John Lennon

Unfortunately, I am unable to review this title owing to a glitch that failed to download the file properly. I am giving five stars, however, based solely on my previous adoration for the wonderful Little People, BIG DREAMS series, and am confident that this is another stellar addition.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children's Books for granting my request to view this title as an ARC.

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 John Lennon. He was such a well-known person and as we all know, The Beatles's songs never stop to amaze and be liked by people. His fight for peace is something that has always fascinated me and I believe that it was depicted quite well.

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

John Lennon is another amazing installment into the Little People Big Dreams series by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara which teaches children about some of the most influential people who have made a change to the world they live in in some form or another.
This book tells of John Lennon and how he helped shape music and was part of one of the earliest boy bands we had.

I can't get enough of this series!

This is another great book to add to the Little People, Big Dreams collection!

I love this series as they are perfect introductions to young people about some of the most famous and influential people from our past and present and are also a reminder about how these people have also changed our history.

5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended and can't wait for my daughter to get involved in the series - my husband loves John Lennon so this will be one that he will enjoy reading with her too!

The life and work of John Lennon is displayed in attractive ways in this cleverly illustrated and enjoyable text.

I grew up listening to my parents' Beatles albums in our basement and now MY kids are growing up listening to be Beatles over Bluetooth speakers in our home. Times may change but some things are always awesome, like good music. I am happy to pass along my appreciation for The Beatles to my kids.

So, I was super excited to see that a John Lennon book was being added to the Little People, BIG DREAMS picture book series. This book tells about John's childhood in Liverpool, UK and how he while he wasn't the best student, he had an early talent for music and art. We hear about how he formed a band in high school where he met Paul and how that band eventually became The Beatles. The book goes through John's time with The Beatles, his relationship with Yoko Ono and his solo career.

This is an awesome book for any music lover in your life. It is loaded with wonderful, full color illustrations and an "appendix" with lots of additional info about John.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
When my eldest son was still in infant school, his class project was once The Beetles. At the time I thought this might be a hard sell to get such young children interested in a pop group from the time before some of their grandparents were born even. We decided to tackle it head on though and took a day trip to Liverpool and visited the Beetles museum. Both my children loved it- particularly all the yellow submarine stuff. So much so they ask regularly when we can go back.
I digress, but my point is that if you present something in the right way to a child, they will be interested and want to learn. And that’s what I think these little people books do so well. There’s just enough to grab a small person’s attention without overloading them. And the artwork is always engaging and vibrant.
One thing I’m still on the fence about is that there is no reference to how, why or when John Lennon died. I fully appreciate that these books are designed for very young children and there is a desire to protect them from some of the brutality in the world. But I can’t quite decide if it’s just misleading children to completely gloss over these things.
I do think this particular time (Covid-19 pandemic) would be a good time to read this with children as the book begins by explaining that John Lennon was born during WW2 and he would go to sleep dreaming of peace. That feeling of being stuck in a difficult time might be something that children living through the pandemic now might be able to relate to. I think they would certainly find his story inspiring.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love this collection of books and I am always keen to read them when I see them.

The illustrations as always are lovely and the story despite being short is a nice read and I am sure lots of children will love this.

John Lennon is the newest lead 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.

Lennon was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. This book follows Lennon performing at the Cavern with Paul McCartney and forming The Beatles to meeting Yoko Ono and promoting his anti-war sentiment

Octavia Bromell illustrates this installment and does a fantastic job. Bromell's' art style was so captivating and his art definitely further helped tell Lennon's story. I love collecting these books and am so thrilled to add this one to the rest of my collection.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Here is yet another entry in this wonderful biography series for young children. John Lennon’s story (but not the cause of his death) is told from the time he was a young boy through his first band, the success of the Beatles, John’s meeting Yoko and his deep wish for peace. Readers will also learn some fun facts including what John once wore when he performed and what Brian Eno asked from the Beatles before he took them on.

The illustrations are charming and complement the story. This is another good title for the collection of a child you know.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Even though John Lennon is pretty much a household name, it’s nice to be able to learn something new about him.

Due to the fact that this series looks at the person’s whole life, we learn a little about them as children. I am not sure that I knew John Lennon was raised by his aunt, and I did not know that he was a less than exemplary student!

While I don’t condone discouraging children from doing their best at school, it’s nice to see someone, that wasn’t academically inclined, find his passion, work hard at it and find success.

As with the other books in this series, this one offers such an accessible starting point, in a journey to find out more. There’s a bit more information in the back of the book, as well as real photos, which I know kids love. There’s also a recommendation to read another book, a picture book, called Imagine, which is the words to the song of the same name.

Like other books about musicians in this series, I can just imagine the joy adults will have sharing some of their favourite music with their children after reading this one.

This was an amazing book to explain the legend of John Lennon to children. Beautifully illustrated and simply written it hits all the major points for a child to understand. It includes more formal facts at the end to pinpoint the historical timeline!

Very enjoyable quick read

Another wonderful entry into this series! I absolutely adored the illustrations in this one. Parents will enjoy this one as there are many iconic image references to the Beatles and John Lennon. The story briefly goes over Lennon's life and how he didn't always fit in, but made important contributions to society with his music.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Who doesn't know The Beatles? Living miles away from England, we all know this band. Here's a story of one of their members, John Lennon.

As usually, illustrated and with not so many words help kids know one of world's legend, the person their parents or grandparents listened to. I always enjoy quick read like this, since the facts given are the notable ones, and most of the time contains encouragement to kids to pursue their dreams.

5 star as always. Though I would have preferred a bit more detail in the end. Ending seemed a bit abrupt.

A well-written book about one of the best songwriters ever, this book manages to show the depth of John Lennon's life while remaining accessible for a young audience.. I appreciated having real pictures and a more detailed account of his life available at the end of the book.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I really love this series, and how diverse the choices of people to focus on are! I liked the art style and felt like I learned some facts about John Lennon that I didn't know beforehand!

This was a very age appropriate biography of John Lennon. It went through his life including his time with the Beatles. I wish the part about his death had been a little less sugar coated, but I can understand why there weren't details. The end of the book has a more in depth biography, but still left out some of the specifics. I feel that if there is going to be a biography, it should have all of the facts.

This was a cute and age appropriate story about the great musician John Lennon. His life story was briefly and concisely explained in a way that would make it easy to introduce children to the music of the Beatles.

This picture book offers a very brief overview of Lennon's life, concentrating on key moments and on the philosophy of his views that drive his greater impact. It discusses the formation of the Beatles and his career within it, and also mentions his career afterwards. His desire for peace and his efforts working toward it are highlighted. Several pages at the end of the book are dedicated to a timeline and more details about his life, and have photographs. This is merely an introduction, aimed at the youngest readers, and leaves out many key points, including Lennon's death at the hands of a shooter. This series of 54 titles covers well known historical figures, such as Mother Theresa and Gandhi, but also includes some lesser known figures such as Zaha Hadid and Emmeline Pankhurst. These short titles are excellent resources for introducing the youngest readers to the world of biographies, and I probably would have checked out all of these that my library had to read to my children.

John Lennon is a children's story about a well know Beatles band member. This illustrated picture book is another great addition to the Little People, BIG DREAMS series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy.

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 John Lennon, the incredible music icon and champion of world peace. He's such an ispirational figure and I'm so happy even little children have the possibility to find out about his life and the impact he had and still has on all our lives.

John Lennon is a new book in the fantastic Little People, Big Dreams series. The series encourages young people to follow their heart and discover their own unique contributions to society.

The simple storyline by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is complimented by illustrations created by Octavia Bromell. Wisely, though reference is made to the world's loss of Lennon too soon- the book does not go in to how he passed.

The book focuses on Lennon's contributions to music and world peace.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good introduction to John Lennon and his music. My 7yo has now listened to Imagine at least 10 times. There’s nothing too heavy (if you know John Lennon’s story you know what I’m talking about) or serious. It’s just a simple sweet story.

John Lennon gets his own time to shine in this marvellous non-fiction, children's series!

I still can't get enough of these. They are little books full of tidbits of wisdom. They have wonderful illustrations, magnificent facts and make learning fun. Honestly, I wish we had tons of these back in my childhood. These would be the best non-fiction counterpart to the giant collection of Mr. Men books that my library had.

If you haven't grabbed this series yet, Little People, BIG DREAMS by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is one excellent series of non-fiction books. Each book introduces the readers to a famous person and retells the history of their lives.

John Lennon's story starts in Liverpool, long before he becomes the rock'n'roll star we all know him by. The Beatles is definitely one of the most famous bands out there, so it was about time John got his own story! Hopefully we get one for Paul, George and Ringo too!

I really liked this book. It was cute, fun to read and taught me more about John Lennon. I still highly recommend this series and will be grabbing every book that I can from it.

Four out of five stars.

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

My thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read several of the Little People, BIG DREAMS series and I was ecstatic to read and review this one. Being a bit of a Beatles fan and having done the Beatles Story in Liverpool with my kids; I thought that this book was a fabulous introduction and insight into John Lennon's life.

This is another fantastic addition to Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara's brilliant "Little People, Big Dreams" series. Its publication is timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the iconic musician's death.
The book follows John Lennon from his roots in wartime Liverpool, through his meeting with Paul McCartney and the Beatles' rise to fame, his relationship with Yoko Ono and his activism for peace. While Lennon's musical and political legacy and his early death are mentioned, the circumstances of his death aren't referred to. There are a few important messages reinforced by the book. Firstly, the collaboration between people who have different strengths (in this case Lennon and McCartney) to produce something extraordinary. Secondly, the loneliness of fame and feeling the need to project a certain image, and the value of finding someone who sees and loves the real you, rather than that image. Finally, Lennon's belief in fostering respect and understanding between different cultures, and the way he manifested this belief through his music and political activity. While the lyrics of his song "Imagine" aren't included in his book, there are clear references to it in the final page. I believe young readers would enjoy listening to and reflecting on the song after reading this book.
This was a delightful book, illustrated in a similar whimsical and colourful style to the others in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it with my Beatles-obsessed 11-year-old daughter.
My thanks to the author Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrator Octavia Bromell, publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication.

4.5★
“John was a little boy born in Liverpool in the midst of a great war. From his crib he could hear the bombs falling. But once he fell asleep, all he dreamt about was that, one day, there would be peace on Earth.”

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
Young John in his bed with his round glasses on the nightstand

He was raised by an aunt, but his mother visited and gave him his first guitar. That was it. He loved art, not schoolwork, and it was obvious to his teachers that art was where his talents lay.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
John, with a cheeky grin while being scolded by a teacher for fooling around

He met a guy called Paul and a couple of other fellows and they formed The Quarrymen , later becoming The Beatles. John was just as silly onstage as he was in school.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
The Beatles and John, performing wearing a toilet seat around his neck

“A stylish guy called Brian became their manager and promised to make them famous if they met two simple conditions: exchange their leather jackets for tailored suits and start behaving properly on stage.”

And didn’t that make a difference?!

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
Brian with his dubious new clients

They began touring the world, with girls swooning and crowds cheering for the Fab Four. Leading the first band to play at a giant stadium, John wondered what 55,000 voices singing together would sound like, but it was all SCREAMS! He craved a friend who would know him as John, not as a Beatle.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
John meeting Yoko for the first time

“He met a Japanese artist called Yoko at a gallery in London, where her work was being exhibited. Yoko gave John a card that said nothing but “Breathe“ and they were together from that day on.”

John was ready to move on from the Beatles but not from music.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
An artistic twist on the famous Abbey Road album cover

Here’s the original that we old fans are so familiar with. Note that even though this is aimed at today's children, the illustrator has stayed true to the colours and styles of the clothing (and Paul’s bare feet).

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
The album cover of Abbey Road

John and Yoko began a new life together.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
John and Yoko’s peace camp honeymoon

They protested the war movement with music that is still played today.

The little boy who longed for peace is remembered as one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned:
Young John, dreaming of peace

This was published for the 40th anniversary of his death, December 8, 2020, but the book itself does not mention any sordid details. At the end of these books, there is always a more adult section with a few black and white photos and a short biography. I thought the words there were appropriately sensitive.

“The world was shocked to lose John when he was still young. His memory is kept alive by anyone who shares a dream with a friend, hums along to a Beatles tune, or dares to imagine a better world.”

We sure were shocked and we sure do still hum and sing along and dream of peace.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing’s Frances Lincoln’s Children’s Books for the preview copy and for publishing this series. They have books for kids of different ages, including the child inside us oldies.

[Note: I include so many illustrations to encourage readers to go out and get a copy. How can you know what a picture book is like without some pictures? I also tend to summarise for the same reason. I don't think I'm risking spoiling any plots. :) ]

Another wonderful addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series. John Lennon is a well known musician, but this book reminds children that he started out as a child loving music. This child friendly biography tells the story of John as a boy, one that didn't quite fit in anywhere, but wanted peace for the world even then. It takes us through his school years and up to his first hit song. We also have a brief look at his life with Yoko Ono and his quest for peace. I loved the illustrations in this book. They are colourful and add much to the story. As always in this series, this is a brief biography of a man to intrigue children to find out more on their own. I never fail to learn something new about these role models either. These books need to be in every school and public library. Challenging young people to follow their dreams, and getting them interested in reading more are both great goals of this series.

Little people, big dreams are always great books. I enjoyed this version with John Lennon story. It was interesting to learn new things about him, such as that heived with his aunt and not his parents.