Work: Interviews with People Doing Jobs They Love

This impressively global and genuinely heartfelt survey communicates that every job has its particular—and peculiar—demands and rewards. For a candlestick maker in Ireland, rolling beeswax is “like meditation,” while a research assistant at Chicago’s Field Museum “has to write really small so she can number bones,” and a ferry captain in Germany must grapple regularly with the weather. New York Times columnists and previous collaborators Feinberg and Rothman (How We Got By, for adults) describe 28 jobs via interviews with arrayed specialists across the globe, giving each gig a spread featuring concise, reportorial text blocks and mixed-media vignettes. A sense of calling unites the labors, based in everything from a Buenos Aires street food vendor’s family legacy to a Seoul-based designer’s love for handiwork. Relatable portraiture (a duo of vegan butchers in Minneapolis is particularly winning) captures people in the “flow” of their work alongside spot illustrations that showcase the subjects’ creations, such as the array of task-specific devices created by a London-based prosthetics maker. Appropriately, among the 28 profiles are those of the “illustrator” and “author” themselves. A brief explanation of the book’s process and a glossary conclude. Ages 6–9. (Dec.)