Cover Image: Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr

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Member Reviews

The story of Hedy Lamarr is fascinating. Personally had only known of the acting but nothing more about her life. The idea that one can have multiple interests, be good at many things, and not just be focused on someone's beauty or what they look like is a great lesson to learn. Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara with this book will help motivate young girls to continue to be strong spirits. To keep their love for science, math, and all their interests intact. How fierce of a woman, how brilliant she was, Hedy Lamarr amazed me. Not only her childhood but her adulthood also. A great job by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara.

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I knew very little of Hedy Lamarr, but my daughter and I learned so much about her from this story, tonight as we read this for bedtime.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go to Vienna and heard of Hedy there, but I had no idea that her inventions led to the eventual technology that so many of us use today.

Not only was Hedwig an inspiring inventor and actress, but her early love of reading and learning and doodling really spoke to my daughter.

We cannot wait to learn even more about Hedy and hope to come up with our own inventions in honor of her!

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I love these books and I should probably stop pretending that I choose them for my children! With amazing illustrations, bold colours and concise information to summarise great lives, the books in this collection make for beautiful moments of learning as a family!

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This is my first time reading from this series, and I was pleasantly surprised. I can see why these are popular.

This book is short, full of beautiful illustrations, and laid out in an easy to read and understand way.

I especially love how most of the book is set out for really young readers, and then the last part is a recap but for older readers. Something for every age in this book, and I enjoyed it and learnt something as a 26 year old.

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A fantastic biography for the little ones all about someone they might not hear about in the classroom – Hedy Lamarr, the famed and beautiful actress who ended up becoming a master inventor and scientist, due to the fact that, despite her love for acting, she still continued to follow her dreams (all of them – not just one of them) and fill her spare time with machines, chemistry, and engineering – a passion of hers from childhood. A wonderful romodel for boys and girls alike, and a reminder to children to follow their dreams, and that no path is exclusive. You can be a supermodel AND a scientist.

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This is a nonfiction memoir in the form of a children’s book about an Austrian actor/inventor’s life, Hedy Lamarr. This is a beautifully illustrated book, fast paced and simply written. Perfect for younger readers. While it does mention some heavy topics such as ww2 and abusive marriage, it does this in an age appropriate manor.

Previous to reading this, I had never heard of Hedy Lamarr, neither as an actress or as an inventor. I love memoirs, especially about smart women, so this was a great read for me. Hedy Lamarr is such an interesting person and this was a great introduction to her life and has inspired me to learn more about her.

I think this is a great series where children can discover many different important and amazing human beings and be inspired to ‘dream big’. I would like to check out the rest of the series and learn about more people myself and would also recommend this series to my sister for her children.

I think it’s so important for children, especially young girls, to learn about the important women of our past and their contributions to society that still impact our day to day lives. This was a brilliant, fast and directly written read without oversimplifying Hedy Lamarr’s life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for allowing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

TWs/CWs - Domestic Abuse; Military; Nazis; War; WW2

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Hedy Lamarr's story is fascinating for all ages, and it must be difficult to choose what details to narrate to younger readers. With that in mind, I was a little surprised at some of the storytelling decisions in this children's biography. Some elements of Hedy's earlier career and unhappy marriage don't really seem like appropriate fare for very young readers. So parents and other adults who are interested in reading this to little kids might want to check it out for themselves first.

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This delightful edition to the little people: BIG DREAMS collection focuses on Hedy Lamarr and her life’s works surrounding acting and inventions.

I've already knew Hedy Lamarr for a while now and was really impressed by her beauty but I was never told that she pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today's WiFi!! She's a really inspiring woman.

This book is full of beautiful illustrations and it's full of simple text, making it easy for young readers to read and understand. It is informational without being overwhelming and an enjoyable read.

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Here is a new entry in a series that encourages children to dream big as they learn about famous people who were once young themselves. This time the focus is on Hedy Lamarr. Adults may know her as an actress but there was much more to her story as will discovered here. Not only was Ms. Lamarr beautiful, she was also smart.

Young Hedwig dreamed up inventions from an early age. She grew up, began acting married, left a controlling husband and moved to Hollywood where she was successful. However, she even did more, creating a device that was used in WWII and was an early precursor to the internet-quite a lot for one woman.

The text is accompanied by glamorous illustrations befitting the subject. All in all, a really nice entry in this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

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Yes, that Hedy Lamarr. Yes, the actress considered one of the most beautiful women of her day happened to develop the technology used as the foundation of today’s wifi. I became fascinated with Hedy Lamarr’s story after learning about her from the National Women’s History Museum. Naturally, I was interested in seeing how this complex story played out in one of the Little People, Big Dreams books for young children.

The text is straightforward, but does not oversimplify Hedy’s life. She is portrayed as curious about her world and brave for challenging society’s expectations for women. The illustrations are detailed, but not fussy. I could easily see an adult reading the book to a young child, then having a conversation about the action and emotion in the illustrations.

I would recommend this book for young children and their families. It would be particularly good for families wanting to share diverse lives early on.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Francis Lincoln Children’s Books for providing a copy of “Hedy Lamarr” for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

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Hedy Lamarr
by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Pub Date 03 Jan 2023 | Archive Date 20 Dec 2022
Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books, Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Biographies & Memoirs | Children's Nonfiction | Science


I am reviewing a copy of Hedy Lamarr through Frances Lincoln Children's Books-Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley:


From a young age Heddy Lamarr was fascinated with machines, She loved to sit with her father and hear all about scientific theories. A gifted musician and actress, she soon found fame on the stage, but her scientific curiosity never stopped.



Heddy came up with ingenious inventions, blazing a trail for women in science and making great strides towards science. Heddy did well with electronics, chemistry, engineering – whatever Hedy put her mind to. She not only had a glittering film career, but developed the technology that formed the basis of Wifi and Bluetooth used in our world day.



This book is beautifully illustrated as well as informative and will remind children what they can do if they put their mind to it.



I give Heddy Lamarr five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

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This is the first time reading a Little People Big Dreams book that I had no idea where to place the name on the cover whatsoever. It was also the first time I realized, how this books not only display variety of life choices, paths occupations and believe in a way kids find entertaining, it is also an invitation for dialogue between parents and children, or even the reader and themselves. Hedy Lamarrs story is told in a interesting, appreciative, entertaining way. She not only is a great role model when it comes to modern feminism, she opens the door to talk about passion, love, stereotypes and even technology and war. And even I, an adult, who had never heard of her, was educated and inspired by this biography.
As always, the illustrations are aesthetically pleasing in themselves, but just like with Hedy Lamarr herself, there is much to explore beyond the beauty.

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I knew of Hedy Lamar the actress, but I did not know her as an inventor. This is a lovely book highlighting her passion and resilience to be what she wanted to be in a world that thought she should be something else. I love that she could act and entertain but also had a passion for invention and technology and pursued this also. A great demonstration that we are all more than one thing.

A good addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series. Beautiful, stylistic illustrations and a good timeline at the end to add more information.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I had no idea who Hedy Lamarr was so I am very happy I read this book.

Strong, brave and determined it was a joy to read about her life and how she got what she deserved!

I adore this series and this new addition is awesome!

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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 Hedy Lamar, the actress and inventor whose curiosity broke boundaries. She had many passions, among which were music, acting, and science. Not only she was a great actress, but she also developed a kind of technology that formed the basis of the Wifi and Bluetooth systems we use today.

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What a beautifully illustrated book. It was well written in enjoyable to read. A real asset to the collection

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💚We absolutely love the Little People Big Dreams series in our house, and this one is no exception.

💚A wonderful series highlighting the life stories of important figures, this one focuses on the fascinating life of the actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. It tells young readers about her achievements which are still not widely known.

💚Gorgeous illustrations as always. Age appropriate text. This will need to join our collection on our non-fiction bookshelves. Definitely recommend.

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I had no idea about Hedy Lamarr and her inventions until I read this, wow. The illustrations are really beautiful, and the story is told simply enough for children to understand and get to know her better.

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Another nice entry in the 'Little People BIG DREAMS' series of books for little kids. Brightly colored illustrations accompany the kid-level text/story, telling about the life of Hedy Lamarr. This children's series of books introduces kids to other remarkable kids, & tells about their lives...in story form/sentences that children can relate to. If older kids/adults read these books to kids.......they might learn something new too....I know I did! I also like the real photos & timeline at the end of the book, & the additional book suggestion if one would want to learn more about Hedy Lemarr. This whole series would be great to have in any library.
I received a free e-copy of this book from Quarto Publishing Group-Frances Lincoln Children's Books via NetGalley, in return for reading it & posting my own fair/honest review.

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Lovely little book, especially the more detailed timeline to support it. Also love that this series is branching out into lesser known people know.Adore these books

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