When I say the words “Weird Al Yankovic” what do you think of? “Eat it”? “Like a Surgeon”? The image of him, dressed in his Pennsylvania Dutch finest in the video for “Amish Paradise”? Or, for you really hard core Weird Al fans (who, me?) the inimitable lyrics of “One More Minute” in which he tells his ex-girlfriend that he’s stranded “all alone in the gas station of love”? Well, no matter the image, Weird Al has his rightful place in American culture – for farces, song parodies and really awesome accordion playing. And now, amazingly enough, he can add children’s book writer to that laundry list of accomplishments. His newly released book, When I Grow Up, is a charming, well-written story of a little 8 year old boy who can’t quite decide what he wants to be as an adult, but he must think of something in time for today’s show-and-tell. When he fantasizes of different occupations (giraffe milker, gorilla masseuse, deodorant sniffing inspector) you can feel the real Weird Al coming through in all the right ways. His sense of humor remains intact, even with the pediatric set – and I’m glad he’s made this first foray into the world of children’s lit. I hope it won’t be his last.