Community helpers are all around us! These books celebrate the jobs people do in our community that help keep us safe, educate us, and provide for us. Who knows? Maybe your little one will find their future career on this list!

Book-o-hats: a wearable book by Donald B. Lemke
Become a firefighter, a chef, or perhaps a pirate with six wearable hat masks in this interactive board book with die cut holes and rhyming text.

Bug Patrol by Denise Dowling Mortensen
Captain Bob of the Bug Patrol keeps a watchful eye on bugs everywhere.

Builders & Breakers by Steve Light
This picture book about an urban construction site celebrates builders, breakers, and the machines they use.

Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling
Rhymed quizzes and clothesline illustrations present a guessing game of jobs, such as mail carrier, farmer, chef, artist, and astronaut.

I Can Be Anything! By Jerry Spinelli
A little boy ponders the many possible jobs in his future, from paper-plane folder and puppy-dog holder to mixing-bowl licker and tin-can kicker.

It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton
Liam really wants some mail, so he writes a letter to his mailbox asking for something in return. His mailbox delivers, sending Liam more than he could have hoped for … and how! But as the mail starts to pile up, Liam realizes that the best packages and parcels are even better when shared with friends.

Kitten Red, Yellow, Blue by Peter Catalanotto
After placing the red kitten with Dave the firefighter and the blue kitten with Francine the police officer, Mrs. Tuttle finds homes for fourteen other colorful kittens. Sixteen calico kittens — the number of colors in a crayon box. Their mother, Sophie, knows one from another…but how do you think Mrs. Tuttle tells those kittens apart? Peter Catalanotto’s sequel to his Matthew A.B.C. and Daisy 1, 2, 3 invites long looking, counting, and laughing!

Librarians at Work by Karen Latchana Kenney
A simple look at what librarians do on a day to day basis.

On the Farm, at the Market by Brian G. Karas
On the farm, workers pick vegetables, collect eggs, and make cheese. At the market the next day, the workers set up their stands and prepare for shoppers to arrive. Amy, the baker at the Busy Bee Café, has a very special meal in mind–and, of course, all the farmers show up at the café to enjoy the results of their hard work

This is the Firefighter by Laura Godwin
In short, rhyming sentences tells the story of firefighters responding to a fire in a building from the time the alarm rings and the firefighters leave the station until they declare “all clear” and return.

Trashy Town by Andrea Griffing Zimmerman
Little by little, can by can, Mr. Gillie, the trash man, cleans up his town.

What Do You Do If You Work at the Zoo? By Steve Jenkins
From Caldecott Honor winning team Steve Jenkins and Robin Page comes an early introduction to one of young readers favorite places: the zoo! Just a few things that a zookeeper might do at their job to keep their animals healthy, well fed, and safe would be to brush a hippo’s tusks, play soccer with a rhino, or pretend to be a vulture’s mother.