Book Series Review of Little People, Big Dreams: Four Biographies of Famous Singers
The Children’s Book Review
What to expect: Music icons, history, biography, famous people, and non-fiction.
Do the young people in your life adore music? Do you blast classics on family car trips and constantly Google facts about music’s biggest icons? Then do we have the book list for you?!
Perfect for gift-giving or any time a special birthday or celebration comes up, these four books break down the life and times of some of music’s biggest history-makers.
Each book tells the story of its musician with respect and attention to the details that children will find most fascinating, making these figures relatable and inspiring. From humble beginnings, these artists achieved not just stardom but social justice and humanitarian efforts that changed the world. The illustrations are wonderfully clever – you can see how these stars transformed throughout their lives. These books can easily sit on the shelves with other stories and would be the highlight of any non-fiction section of a class library. We love this series and think you will, too!
A joyful and inspiring collection, the Little People, BIG DREAMS series featuring Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Prince, and Stevie Wonder is a fantastic gift for the musical kid in your life or to add to a classroom collection.
Little People, Big Dreams: Aretha Franklin
Written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Illustrated by Amy Blackwell
Ages 4+ | 32 Pages
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books | ISBN: 978-0711246867
First, let’s start with Little People, BIG DREAMS Aretha Franklin. Our heroine—and Aretha was truly a heroine of her time—begins her journey singing in church with her pastor father. Told in perfectly-tuned picture-book language, Aretha’s beautiful story of hard work and triumph over racism, and her worldwide hit R-E-S-P-E-C-T, helped to change the world.
We learn of her friendship with Martin Luther King, her singing at his funeral, and finally, Aretha’s performance at the inauguration of the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama. Aretha’s story is heartwarming, inspiring, and told in a way that young children can understand and enjoy. As the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, young readers will find her worthy of everyone’s respect!
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Little People, Big Dreams: Elton John
Written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Illustrated by Sophie Beer
Ages 4+ | 32 Pages
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books | ISBN: 9780711258402
Next is Elton John, whose cover is adorned with a perfectly flashy glittery suit and star-shaped sunglasses. Elton’s journey from little Reggie in Middlesex, England, to superstardom is told with clarity and humor. Something to appreciate most about this book is the honesty, told in age-appropriate ways, about his struggle with sadness and feeling alone, even if he was the most popular male performer in the world. The story shows how he turned his life around, married his husband and had two children, and found happiness while promoting rights for the LGBTQ community.
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Little People, Big Dreams: Prince
Written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Illustrated by Cachetejack
Ages 4+ | 32 Pages
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books | ISBN: 978-0711254398
Prince is next, with his iconic purple rain decorating the endpapers (a wonderful touch that parents will adore). Prince’s life, from his beginnings, sneaking time on his father’s piano, to his time as a dancer and young musician, is told in perfect harmony. Children and parents will enjoy learning about this famous singer’s life, his undeniable talent (on his first album, he wrote, sang, and played all twenty-seven instruments himself!), and his pizazz. No one in the world chose to be as undefined and full of color as Prince, and this beautiful little book does an excellent job showing us how he lived out loud and inspired so many.
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Little People, Big Dreams: Stevie Wonder
Written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Illustrated by Cachetejack
Ages 4+ | 32 Pages
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books | ISBN: 978-0711254398
Finally, we have Stevie Wonder, whose life story truly is a wonder. After going blind shortly after birth, Stevie learned to bang on pots and pans, making rhythms. He began to play with musicians in his neighborhood, and by age 11, he signed with Motown Records and became the youngest person to top the Billboard charts. As a musician who has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and penned some of the world’s most beloved songs, Stevie Wonder is also well known for his activism, fighting for better lives of people with physical and mental conditions, and was named a Messenger of Peace by the United Nations.
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About the Author
Hola! My name is Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara and I’m a writer and creative director from Barcelona. When I was a little girl, I used to read books under the covers with a flashlight once my mom had turned the light off. I always wanted to be a writer… but when I grew up, I ended up in advertising. It was a lot of fun though; I loved working with directors, photographers, designers, and I also wrote scripts, documentaries and texts for all kind of things.
Then, I decided to self-publish a book that had been in my mind for a long time. One day, one thousand copies of the book arrived at my home – I had no idea what I was going to do with them! I opened a little online shop, offered them to some pretty stores in my neighborhood and, one by one, I sold them all. Soon, publishing houses started to approach me to write books, but I was working on another idea of my own: a series about little people with BIG dreams.
The Little People, Big Dreams: Four Biographies of Famous Singers book series review was curated by Denise Mealy. Discover more books like these titles by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with music, history, biographies, and non-fiction.
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