Published by Quarto Kids, the ‘Little People,BIG DREAMS’ series teaches children about influential figures of the 20th and 21st Century, whilst introducing them to biographical books.
Kindly approved by Netgalley to read the following, these 3 books were huge hits in our house!
They are from the latest wave of releases, as a family we have read others from the library and brought some for birthdays , they make great gifts!
Written by Isabel Sanchez Vegara, they are distinctively designed with a picture book beginning, a timeline at the end as well as suggested further reading in some of the titles. At present the series started with inspirational women but has now extended to a handful of men. There are board books, paper dolls and box sets currently available in the series.
David Bowie
As a child, young David had a head full of songs and ideas. He was inspired by the pop and mod scenes in Britain to pick up the saxophone. After earning his stripes in some of the coolest bands in London, David splashed onto the solo scene. His songwriting talent and musical skill made him one of rock and roll’s all-time greatest artists.
This book throws a spotlight onto an enigmatic person who defied social constructs on gender, identity and the arts till the day he died. Reading this, Miss F got a better understanding of the man behind the music which has beem in the background of much of her life(also in ‘Labyrinth’, one of her favourite films!0
As a child, Ada had a big imagination and a talent for mathematics. She grew up in a noble household in England, where she dedicated herself to studying. Her work with the famous inventor, Charles Babbage, on a very early kind of computer made her the world’s first computer programmer.
Having seen Babbage’s actual computer in real life, Miss F was fascinated to know how Ada was involved and how she came to be a scientist at such a young age. Also, why is she not taught in schools alongside Babbage…kid’s going far!
When Vivienne was a young woman, she wasn’t sure how a working class girl from England could make a living in the art world. But after discovering her passion for design and jewellery making, she erupted onto the fashion scene with a bang. Vivienne’s designs became iconic, and she became famous for letting her clothes speak for themselves.
We loved the originality of the designs and Vivienne’s ‘stuff them’ attitude towards class and gender-her designs are iconic and her sass legendary.It was a great inspiration for Miss F who has to design a piece of clothing out of plastic for school next week!
About the author and illustrators…
Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, born in Barcelona, Spain, is a writer and creative director perhaps best known as the author of much of the Little People, Big Dreams series. Each book tells the childhood story of one of the world’s female icons in an entertaining, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers, allowing them to identify with the characters in each story.
Each book has a different illustrator-to date there has been Ana Albero for David Bowie, Laura Callaghan for Vivienne Westwood and Zafouko Yakamoto for Ada Lovelace.
Links-https://www.worldbookday.com/2018/09/qa-isabel-sanchez-vergara-creator-little-people-big-dreams-series/
Twitter @sanchezvegara
@QuartoKids
Author
bridgeman.lenny@gmail.com