I can’t get enough of the books in this series. Every single one is beautifully illustrated and gives a short little snippet of the life of the person featured.

This is typical of the series. We have a crossing over of Iris’ childhood and get what made her famous. Iris Apatow is famous for her fashion. For the way that she didn’t stick to norms or tradition and wore what she wanted. She was always herself and was better for it. As usual, the back of this book tells more of the real life of Iris and includes real life pictures. I really wish these pictures would have been in color. Since they were taken between 2005, in 2019 they probably were in color. And since the page had spots of pink, there were no reasons for these not to be in color. This book was all right and a pretty good beginning, but there have been better books in the series.

Like other books in this series, it is a fun little introduction to historic figures. Definitely a great way to introduce kids to biographies and a nice read for adults too. I would recommend all the books in this series.

An excellent picture book to introduce kids to the life of style icon Iris Apfel. This book is loaded with colorful, appealing illustrations that help to tell the story of Iris' life. We learn how she was fascinated with her grandmother's scrap fabric collection when she was a girl and how she grew up to be an interior designer and a fashion icon. As always with the Little People, Big Dreams books, the end of the book contains a timeline, photos, and other resources.

4.5★
“The Barrels were a Jewish family from New York who had an only child: Iris. From an early age, Iris loved fabrics. She watched her mother work magic with accessories and scarves every day.”

I am ignorant. I knew nothing about Iris Apfel, and I can see that the fault is mine alone. What an interesting woman and family.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with this caption:
Iris’s mother winking at Iris while tying a scarf into a fancy bow

She grew up surrounded by colour and texture and developed a passion for putting interesting things together. She loved shopping for clothes and she loved saving money. I’d venture to guess that many young people begin earning money to feed their fashion habits. The difference with Iris was that she didn’t follow fashion – she created it.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with this caption:
“One day, while studying art history at New York University, a lady told Iris something phenomenal. ‘Young lady, you are not pretty, and you may never be pretty. But you have something much more important: you have style.’”

She had a great time putting different clothes and looks together. She began to work for an interior designer, finding the colours and styles that would suit the homes of various clients. Then she met Carl.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with this caption:
“When Iris met Carl, it took her an hour to realize that, together, every day was a vacation.”

It’s not hard to understand why they clicked when you see this illustration of them dressed to match. They opened a boutique, and among their clients were nine presidents who had them decorate in the White House!

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with this caption:
Carl and Iris, “the First Lady of Fabric”, with sample swatches in the White House

They travelled all over the world, collecting bits and pieces from fashion studios, shops, and flea markets. Iris loved everything! When she was 84, the Metropolitan Museum of Art asked to show her collection.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with this caption:
Iris, selecting items from her 60 years of collecting

The public was understandably amazed. She became a fashion icon whom everyone knew (except me!) and admired.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with this caption:
People admiring the exhibition of the Iris Apfel collection

From one little girl who grew up fascinated with fabric and colour came the permission for future generations to have fun with fashion. Don’t you love the variety of kids and glasses?!

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with this caption:
“. . . little Iris showed the world just how fun and wonderful life can be when you let yourself shine.”

This particular book is a great example to kids to follow your BIG DREAMS and develop your passion and talent. She not only loved design, she took herself off to study it, study art history, learn about it. As the saying goes, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

As usual, there are some real black & white photos at the end with a more detailed biography and links to other resources. This bio says clearly what I take away from her story.

“Almost overnight, Iris’s star grew to be one that the world could learn from: how to have fun, be good to others, and express yourself, whatever your age.”

Here’s a link where you can find some of the items that were on display in the Met.
https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/dig...

My ignorance is no excuse for the kids of today not to become acquainted with this iconic artist!

Thanks to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for the preview copy from which I’ve shared some illustrations.

I love the little people, big dreams series. I only just recently discovered iris apfel. She was in an ad with a rapper, and she just seemed like such a fun and electric character. I enjoyed getting the chance to read this book and learn about her life.

What I love about this volume in the series is the message that a person can be celebrated for being theirself! I knew about Iris Apfel more recent accomplishments, but it was interesting to learn how she got started. I hope this book inspires lots of little fashionistas!

#IrisApfel #NetGalley

Our family loves the Little People Big Dreams books. It's hard to say which are our favorites at this point, because we read and re-read them all. My 6 year old loves them, and Iris Apfel's story was read over and over. I do not think you can go wrong with any book in this series, to learn even a little about the real lives of people who have gone before us is wonderful. The illustrations are as always, delightful. They captured her story and fashion so spectacularly! We all learned so much about Iris Apfel who is now one of our favorite people! This one comes highly recommended!

The publisher made a copy of this book available for review via Netgalley. This is my honest opinion.

I knew Apfel was a fashion icon, but I did not know anything about her life. This delightfully colorful picture book rectified that!

'Iris Apfel' by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara with illustrations by Kristen Barnhart is book 64 in the Little People, Big Dreams series.

Fashion icon Iris Apfel was the lone child at family gatherings. To entertain young Iris, her grandmother would let her play with her bag of fabric, and the rest is kind of history. She found a husband, overcame being called an ugly duckling and became a unique person.

I do love this series, especially when it brings me someone I knew nothing about. The illustrations are always fun and different and the ones here by Kristen Barnhart are brightly colored.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children's Books, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Iris Apfel has one interesting tale to tell, and I'm glad she got her time to shine in this little non-fiction book.

I liked the illustrations a little better in this version, but I've found the pictures in these books lately hasn't been standing up to some of the initial books. They feel very childlike and unprofessional, but that's just my opinion. Kids might have a very different opinion and preference!

The content is key though. These books tell awesome and important stories. I highly recommend.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Iris Apfel had a big personality and an even bigger sense of style. This woman was a force to be reckoned with when it came to pushing the boundaries of fashion. Though it wasn't until she was older that her amazing eye for eclectic patterns and colours was recognised for what it was. Which goes to show you're never to old to become an icon. Loved this one and the gorgeous illustrations of all her amazing outfits.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy.

I love this book! My five year old daughter requested it two nights in a row. It's colourful and perfectly tells the story of Iris Apfel, a now ninety something fashion icon. I loved the documentary 'Iris' and this book introduces her to a younger audience. I had forgotten she had dressed the homes of several US presidents and travelled the world with her great love Carl. A really sweet book for introducing fashion and individuality to younger readers. Also love the eye-catching front cover!

The Little People Big Dreams books are great because they give kids positive role models who have achieved their dreams despite any hardships or obstacles they have encountered. Iris Apfel made it a priority to be who she was and express herself no matter what anyone else thought.

I had not heard of Iris Apfel before, but after reading this book, I did some research on my own and was surprised that she is still going strong at the age of 99. Iris Apfel, was born in Queens and was an only child. To keep busy at family outings, she would sort through her grandmother's bags of fabric, thus began her love of design. She is to look up to, as she was not afraid to express herself and her unique style. She said getting ready to go out was more fun than the parties she went to, I loved that. She redesigned the White House for 9 presidents which I found amazing and when she was 84, her outfits were displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. How could I have not known about her. Once again, I loved how child friendly this biography is and how quirky, yet fascinating the illustrations are. My granddaughter is a bit of a diva (she is only 5) and the outfits she puts together are wonderful. Of course she loved the outfits in the book and the ones I found online for her to look at. A great addition to this series, to encourage children to follow their dreams.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
It was an absolute joy to step back into the world of Little People, Big Dreams, and this time discover a little about Iris Apfel. I didn’t know much about her beforehand- I was just aware of her distinctive image from the media, so despite the book being only small bite sized chunks of information- I still learned quite a bit myself.
The book is very clever with the artwork and mirrors the personality of Iris, in the choice of a very bright and vibrant colour palate, and the contrasting patterns.
I very much enjoyed this little gem of a book and look forward to continuing sharing the series with my children, who very much enjoy them also.

An interesting title exploring a fashion icon. This addition is good for showing readers the power of being yourself and daring to be different.

I love all things Irish Apfel and this is such a lovely honor to her zest for life and her interest in living! I choose to see the message about honoring who we are and marching to our own drum in this sweet biography!

The story of Iris Apfel is told in a the wonderful, beautifully illustrated way we've come to expect from Little People, Big dreams books. I think this is a great addition to any collection that included biographies: biographies are far from boring and this book shows that! I think children will be inspired to create after reading her story.

As a fan of Iris Apfel I was thrilled to see that this book exposes children to her life. Such a fun read, and the illustrations were lovely. Will recommend this to fourth graders and up as some of the terminology would get lost on the younger set. Now I will have to read some of the other titles in this series. Such a great message for children and adults.