This book is part of the Little People, Big Dreams series.

I have to be honest here and say that I had not heard of this artist. After I read the book, I went online and did my own research.

I'm really glad that graffiti art has been included in the series as this is an art form that is often seen as a form of pollution rather than the beauty of the art or the message that is portrayed within it.

This book is for children with a better grasp of reading as there are some longer words but it doesn't detract from the biography.

The other aspect that the author has been very clever with, is not mentioning the sad facts of his life. The book says he lived with his father when she became ill, when actually she was committed to a mental institution. He also dies of a drugs overdose at a young age which obviously isn't mentioned at all.

Those children with an interest and understanding may question why he was so young when he died, but that is something that they can research for themselves. Again, another enjoyable part of this series is that it can tempt you enough to go on and find out more.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Loved this short biographical board book about the inspiring life of artist Jean Michael Basquiat. The Author writes a summary of his life painting a picture of a young, poor regular boy who is so inspired by his surroundings that he makes it his life work. Loved it!

I absolutely adored this book - and in particular the illustration style. It was beautiful - especially the New York scenes, which were utterly evocative of the place they were depicting. There is a scene where Jean-Michel and his mother are in a gallery, and it's immediately obvious which gallery they're in despite the artwork and characters remaining the focal point. The depiction of the passing of time, and changing fashions, is also wonderful. By the time Jean-Michel is in his own studio, his creative space feels alive on the page. I wasn't expecting to enjoy a children's picture book as much as I did - this was glorious.

I enjoyed the ilistratuons and the way the story was told as I do with all the books in this series. I find them incredible beautiful.

I understand he was influencial and his work set new standard and defined a new generation in art.
However I'm not sure if this is a good example for a children' book knowing that unfortunately the artist died by a drug overdose. Which might be just my way of thinking

This one was a 'no' from me. I did come to it hoping it would persuade me the "art" of the subject was worthwhile, but of course, in these few words, it didn't. But the book also never made me gun for the man – it never proved why, in either life achievement or visual aesthetic, we should be looking up to him. The better books in this series give the potted, all-ages suitable, biography, with an emphasis on showing why the lauded subject is a hero to people – this, perhaps partly due to my admitted bias, didn't. What's more, the visuals were incredibly confusing to the adult. We start off with the kid going to the museum with his mother, and listening to his father's jazz, while the adults are wearing 50s clothing. We then go to the 80s scene where he's gaining notoriety by flogging his output on the street, and then back to a nightclub with Warhol, dressed in 70s clobber. Why the timeline looked like this, I'll never know. Still, the key here is the character of the person, not the character of the book's design, and I'll maintain this illegal graffiti tagger turned ODing junkie is not a fit subject for such a series.

Incredible kids biography about an amazing artist. Can’t wait to have my students read about Basquiat!

This series is brilliant and this title is definitely one of my favourite additions. The artwork is chic-friendly but true to the subject.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The ‘My First Little People, Big Dreams’ series provides informative and inspirational biographies about people who left a mark on this earth, no matter what difficulties they have encountered.
These stories are very short, but that’s because they’re books for children, so it’s totally understandable.
I think they are a very smart and wonderful way to introduce little children to such important figures.
This little one here is about Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the most influential graffiti artists. I love street art so much, so I already knew about him and his art. His works are pretty unique and very very beautiful. I loved the introduction this book gives to little people about this great artist.

I can't say enough about this series! Simple without being overly so. Great illustrations and the perfect amount of information for little learners! We look for these books every time we visit the library. Another excellent addition to the series!

I think this entry into the series did a good job of presenting Basquiat's story in a way that is appropriate for young kids but still gets the main points of his life across.

This series is always a joy to read, it’s a really nice introduction to well known people for little children. Of course the plot is always a little bit fast but that’s to be expected and it’s totally understandable.
This book here is about Jean-Michel Basquiat, an artist who fundamentally changed the way we make art and also what we consider as such. His influence on street art culture and graffiti was very important. It was nice to see his devotion to art since a very young age and also how encouraged he was by his own mother to pursue his dreams. Also, I liked how the book also touched upon his friendship with another famous artist, Andy Warhol.