Book Description About the Author Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, born in Barcelona, Spain, is a writer and creative director in constant search of new concepts for children’s books and the author of the multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series of picture books that explore the lives of outstanding people. Working for more than fifteen years for clients in top advertising agencies, her books combine creativity with learning, aiming to establish a new and fresh relationship between children and pop culture. Mai Ly Degnan is an award-winning illustrator and illustration professor, currently based in Baltimore, MD. She earned her BFA in Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design, as well as her MFA in Illustration Practice at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Mai Ly enjoys creating humorous illustrations with tedious line work, pattern making, and bright colors. Her work has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators of New York and Los Angeles, American Illustration, and 3×3. Selected clients include: Boston Globe, Baltimore City Paper, VICE Magazine, NPR, and Frankie Magazine. Read more Customers Review: 4.5 stars. I love the Little People, Big Dreams series by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara. I was happy to see this addition to the series, highlighting Martin Luther King Jr. This book shares his story from his childhood, ending with his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech. Young readers will learn how this peaceful and loving man impacted the world to change things through peaceful protest. His messages of love being the solution against hate, never accepting something that is wrong, and use peaceful ways to fight against wrong. His most important message is that it is the character of a person that matters, not the colour of their skin. I know this is a book for children, but it is too bad the decision was made not to include what happened to him. I think that is a very important part of his story. Once again, the illustrations are well done and will appeal to young children. I definitely recommend this book to all school and public libraries. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
‘Martin Luther King, Jr.’ by Ma Isabel Sanchez Vegara with illustrations by Mai Ly Degnan is the 33rd entry in the Little People, BIG DREAMS series of books for little readers.Little Martin was surrounded by a family of preachers, so perhaps it was inevitable he would become one as well. An early childhood incident made him aware of racism when a childhood friend invited him to play, and the child’s mother wouldn’t let Martin in the house. Martin went on to great things.This is such a great series that I instantly request review copies every time I see them. The range of artists in the series makes them interesting.I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Childrens and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
I understand that this book is part of a series, but this is the first one I have seen.The book has the feel of a slender adult book. There is a hard cover with a matte drawing on the front and velvet edging along the spine. The pages are thick and sturdy, and the binding is strong. The illustrations are matte, cartoonish but catchy and take the entire page. The text is in a clear font sized to be seen but not obscure the artwork. It is black but placed carefully so it can still be read. There is more text on the pages than you normally find in books of this size but my kids didn’t seem to mind and I think it is necessary to convey the reality of history.The book briefly traces Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood, his exposure to racism and realization of segregation. He studied and learned as he grew to become a great preacher who could influence change in the community. How he used non-violent methods to protest, how he was attacked and arrested, was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The last pages are a timeline (four dates) of his life. His eventual assassination is not mentioned.My middle daughter likes historical non-fiction and thought that this idea for younger readers was fantastic. She wished it has existed when she was younger.
This title is the latest in a series of brief biographies of well known individuals. Each is meant to teach and inspire young children. This entry about Martin Luther King is no exception. In this title with muted, multi racial illustrations, Martin’s story is told from childhood. At that time, he experienced discrimination. Young readers learn how this impacted him as he moved to change things through peaceful protest. Because this book is for young children, there is no mention of his assassination but rather focuses on his “I have a dream” speech.Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.
This isn’t our first Little People, BIG DREAMS book, and it won’t be our last.My 5 year old is in preschool and they celebrated MLK Jr day this year and there were some questions.I didn’t have all of the answers and I wasn’t sure how to answer some of the questions in an age appropriate way.This book handled the hard questions for me.After reading this book to my daughter, so had more questions but also a better understanding of what happened.This book is also a good aid in teaching her that it’s not ok to make fun of or dislike someone because of something they can not change.I like how this book shows my daughter that just 1 person can make a difference and that a difference can be made through peaceful action and doesn’t require fighting or yelling (or tantrums).This is a book that we will read over and over again, not just on MLK Jr Day.I also learned some things about MLK Jr that I didn’t know before.**If you found this review helpful, please click the ‘Helpful’ button below.
This is an excellent book for our kids to learn more about Martin Luther King Jr and his story. I thought it did a great job if telling his story in a way to engage younger kids and simple enough for them to understand.The illustrations are simple and entertaining for my kids. This book does seem to be a little longer than most children’s books, but they don’t lose interest. The book itself is nice quality and feels like it will hold up through lots of use.Overall we are happy with this book. It is a great addition to our home library and an important book for our kids to know, understand and learn from. We don’t have any issues with this book and highly recommend it. Thanks for reading this and please do let me know if this is helpful by clicking on the helpful button below, and feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or would like to see additional pictures and I will do my best to answer it. Thank you, cheers. Cass |
33 reviews