Paula Bunyan Children's Books for the Skilled Trades
Building Trade Talent, One Story at a Time
The Why
Skilled Trades Gap
The Challenge
Electricians exemplify the growing supply-demand gap in skilled trades. Despite their critical role, there’s a shortage of professionals to meet increasing demand.
Key factors include:
- Aging workforce and retiring baby boomers
- Expanding AI data centers and electric vehicles
- Declining interest among younger generations
Under-recognized Career Potential
Job Security
Skilled trades offer stability in an era of automation. Unlike many white-collar jobs, trades are less likely to be replaced by technology, ensuring a sustainable career path.
Empowering Careers
Trades foster independence, resilience, and pride in hands-on work.
Money
Pay is competitive. College debt is not a prerquistive.
Early Childhood: A Critical Gap
Early Childhood: A Critical Gap
Why Start Early?
- Career Ideas Form Young: By age three, children begin shaping ideas about jobs and their value.
- Exposure Expands Horizons: Children exposed to career-related books develop more varied career interests by elementary school.
- Imagination Without Limits: Ages 2–6 are a time of boundless possibilities, free from stereotypes.
- Books Build Respect: Stories normalize trades, fostering respect for hands-on careers.
How: Three Books Per Trade
ABCs of the Trades
ABCs of the Trades
ABCs of the Trades
- Rhyming A-to-Z books introduce children to the unique language of each trade.
- Kids can pronounce “t-rex" and "tyrannosaurus rex,” so why not “amp” and “ampere”?
- Early exposure to trade-related words builds familiarity, curiosity, and confidence.
Everyday Heroes
ABCs of the Trades
ABCs of the Trades
- Role-model stories celebrate the real-world impact of skilled professionals.
- Children grow up reading about firefighters — so why not electricians, welders, or plumbers as heroes of their own trades?
Trade Match Rhymes
ABCs of the Trades
Trade Match Rhymes
Playful, rhyming stories that help parents and children spot the interests and strengths that may naturally lead to a trade.
2026-2034 Prioritized Trades
Industry Partnerships
Trade associations, apprenticeship programs, unions, libraries, early childhood programs, workforce organizations, and trade businesses can help bring these stories to more young readers.
Customized partnership opportunities may include:
- Educational book distribution programs
- Classroom and library initiatives
- Career awareness campaigns
- Sponsored editions for schools and communities
- Career outreach events
- Conference or event speaker
Contact Paula@PaulaBunyan.com to customize your partnership.
Who: About the Author
Paula Bunyan is on a mission to introduce young children to the world of the skilled trades.
With a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology, Paula spent the first 20+ years of her career studying how people find their fit and use their strengths at work. Over time, one pattern stood out: many of the most empowering and satisfying careers—the skilled trades—are rarely introduced to children when their imaginations are forming.
In her 50s, Paula left the corporate world to change that. After a failed tree-stump removal business (always buy the machine with more power), she now runs her own lawn care company while writing children’s books that help kids discover empowering trades, STEM skills, and the joy of job resilience.
Her mission: Build trade talent, one story at a time.
Email: contact@PaulaBunyan.com
In the News...
Valiant CEO magazine
A Business With Purpose: How Paula Bunyan Uses Lawn Care Revenue to Fund Career-Focused Children’s Books