Linda Soules Releases 'So You Want To Be A Librarian,' an Award-Winning Career Guide for Kids Ages 10 to 14

Author Linda Soules has released So You Want To Be A Librarian, a 40-page illustrated children's nonfiction book that introduces readers ages 10 to 14 to the work, values and history of the library profession. The book, listed at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H9PYFHV9, is the latest title in her So You Want To Be A... career-exploration series. It carries the full subtitle A Kids' Guide to Libraries, Book Curation, Information Science, and the Resourceful Guides Who Help Us Find Stories, Answers, and Adventures on Every Shelf. Its ISBN is 979-8-951756-02-2. The book has won the Literary Titan Gold Book Award, the Grand Prize in the 2026 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, and a Silver Award in Children's Nonfiction at the 2026 CIPA EVVY Book Awards.

The release arrives as children encounter more information, from more sources, than any previous generation. Search engines, AI-generated text and social feeds deliver answers in seconds, but they rarely teach young people how to judge whether those answers can be trusted. Librarians have long done that work. So You Want To Be A Librarian presents the profession as one built around that skill, along with organizing knowledge and connecting people to what they need.

The book also takes on a stubborn stereotype. Ask most people to picture a librarian and they describe someone stern, whispering "shhh" at anyone who giggles. Soules sets that image aside early and replaces it with a more accurate account of a career that is, in the book's framing, surprising and deeply human. The target audience is readers ages 10 to 14, the stage at which many children begin forming ideas about what adults do all day. The book also works as a read-aloud for younger children.

Inside, readers learn that a librarian does far more than shelve books. The book describes three core functions. Librarians connect one person to exactly what that person needs. They organize all of human knowledge so that any stranger can find it. And they teach readers how to tell a trustworthy fact from a convincing fake. The last of these gets particular emphasis, since the book treats it as a skill that grows more valuable each year.

The book also maps where librarians actually work. Young readers visit sunlit children's rooms and hushed archives, then move on to bookmobiles, hospitals and the digital systems that answer millions of questions a day. The range is deliberate. A child who assumes the job exists only behind a public-library desk will find at least a half-dozen other settings, each with its own tools and daily routines. The text includes the hard parts of the work alongside the rewards, trusting readers with what the series describes as the real texture of a working life.

The book also covers the principles that hold the profession together: open access, reader privacy and the freedom to read. It introduces librarians from history, including Pura Belpré and S. R. Ranganathan, as well as the Pack Horse Librarians who carried books on horseback into the Kentucky mountains. Back matter includes fun facts, a glossary of library words, an author's note, and a guide to books, websites and activities for readers who want to keep exploring. The publication is described as a volume built to be grown into rather than out of.

Many career books for children reduce a profession to a job title, a uniform and a single cheerful day. So You Want To Be A Librarian follows the approach of the wider series, which is to explain a career's joys, challenges and the path to get there without talking down to the reader. It names the values at stake, such as reader privacy and the freedom to read, rather than leaving them for adulthood. It pairs plain-language definitions with a glossary so that terms like curation and information science become usable vocabulary. The book is also positioned for repeated use, with read-aloud appeal for younger children and depth for the 10-to-14 range.

"Kids are smarter and more curious than publishing often assumes. A librarian's job is to keep knowledge free, and children deserve to see themselves doing it," said Linda Soules, author and creator of the So You Want To Be A... series.

The book is aimed at several groups of readers and the adults who buy for them. Book-loving children can use it to picture a profession they may already admire. Reluctant readers get a short, illustrated nonfiction title built around stories and questions rather than long blocks of text. Homeschool families and classroom teachers can place it on shelves alongside other career titles, and the activity guide gives them a starting point for follow-up projects. Parents looking for a gift for a child who loves books and people in equal measure will find that the book frames librarianship around both. The practical use cases are modest but concrete: a read-aloud at bedtime, a career-day reference, or a springboard for a visit to a local library.

So You Want To Be A Librarian is available now through its Amazon listing at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H9PYFHV9. The book is a 40-page children's nonfiction title with the ISBN 979-8-951756-02-2. Readers can check the listing for current pricing and available formats. Because the book is sold through a single retail page, parents, teachers and librarians can order it directly without needing a separate signup or account beyond a standard Amazon login. Educators and librarians who want to review the full description, award details and author information can find them on the same page.

The librarian title is one entry in a much larger project. The So You Want To Be A... series is envisioned to span more than 180 titles in total, with over 60 published to date and new releases arriving on a steady cadence. Subjects already covered range from astronauts and marine biologists to magicians, stunt performers and roller coaster designers. Each book follows the same format: pull back the curtain on one real career and leave young readers with the sense that the world is wider and more reachable than they imagined. Awards for the librarian volume suggest the format is resonating beyond its core readership.

About Linda Soules and the So You Want To Be A... series: Soules is the author and creator of the series, a growing collection of career-exploration books for readers ages 10 to 14 and beyond. Before turning to children's publishing, she spent 25 years in law and finance, advising hedge funds and sophisticated financial institutions on legal and regulatory matters. That work, she says, taught her precision and how to translate intricate subjects into language anyone can use. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children, whose daily questions continue to inform her writing. So You Want To Be A Librarian can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H9PYFHV9.