This is a typical entry into the Little People Big Dreams series. While the story is fine, I don’t think it gets to how young Amanda is. Is, as in, still is. This makes her seem like an old lady of the past, and not a young bright woman with half a century still in front of her.

Highlighting an amazing and inspiring young woman who has fascinated crowds large and small with her poetic words challenging the issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization. Her spirit is so bright, it’s hard not to continue to spread the light she radiates.

I will always recommend the series Little People, Big Dreams. They are highly informative and children friendly. Plus the illustrations are always vibrant and bright. The back of the book includes adult friendly resources to learn more, which is helpful for educators like me.

Five Stars!
I'm a big fan of the Books in the Little People, Big Dreams series, and this one was no exception. I really enjoyed learning about Amanda's background and was inspired by her tenacity in overcoming obstacles on her way to becoming the first National Youth Poet Laureate, and reading her poem at President Biden's inauguration. I think her biography is an important addition to the series, especially as she is still a young person to whom the older readers of this series can relate and may even recognize.

I am so grateful to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group/Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the opportunity to read and review Amanda Gorman.

After hearing her teacher read aloud to the class, she knew that she wanted to become a poet, and nothing would stand in her way. At the age of 19, she became America's first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. And, after performing her inspiring poem 'The Hill We Climb' at the Presidential Inauguration in January 2021, she became an icon across the world.

A lovely short insight into a fascinating woman. Would love to read more about her.

'Amanda Gorman' by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara with illustrations by Queenbe Monyei is another book in the great Little People, Big Dreams series.

Amanda Gorman is best known as the young poet who won the crowd at Joe Biden's 2022 inauguration. But before that, we learn that she grew up with an auditory processing disorder and a speech impediment. This makes her accomplishment at 19 even more remarkable.

As ever, this series impresses. The illustrations by Queenbe Monyei are perfect. Recommended for young dreamers.

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

Amanda Gorman is a short picture book biography about the first national youth poet laureate with engaging images and information broken down in a way that is easy for young children to digest.

Gorman's performance of "The Hill We Climb" was spellbinding. Even my Latinx high school students recognized that they had witnessed something special, even if they didn't understand all the words. Her performance proved that poetry is powerful, that its rhythms and words can move people. In Sanchez Vergara's biography we see that these are lessons Gorman learned from a young age which is why she was able to craft such a masterpiece at such a young age.

Love Amanda Gorman and this book. Fantastic way to highlight her story for younger audiences. Beautiful illustrations. Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

This may be the first book of this series that I've read on a subject I knew almost nothing about. I'd heard her name but didn't know anything about her. What's fascinating to me is her youth. Her light has just begun and already she's done enough noteworthy things to be the subject of a book. Absolutely worth reading.

Amanda Gorman is one of the most recent additions to the Little People Big Dreams series and didn't disappoint. Amanda Gorman is a recent public figure that kids will identify with, so I believe this is a good choice for this series. I recently read a biography about her life and learned a lot. She was not an instant success. This children's book touches upon important times in her life and highlights important things for children like her love of reading, overcoming learning difficulties and persevering through therapy for a speech impediment. This will definitely be a motivator for children of colour to see that there are people who look like them who have followed their dream and achieved what they were striving for, but then continuing to the next step. Queenbe Monyei illustrates this book in a whimsical way making it an even more enjoyable and educational experience.

*Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a digital copy in exchange of honest review.

As someone who lives outside America and tries to steer clear of politics, I never had any reason to watch presidential inauguration ceremony. Last year when Biden got elected, it created a lot of excitement everywhere. For the first time, I was interested to know what actually happens during a inauguration. I was scrolling down YouTube videos watching reports when the live video came up and I remember seeing a stunning girl in Yellow coat take her place at the dais. Then she started speaking and I was like whoa! I was enthralled. The words that were coming out of her mouth, hopeful, magical, intelligent words that convey the yearnings, dreams and desires of American people, picture the boundaries and barriers separating humans, the accomplishments and failures as well as the way to overcome the obstacles that lay on the way to a better, brighter future. This book is about her. Young, talented Amanda Gorman who created history as the youngest inaugural poet. Since her childhood, Amanda loved reading but she had speech impediment and an auditory processing disorder which she worked hard to overcome. It tells us about her journey, the way she started writing poems and her inspirations. I liked the narration. The illustrations could have been better. Worth a try!

I thought this a great children's modern biography of Amanda Gorman who is a well known young poet. I like the idea of using young people in their series so that children can relate and see young people doing great things and living their dreams. I learned something new about Amanda Gorman I did not know from this book. I had no idea she has a speech impediment. It shows how much she works on it because when she gave the poem during President Biden's inauguration.

I read this book to my 5 year old daughter. We loved learning about Amanda’s story together. My daughter was very interested to learn that Amanda has a twin and we spent a lot of time talking about what that means! I loved the bright colors and seeing the outfit she wore on Inauguration Day portrayed in the book.

After we finished the book, my daughter kept going back through the pages and asking me to re-read certain sections. When I asked my daughter what her favorite part was, she said the jewelry. The pictures were so detailed that she noticed the jewelry!

I loved this book and am so appreciative of Netgalley for giving us an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own (or my 5 year olds).

4.5★
HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY ON MARCH 7, AMANDA!
“From the lyrics in a song to the signs of protesters on the streets, she saw poetry everywhere.
For Amanda, it was not just a beautiful form of art, but a tool to change the world.”

WOW! I was as stunned as I imagine everyone else was when 21-year-old Amanda Gorman stepped up to the podium at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and read her poem “A Hill to Climb”. She was America’s first National Youth Poet Laureate and published her first book in 2015.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
Amanda, presenting her poem at the 2020 US Presidential Inauguration.

Her age wasn’t the only surprising thing about her giving a public address to a world audience. She grew up with a speech impediment that made it difficult to pronounce many simple words. [The book doesn't mention that Biden himself has had to overcome a stutter, which is an interesting thing they have in common.] But she was a reader, one of those kids who reads even the cereal box.

When she heard her teacher read poetry, she decided she’d become a poet. Unlike the rest of us who can scribble and rhyme, she got serious and also practised her speaking. In her teens, she discovered a book with a black girl on the cover.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
Amanda looking at The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

“. . . it was written by an African-American woman. Looking at it, Amanda realized that all the books she had read before were written by white men.”

She found the courage to try her own voice at a poetry workshop and felt the support of her ancestors behind her.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
Amanda, bravely facing an audience for the first time

She found poetry in everything, including at protest marches, and decided to study sociology to learn about human group behaviour.

It was when she was a sophomore (2nd year) at Harvard that she was named America’s first Youth Poet Laureate, and that meant performing around the country. No wonder she had developed some stage presence!

When she was invited to Washington by President-elect Biden, she wanted to make sure she was ready!

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
Amanda, practising ‘The Hill We Climb’, with her long yellow coat and red hat waiting

Since then, she’s been writing widely-read books and articles about justice and diversity, becoming an inspiring role model for generations of kids to come.

As always, these books have four real photos at the end and a short written bio, plus a recommendation for further reading.

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

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Amanda Gorman is one of the most recent additions to the Little People Big Dreams series and didn't disappoint.
This biography for children guides us through Amanda Gormans early life and how she came to love reading. This lead Amanda to start a diary and also sprouted her love of poetry from listening to poems being read aloud by her teacher in school. Amanda went on to become a famous poet. This book is so inspiring and encouraging to children. Not only does it teach them about how a hobby can become a career bit it shows them that no matter how different they are, they are unique and should embrace and nurture that. Another fantastic addition to the series!
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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I learned a lot about Amanda Gorman in this book. I didn't realize that she had a speech impediment growing up which is hard to believe after seeing her speak at the inauguration.

I cannot recommend this children’s series enough. Every book I read, is an instant favourite.

As always, it is full of diverse body types, none of the characters are drawn in the same way. Any child, of any shape or race, is going to be able to see themselves somewhere in these books. It’s heartwarming to see popular books strive for diversity.

This story itself is inspiring. Amanda Gorman is a poet who found her greatest strength in what was deemed as her greatest weakness. She is now one of the most respected young poets in the world, and it’s because of hard work and following her passion.

I’m rushing to recommend this to my friend who works as a speech therapist.

As the parent of a little one, I am always looking for books to help make learning about real people and issues in an accessible age appropriate way.

Watching Amanda Gorman's reading during the 2021 Inauguration was incredibly powerful and I hope she continues to inspire folx for many years to come. For our family, it's important to us that we are including lots of books in our family library that shows lots of different representation, and that's why I decided to pickup this one.

This easy to read book gives a simple biography of Amanda's story and talks about some of the personal obstacles she's had to overcome. It discusses her path to becoming a poet, and her journey to speaking at President Biden's inauguration.

I think this series is a good option for folx with kids under the age of 6 to introduce important historical and contemporary figures to them, but it certainly shouldn't be the only thing in your collection.

I would like to point out that I recently read some valid criticism about this series that should be kept in mind:

The concern that I read was the books "present a one-dimensional, pop-cultural conception of key figures, reinforcing stereotypes and disregarding their strides as part of a collective effort. The series follows the same story arc, starting from the figure’s childhood up until the one contribution (the “single story”) they’ve made in society. As a result, children receive a fragmented overview of the person’s life racked with generalizations and tokenism."

As a parent who tries to make informed decisions, this is something that I will consider moving forward when picking up books for our collection.

BLOG SOURCE:
https://socialjusticebooks.org/the-disempowering-impact-of-the-little-people-big-dreams-series/

***Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing a free copy of the eBook in exchange for an unbiased review.

Amanda Gorman was born with some obstacles, but she saw them as gifts. So here's America's black woman who inspires me to see my difficulties as gift, and fight harder to overcame those. Amanda did, so can we. Always an encouragement to read such book, though it is written as simple as possible for kids, but filled with hope and motivation to strive better in your life.

Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is phenomenal at choosing amazing human beings to be a part of the Little People, Big Dreams series. Amanda Gorman is a touching and inspiring story of someone that is so recent in our history that the children will know exactly who she is. When I tell you the details in this book are just amazing, for the red headband, but the books that inspired Amanda Gorman to become a poet, it's those little details that make opening a Little People, Big Dreams book so fun and educational.