BLOB

“A creature of indeterminate kind” ponders life and existence.

Looking a lot like a softly rounded coconut-covered marshmallow, Blob is a lump. Or, well, a blob, even though the busybody narrator keeps mistakenly referring to Blob as “Bob.” Blob is trying to figure out what it wants to be. The narrator helpfully interjects: “As a blob, Bob can be any animal you want.” Blob is surprised. “I can?!” Blob morphs into a panda, a mouse, a giraffe, and more, all at the suggestion of the narrator. But Blob wants to choose its own destiny. Maybe a rock, or a star, or…a rock star! The possibilities are endless. In fact, that’s the problem. There are too many choices. Blob frets: “What if I pick the wrong thing? What if I don’t like it?” Blob suddenly feels a burst of confidence and sternly addresses the narrator once again on using the correct name and figures out exactly what to be. The back-and-forth banter includes some funny quips, and Blob’s quest for identity will resonate with readers who hear the tiresome, unanswerable question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Blob, who carries a paintbrush throughout (first used to sneak an L into the title) realizes that everyone can paint their own destiny. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An “ambiguous being” with a focused future makes for a fine role model.