Originally published: 4 February 2020

Author: Mario Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Illustrator: Mikyo Noh

Published by: Quarto Kids

Genre: Children’s non-fiction

Length: 32 pages

Reading dates: 25 January 2020

I’ve seen this series of books around in book shops and have stopped and sighed longingly over them but now my children are both teenagers, I really had no excuse to buy any.  But when Quarto Kids got in touch and asked if I’d like a copy of their next book in the Little People, Big Dreams series, I jumped at the chance.

The Little People, Big Dreams series of books is marketed at being of interest for kids age 3-6, with kids aged 7-9 being able to read them independently.

The David Attenborough book is the 40th book in this series and I thought it was just lovely!  David Attenborough is known as an inspiring broadcaster and conservationist (my son and I have recently enjoyed his Seven Worlds, One Planet TV series) and this book gives a history of his life to date – from his childhood growing up with his parents who both worked at a University, his lifelong love of nature and animals, his TV career and being knighted by the Queen.

Told in very simple language, the pages are full of illustrations so there is lots to spot and talk about with young inquisitive minds.  I especially liked the page that detailed all the animals and plants that have been named after Attenborough.

The illustrations are good at keeping children engaged and I think this series of books is excellent for inquisitive little minds and are a great range of non-fiction books for early readers.  From experience, when my two were little, non-fiction they actually wanted to read was hard to come by for early readers and there are so many great books in this series.  They are especially good to inspire all children with books about inspirational women and men like Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Emmeline Pankhurst, Stephen Hawking and Martin Luther King.

A beautiful and very collectable collection of books, I will be gifting this one to my 3 year old niece and I think she will be getting others for future birthday and Christmas presents.  I just wish I had an excuse to have them myself!

Many thanks to Dannie from Quarto Kids for gifting me a copy of this book.

About the author:

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.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanchezvegara