Kimber the Magnificent here. With a true-life story. About Yours Truly. It’s real short. But it’s relevant to this review. So kindly keep you hair on, pal. Goes like this:

Awhile back Her Royal Momness looked out the window into the yard. She noticed I was limping. Mom ran outside like a shot from a cannon. Found my front paw was all bloody. No idea what happened or how. Just Too. Much. Blood. After recovering from her heart attack, Mom got the neighbor kid to help carry me into the house. Then we called Dr. Dan. He’s my doctor. We set a,new land-speed record racing over to Dr, Dan’s place (don’t tell anyone, okay?). And Dr. Dan and his helpers took care of me. Bandage. Pain meds. Anti-biotic thingies. Observation. They even got me this little plastic bootie for my foot. To protect my bandage from getting wet. Mom had to tie it on my foot every time I had to go outside. So annoying. But it worked. And about a week and half later-ish, I was up and running and zooming all over creation, like usual! So yea, Dr. Dan!

Still with me? Good! I’m telling you this because I wanted to let you know that I was not scared at Dr. Dan’s place. That’s because I love Dr. Dan! He talks real soft and slow. I see him twice a year (that foot ouchie was a “seismic anamoly.” No idea what that means. It’s just what Mom said, okay?) At my usual check-ups, Dr. Dan says. “How’s my sweet girl today?” His face is all smiley and his voice is happy when he says that. I like Dr. Dan because Dr. Dan likes me! He also remembers I like the bacon-flavored treats best. Dr. Dan is one of my favorite-est hoomans in the whole world. (He’s not Mom. But, hey. Who is?)

So when Mom got a review request for this little’uns book about how they can be a veterinarian like my good buddy Dr. Dan, I said “Take it!” The world needs more Dr. Dans. I’ll let Mom fill you in on the rest:

So You Want To Be a Veterinarian

By Linda Soules ((indie author, 2026)

Genre: Nonfiction – Children (ages 10 – 14)

Pages: Don’t know. Not numbered.

Via: Author request

Note: We received a complimentary of this book for honest review

So You Want To Be A Veterinarian is an illustrated guide for kids ages 10 to 14 who feel drawn to animals and want to know what it really means to build a career caring for them. Not someday. Not in the abstract. Right now, in concrete detail that respects how seriously young people think about their futures.

You’ll follow veterinarians through real days — diagnosing a family pet with a puzzling illness, performing surgery that demands precision across unfamiliar anatomy, making split-second decisions in emergencies where every minute counts. You’ll learn the science behind how vets read what animals cannot say, interpreting symptoms through physical exams, diagnostic imaging, and lab work that would challenge any medical professional. Lots more!

It includes sections on What a Veterinarian Actually Does and Where They Work. Also The Best, Hardest and Most Surprising Parts of the Job, Tools of the Trade, and A Day in the Life of a Vet. Also The People You Work With (vet techs, nurses, practice manager, receptionist, etc.).

We Totally Love-ified the warm and gentle tone of this book, especially in How You Help People and The Hardest Part of the Job. It takes the scarededness or overwhelmingness (new words we just made up) out of the equation, making the topic accessible and easily understandable for little’uns. And moms who are older than dirt.

We also appreciated the candid, kind discussion about how veterinary medicine “is one of the most emotionally demanding professions.” (Kinda like being a dog mom.) Also how being a vet is also “one of the funniest things a person can spend their life doing.” (Kinda like being a dog mom 2.0.) Ditto how vets are like detectives. Their patients can’t describe their symptoms or explain what happened. So “Dr. Dans” read the evidence instead. Like how an animal moves, holds its weight, responds to touch, behavior, posture, etc. A vet then “builds a diagnosis from what cannot be said.”

We also loved The Most Important Qualities of a Veterinarian and Things You Might Not Expect to Need (as a vet). Don’t forget the section on Fun Facts. A Glossary of Veterinarian Words is included.

What we liked best about this book? The author gets it. She gets that being a vet isn’t just about being an animal doctor. Taking care of patients who can’t talk or tell you how they’re feeling. How being a vet isn’t just handing out meds or formulating treatment plans. All that matters. But the bottom line, as so eloquently expressed in this book, is the bond between humans and animals, “one of the oldest things on earth.” She writes, “Veterinarians are the guardians of that bond. When an animal is sick, the bond is threatened. The family is scared. The animal is suffering. And the vet steps in and says: I’m going to do everything I can to protect what you have together. That’s the deepest truth of this profession.” And how “The veterinarians who treat these animals understand that they are also caring for the humans attached to them, that the well-being of the animal and the well-being of the person are deeply connected.”

Anyone who’s ever loved and worried over a sick or injured animal knows exactly that means. (Hi, Mom.)

Well-organized, structurally sound and briskly paced, this book is thorough, articulate, and highly readable. Besides being educational and informative, it’s also motivating and inspiring.

Kimber: After reading this book, I think Dr. Dan oughtta get some kind of medal. Or extra bacon.

So. We loved this book! In fact, if So You Want to be a Veterinarian inspires just one kid to become another Dr. Dan, then it’s worthy of a Kimber Award. And we don’t give those out to just anyone, bub.