Another gem from the Little People, Big Dreams series. This one focuses on Charles Dickens and his resilience in overcoming some of the challenges in his life and what lead him to becoming an author. Good introduction to Dickens, his stories and some context surrounding them for a child and written in a very age-appropriate way.
Lovely illustrations add to the story and a great bed time story read.

The life of Charles Dickens from childhood through adult life and the continued love of his books today.
I love the “Little People, BIG DREAMS” series. The illustrations are unique and fun and the books are perfect introductory biographies for young children. With the focus on life and aspirations of these heroes as children, these books inspire children to never give up on their dreams.

Good introduction, as always, to someone famous, in this case, Charles Dickens.

Very simple explanation of where some of his story ideas came from, such as Oliver Twist, because he had to work as a child while his father was in debtors prison.

The Christmas Carol is emphasized over his other stories, here, for some reason, while only skirting by his other stories.

But as always, if it sparks interest in the young, they will go on to explore and find out more.


<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest reivew.</em>

My six-year-old loves every book that Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara writes in the Little People Big Dreams series. These inspirational biographies are the perfect way to give our kiddos a glimpse into the lives of people who have made an impact on the world. It also allows them to image diverse ways they might also make an impact. The Charles Dickens book gave a good understanding of the challenges he faced and a few of the most well-known works he authored. The story is, as always, expertly written for this age group. The illustrations are wonderful. Another delightful biography for any child, classroom or library.

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

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 book tells the story of Charles Dickens, one of the greatest English authors. I loved reading about him and watching the amazing illustrations. Dickens was a genius and a pioneer, and I'm happy children can find out about him in this cute way.

Charles John Huffam Dickens can teach us a lot about picking ourselves up, dusting off and trying AGAIN. The lessons he learned in the mid-1800s are still ones we can appreciate today.

Given a chance to go to school – an opportunity not many children had been given. His love of reading was fostered during these years. His life took a twist when his father was sent to prison for not paying debts and Oliver had to work in a factory 7 days a week, 10 hours a day. Time and again, through no fault of his own, he missed opportunities to better himself, but rather than complain he used the chance to take a different path than the one originally planned. When he finally became successful, he encouraged readers to open their hearts to those who struggle.

Children need to read books like this. The path to success isn’t often a straight one! Life isn’t always as we plan it and children need to see others who’ve succeeded after re-evaluating and trying again and again. They need to see that sometimes our experiences when things don’t go as planned are the very things that contribute to our eventual success.

I heartily recommend this great book which will instill necessary life skills for future heroes – little people with big dreams.

Isabel Ross’s illustrations are fantastic. Children will love the detail and become engrossed in the photos as they listen to the story.

Publishes November 9, 2021.

I was gifted this advance copy by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Quarto Publishing Group, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Obviously this is a basic biography for very early readers, and it did include references to some important facets of Dickens' story, especially the bleak economic reality of Victorian England (debtor's prisons, child labor) and the serialization of his novels, but the focus on A Christmas Carol seems to have taken over in place of further exploration of the author's life and career. It's obviously his most famous work, but it felt a bit abrupt to end his story there.

This is a good starting place, though, and the accompanying illustrations are lively and detailed. Hopefully reading this will inspire interesting further discussions!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Charles Dickens is the newest to be spotlighted in this latest edition of the Little People, BIG DREAMS series by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara. This series is such a delight and the perfect way to educate not just kids but everyone about historic and cultural icons.

Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. This book shows Dickens as he left school to support his family when his father was in a debtor's prison to his work as a junior clerk at a law firm to becoming one of the most famous and accomplished writers in history.

Isobel Ross illustrates this installment and does an amazing job. Ross' art style was so captivating and her art definitely further helped tell Dickens' story. This installment did a great job of educating me about a historical figure. I love collecting these books and am so thrilled to add this one to the rest of my collection.

Charles Dickens is another wonderful book in the Little People Big Dreams series! I loved learning about his life and what lead him to pen some of the most beloved stories of all time. I think children will enjoy learning about life of the author who is still celebrated today.

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Probably a success in the grand scheme of this humongous series of books, we get the basics of Dickens' life (including details I'd never read before, not having that much of an interest in him). It does get bogged down with "A Christmas Carol" for far too many pages at the end, and while that is clearly because that story is a lot more readable and accessible than practically any of his full-length novels, it's a bit of a skewiff approach to telling his full story. Three and a half stars, then.