted by a few props at the swim park, help her fill in the sentence, "When I'm big, I'll......." Every two or three pages, there's a different adventure.
What a wonderful world!
What a wonderful world!
April 22, 2024
A young girl tells of all the marvels of getting big and all the things she will do "when I'm big". Translated from Dutch, this Batchelder honor book, is perfect for sharing with young readers who long to experience such events as swimming without arm floaties and traveling to the North Pole!
January 2, 2024
I can see manyuses for this as a writing, drawing mentor text and especially as a 1 on 1 read to talk to kids about their wishes and dreams. Can see asa clel talkbook.
January 26, 2024
Imagination is wonderful!
Read
February 8, 2024a delightful book of childhood aspirations
Read
February 10, 2024a fun book about being courageous, but not until you're "big. imaginative; translated
February 23, 2024
Brave and creative aspirations.
March 8, 2024
Clever and imaginative text, and fabulous imaginative illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
April 7, 2024
The illustrations are fun. Read slowly and enjoy the details. Arm floaties appear quite often in the illustrations. Good for reading one on one.
April 20, 2024
Just a miss for us.
May 24, 2024
YMA 2024 Mildred L Batchelder honor book
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