Linda Soules Releases 'So You Want To Be A Lawyer,' a Kids' Guide to Law Built for Readers Ages 10–14

Author Linda Soules has released So You Want To Be A Lawyer, a 40-page illustrated children's nonfiction book that explains what lawyers actually do and what it takes to become one. The book is written for readers ages 10 to 14 and also works as a read-aloud for younger children. It is available now at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972766430. The title has already won the Literary Titan Gold Book Award, the Grand Prize at the 2026 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, and a Silver Award in Children's Nonfiction at the 2026 CIPA EVVY Book Awards. Soules spent 25 years practicing law and advising financial institutions before she began writing for young readers. She draws on that career throughout the book, which replaces the courtroom-shouting stereotype with a plainer account of close reading, exact language and advocacy.

Children usually meet lawyers through television and film, where the profession tends to look like a series of dramatic courtroom confrontations. The reality is quieter. Much of a lawyer's work is reading carefully, choosing precise words, preparing arguments, and standing between a client and a legal system that is far larger than any one person. Career books for young readers often skip that detail in favor of a short list of job duties and a salary range.

Soules built So You Want To Be A Lawyer around a different premise: children can handle an honest description of a profession, including its difficult parts. The book describes long hours, cases that do not end the way anyone hoped, and the weight of responsibility that comes with representing another person. It also describes the rewards of the work. For children who enjoy a good argument, notice details others miss, or insist on fairness, the book offers a way to see those traits as the beginnings of a career rather than as habits that get them in trouble.

The book's central structure is a "day in the life" of a working lawyer, taken hour by hour. Readers follow the routine of reading, writing, researching, meeting clients and preparing for hearings, with courtroom appearances as one part of the day instead of the whole of it. The format shows that legal work is mostly analytical and often solitary, and that it rewards patience as much as eloquence. Alongside that walkthrough, the book profiles four lawyers who changed history: Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bryan Stevenson and Constance Baker Motley. Each profile ties a well-known figure to the practical skills the book describes, so readers see how careful reasoning and persistence shaped real outcomes for real people.

The book also leans on facts that children are likely to repeat. It recounts the court case that ruled a tomato is a vegetable, the medieval trials in which animals such as pigs and rats were put on the stand, and the Supreme Court's basketball court, nicknamed "the Highest Court in the Land." Practical material follows. A plain-language glossary defines legal terms, a section explains what it takes to become a lawyer, and the book suggests simple ways to start preparing today. Recommended books and resources point readers toward further study, and a note from the author, written from 25 years in the profession, closes the volume. The book treats these elements as tools a reader can use, not as trivia.

Soules positions the book against a common habit in children's publishing of simplifying subjects until they lose their substance. So You Want To Be A Lawyer treats young readers as intellectual equals, a stance that runs through her whole series. It is candid about difficulty, specific about daily work, and explicit about a message that, in her view, too few children hear: a person does not need to be the loudest in the room to do important work. The book frames quiet qualities such as close attention, careful word choice and steady courage as professional strengths. That emphasis is a notable departure from portrayals that equate legal skill with performance, and it speaks directly to children who are reserved, analytical or inclined to observe before they speak.

"You don't have to be the loudest person in the room to do important work. Lawyers read closely, choose exact words, and stand up for others," said Linda Soules, author of the So You Want To Be A… series.

The book is aimed first at curious readers ages 10 to 14, a stage when many children begin to form ideas about what adults do for a living. A child who likes debate, who corrects the details in a story, or who objects when a rule seems unfair can find those instincts described and valued here. Parents and grandparents can use the book as a read-aloud with younger children, and the glossary gives families a shared vocabulary for conversations about courts and rights. Teachers and librarians can place it alongside civics, history and career-exploration units, where the profiles of Marshall, Ginsburg, Stevenson and Motley connect to lessons on the history of civil rights and the role of the courts. The preparation tips give students something concrete to try.

So You Want To Be A Lawyer is available now through Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972766430. The book runs 40 pages and carries the ISBN 978-1-972766-43-9. Full subtitle: A Kids' Guide to Law, Courtrooms, Justice, and the Sharp-Minded Advocates Who Fight for Fairness and Protect People's Rights. Readers can find format options and current pricing on the product page. Parents, educators and librarians interested in the broader series can reach the author's other career-exploration titles through the same listing. Review and media inquiries can be directed to Linda Soules, who is available to discuss the book, the thinking behind the series, and the experience of moving from a legal and financial career into children's publishing.

The book is part of the So You Want To Be A… series, which Soules envisions spanning more than 180 titles. More than 60 have been published so far, with new releases arriving on a steady cadence. The series covers a wide range of careers, from astronauts and marine biologists to magicians, stunt performers and roller coaster designers. Each title follows the same approach: explain a real career, including its joys, its challenges and the path to reach it, and do so without talking down to the reader. The lawyer volume brings that method to a profession the author knows firsthand, and it adds to a growing shelf of titles designed to help young readers see how many kinds of work exist and which ones might suit them.

About Linda Soules and the So You Want To Be A… series: Linda Soules is the author and creator of the series, a collection of career-exploration books for readers ages 10 to 14 and beyond. The series is envisioned to span more than 180 titles, with more than 60 published to date. Before turning to children's publishing, Soules spent 25 years in law and finance, advising hedge funds and sophisticated financial institutions on legal and regulatory matters. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children. Her guiding principle is to never talk down to kids, and each book aims to show a real career honestly while sparking curiosity. So You Want To Be A Lawyer is available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1972766430.