WHEN I GROW UP

Al Yankovic provides a creative take on the mundane question: What are you going to be when you grow up? His rollicking tone and accelerating pace put listeners firmly in the perspective of hyperactive, hyperbolic 8-year-old Billy, who has a wealth of answers to Mrs. Krupp’s pedantic question. Billy imagines his future as a world-renowned chef famous for his “Twinkies au gratin,” a snail trainer, a giraffe milker, a gorilla masseuse, a chocolate mousse artist, a smelly pit-sniffing deodorant tester—and more. Like many celebrities, Yankovic seems to believe that a Seuss-like rhyming style is the only way to craft a children’s book. Sadly, the author’s inventive story and enthusiastic expression are better than his writing craft. S.W. 2012 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2012]