This nonfiction picture book is about the Brontë children's creativity and imagination. I love this illustrator's work, and it is perfectly suited to this story, giving a sense of their challenging circumstances while also feeling warm and innocent. The book celebrates the power of sibling bonds and imagination, and the author's note at the end shares additional information about the Brontë siblings' childhood experiences and careers.

This will appeal to adult fans of the Brontës, but it is also genuinely appropriate for and appealing for children, who can relate to elements of the story. This will especially appeal to families with multiple children who like to play together, and to kids who are interested in becoming authors and would enjoy a glimpse into a famous writer's childhood, even they aren't yet familiar with who that famous writer is.

The Little Books of the Little Brontës is a delightful historical fiction read., for kids between the ages of 7-10. It briefly tells the life of the Brontë siblings in Yorkshire, England. If you love the Brontë family or reading historical fiction to you little then this is a good title to add to your library.

What caught my eye about this book was the style of illustrations on the cover. And inside the full spread illustrations did no disappoint. Beautiful art work wrapped in a good story.

This is a beautiful book! While I like the story and the backmatter, I want a copy of this book for our shelves because of the gorgeous illustrations.

I have added this book to my TrueStory Bookshop and recommend it in two categories:
Picture-Book Biographies ~ Women’s History
Picture-Book Biographies ~ Book Lovers
https://bookshop.org/shop/KarlinGray

Thank you to Sara O'Leary, Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books, and Netgalley for this free advance reader copy of "The Little Books of the Little Brontës" for an honest review.

I love the Bronte's, and a fan of other retellings of the children's lives (circa pieces like Valente's "The Glass Town Game"); I immediately jumped at this book when I saw it. I teach at the college level for English, and I deeply appreciate watching things made in these versions for teenagers and children. This book was adorable, sweet, and charming, telling us about the children's adventures without quite getting into the horrors and losses those children faced later.

I love this as a starter for younger kids, getting them to know the names, and I'm definitely going to be gifting this (and some of the earlier books in the series, too!!!!) to my nieces and nephews this year.

In this retelling of the Bronte children's early lives, O'Leary fondly shares the tale of the children of the moor whose intense imaginations took them far beyond their sheltered world. From a young age, the Bronte children filled their days with reading, learning, exploring the moor, and telling stories. While the story of the Bronte siblings is sad, beautiful, and tragic; O'Leary turns their childhood creations into an inspiring tale of the power of imagination. The illustrations invoke their idyllic life in the countryside, capturing the sadness, joy, and inspiration therein. The story is told with loving care.

I highly recommend this book. It is great for classic literature lovers, aspiring artists/authors, and anyone who loves a story of the triumph of imagination.

Perfect! I loved it. I am so pleased that more and more longer picture books are being published. I still meet children who are convinced that picture books are only for babies and toddlers and books like this really help to show why this isn’t the case.

The story follows the Brontë children and explores how they grew up and began to develop their stories. I loved everything about this book, from the stunning illustrations to the instructions at the back for how to make your own little books.

I can’t wait to use this at school.

In the afterword to her picture book that focuses on the childhood literary creativity of the four Brontë siblings, author Sara O’Leary opines: “It has become commonplace to think of the lives of the Brontë children as having been sad and mournful but I think they were quite lively, happy children.” This view, even if I’m not sure I agree with it, colours O’Leary’s story about how Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne came to write little books, inspired by their father’s gift of wooden toy soldiers to nine-year-old Branwell. Each of the siblings took and named a soldier, and they created a series of adventures for them, recorded in minuscule print on tiny toy-soldier-sized papers, which were then hand-sewn together. This creative enterprise began in 1826, a year after their sisters Maria and Elizabeth had died of tuberculosis and five years after the death of their mother from cancer.

O’Leary manages to communicate a remarkable amount about the young Brontës in very few pages—their love of both their pets and the Yorkshire moors, their reticence around visitors to the Parsonage in Haworth, Yorkshire, and their being a world almost entirely unto themselves. Briony May Smith’s delicate, muted-colour illustrations provide an attractive accompaniment to the text, though I found her depiction of the children themselves a bit too cute and cartoonish for my taste.

The author includes instructions for young readers to make their own books. I’m not sure how useful or necessary these are. Making little books is fairly common practice in early primary classrooms, and most young readers would already know what to do. The story is followed by an author’s note, a timeline of key events in the Brontës’ lives, and a bibliography.

This is a nice enough book. For adult readers familiar with the Brontës, there is of course nothing new here. I see the book as having more appeal to children’s librarians than the young readers they serve.

Rating: 3.5, rounded down.

This tells the story of the Bronte siblings before they were famous writers. Kids do not need to know their work (Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books, but I won't be recommending to any 5-7 year olds) to appreciate the story. The siblings lose their mother and two older sisters at a very young age. This book is the story of how the power of storytelling helped them deal with the tragedies surrrounding them. The siblings shared stories and created their own little books. The end of the book also includes directions for kids to make their own little books. I am a firm believer that picture books are not just for kids. Any adult who likes classic literature would love this book.

The illustrations give the book a classic feel and reminded me of the works of Chris VanAllsburg.

Thank you to Tundra Books for sending me this ARC. All reviews are honest reflections of my own opinions, always.

In a little house, on a wind swept moor, lived the Bronte children.

Sadness had touched their home, leaving empty spaces and empty chairs, but the Bronte siblings still had one another. Four of them, Charlotte, Emily, Ann, and their brother Branwell. Together they created stories and worlds, and on the desolate moors they found companionship not only with one another, but with the people and adventures they made up.

This little book gives a beautiful overview of the lives of these four children, and the sisters who would change the world of literature and the course of book history. Paired with charming illustrations, the book details mainly the childhood of the Brontes, touching briefly on their all to short adulthood.

I enjoyed the bit of history given at the back of the book, including a very helpful timeline. There's also a cute little section on how to create your own little book, just as the Bronte children had done.

Absolutely recommend to readers both young & young at heart, especially as an introduction the great names that have invented and inspired stories for generations

I loved this book about some of our favorite authoresses!! So sweet for littles and a great introduction. I never knew there was a brother!! The pictures were reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie-- some of my favorite books as a child. I will definitely be looking for more like this!!

What an outstanding biography of the Brontes as children! The illustrations are magical. The narrative is compelling. I’ll be giving this as a gift to all the young people in my life. So wonderful! The reading works is a better place for this book.

4ish stars

This is a sweet little children’s book about the Brontë siblings. Since I work with teens, I’m not sure how much the story itself will appeal to young kids, but I enjoyed it and suspect that other adults who are interested in classic literature will likewise appreciate it, so that’s definitely something. Also, the illustrations are lovely and detailed, and I think/hope they would also appeal to the book’s target audience. Anyway, I enjoyed it, and I’ll definitely consider purchasing a copy for my own (or my friends’) future kids’ collection at some point.

An inspirational tale of the four Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Ann, Emily, and Branwell growing up with their aunt, their father, and a nanny on the moors in nineteenth century England. One would suspect that home a sad place, but the four sisters filled their time writing, acting, and creating stories with their vivid imaginations. The four sisters read voraciously and produced their own stories encased in tiny books of their own making.

The soft pastel illustrations complement the nostalgic mood. Their faces vividly portray every emotion. I love the bonus features O’ Leary adds. A timeline, author’s background note, bibliography, and bookmaking craft enable the elementary school target audience to actively participate in the Bronte family’s lifetime passion. Each reader receives an opportunity to become a young author.

Adults who grew up reading the Bronte literature have an opportunity to fall in love with the sisters once again.

Oh, what a delightful book! I was intrigued by the title and premise because of course, like many others, I'm a huge fan of the Brontes. While I was expecting the book to tell more of their story over time, this book followed one moment very closely in detail with gorgeous, intricate illustrations. It's a book that gives wonderful little details about the Bronte siblings and their shared fondness for storytelling, and includes things I don't think a lot of people would have heard before (most know them for their novels, not the books and stories they would write with and for each other).

I love the interactive ending to the book—a tutorial for replicating their little books. A wonderful and special little educational touch to round out the story in an applicable way.

I loved it!
___
Thank you for NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for offering this title to me in exchange for my honest thoughts!

What a beautiful little book! First off, the art is just gorgeous. This is a very surface looks at the childhood of the Brontë siblings and the stories they made up together. It’s a charming imagining of where their storytelling began and the bond between them. While there isn’t a real narrative here, it’s sort of a snapshot of a moment in time, which will hopefully inspire young readers to look into their adult novels later in life. There is a cute little tutorial on how to make your own “little book” at the end, which I know I would have LOVED as a child, being the aspiring author I was. There is also historical information at the end if the reader is interested, though it is written in a slightly more formal style and a child might need some adult guidance. Overall, this is a beautiful book which would have been just up my alley as a child.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for allowing me to be an early reader. All opinions are my own.

As a reader and fan of Brontë novels, I was thrilled be able to read and share this book with my young boys.

"The books they write are tiny but the worlds inside them are huge."
I loved the closeness of the siblings and the stories they created for each other. I also loved the author's note with a historical timeline. There is also a little section with a how-to create your own book. I will no doubt be purchasing after it's published as the illustrations via kindle were segmented. But, the pictures are adorable from what I could see. This would be a perfect book for classrooms.

A fantastic educational picture book for kids! I loved reading about the Bronte siblings & hadn't heard many of the details in this book.

I enjoyed the timeline at the end of the book as well. I enjoyed getting a little glimpse into their lives.
Great illustrations make the book fun & attractive to kids & keeps their attention.

While the Bronte siblings' story is very tragic, the author did a good job of keeping the book upbeat & positive, which is appreciated for children.

There was even a few pages at the end of the book that show kids how to make their own little books like the Bronte kids did.

(I was able to preview this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you Netgalley & Penguin Random House Canada.)

I loved the illustrations and found the book very cute. It is a good introduction to the Brontes for children and great for adults who love British literature.

How wonderful was this book!! The story was sweet and the pictures were beautiful. I loved the directions on how to make your own little book and the timeline of the Brontes lives. I loved it all.