This is a marvelous book that was needed in the slew of similar biography books being put out lately. While most of those books narrowly look at something like women or African Americans, this book showcases a wide range of famous people from Confucius to Malala.

One of the things that I love about this book is the fact each award winner has a specific award that is given to them such as "The Children's Champion" and "The Good at Everything" award. Additionally, there is a quick, almost bulleted explanation for why they were given that specific award. The text is extraordinarily accessible and the graphics give it great punch and a whimsical feeling.

Another strength of this book is that the cast of characters really covers the gamut. From Confucius to Ava Peron and Abraham Lincoln to Ellen DeGeneres. The awards are given for a wide variety of reasons, so everyone can be inspired by people for different reasons. This is a really great book to start an interest in individual famous people so that they can decide to take the next step in researching and reading about the people that mean the most to them.

Such a great concept! This book features prominent individuals that have made important contributions and changed history. I learned interesting information about people that are infamous and was introduced to others that I had not heard of before. I could imagine using this book in a history class, or introducing a person each day to my students. An inspiring read that shows anyone can make a positive impact.

This is a really interesting look at an incredibly wide range of historical figures from wide variety of backgrounds.

This would be an excellent starting point to looking at all kinds of historical topics or as a way of inspiring children by taking a look at some unusual choices of people they could aspire to be like themselves.

The list of people detailed here really is huge and ranges from the more obvious figures such as Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and Isaac Newton to people I had never even heard of myself such as Wangari Maathai, Valentina Tereshkova and Ana Nzinga (a 16th century warrior queen from Angola- how awesome is it to be able to share a figure like that with young readers?)

There is no doubting that some of the figures here can be used to inspire children in their own school learning.

Want to inspire young writers? Have a look at J K Rowling and Hans Christien Anderson, or something a little different like Gabriel Garcia Marquez or even a writer who was closer to their own age and an important historical diarist in Anne Frank.

Got some budding young artists or possible future architects? How about introducing them to Leonardo Da Vinci, Erno Rubik, Antoni Gaudi or Pablo Picasso?

Or, if you're wanting to help inspire young scientific thinkers then besides those already mentioned, there's Tim Berners-Lee, Louis Pasteur and Alfred Nobel or female greats from the scientific sphere such as Marie Curie, Valentina Tereshkova and Katherine Johnson (great for helping show girls that science isn't a subject for boys!).

Young musicians could be inspired by the likes of Beethoven, Mozart, David Bowie while for athletes there's Rudolf Nereyev, Pele and Muhammed Ali.

Then there's people who have had an enormous impact on world history such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Eva Peron, Jan Amos Komensky, Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, Rosa Parks, Sejong The Great Confucius or even a modern day global figure such as Malala Yousafzai.

And finally, most interestingly for me, there were a remaining list of figures covered who, to my shame, I was either not aware of or had forgotten entirely but who were worthy of mention and could just well be the figures set to inspire the young minds introduced to them through this book. In the interest of fairness to them, and honesty in showing up my own ignorance, the list of people in this book I did not recognise follows thus...
Trischa Zorn, Hanae Mori, Roald Amundsen, Vincent Lingiari, Mary Anning, Sappho, Frida Kahlo, Olaudah Equiano, Antonio Rodrigues, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Simon Bolivar, Maria Montessori and Tegla Loroupe.

Never before has a book for children made me feel so ignorant to world history as this!

Get to know a little bit about some of the biggest names in history. From Abraham Lincoln to some of the most popular rockstars - this book has a lot of different facts and is chalk full of information.

Okay, parents - I love giving rave reviews, but this book had a few entries that rather raised my eyebrows. I would suggest that if you are thinking about getting this for your kids, that you take a look at it first. There are some things that I am not quite ready to discuss with my boys yet. Overall, I agreed with the majority of the people included, but there are always a few that you have to wonder about.

This a lovely book for kids to teach them about important people from history in a variety of fields. Each story is wonderful written with the current amount of details suitable to the age. It is also accompanied with a gorgeous illustration. This is the perfect book to get a wee snapshot of some important people throughout history.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for providing me with a digital copy of this book.

This is exactly the kind of book I enjoyed reading as a kid. The illustrations are vibrant and quirky. The facts presented are brief and engaging. I quite enjoyed the peoples profiles which range from well known names to some obscure (but nonetheless important) ones. Representation of people from all corners of the globe and all walks of life makes this book the perfect addition to the shelves of children no matter where they are from and whom they aspire to be. And I'm sure the adults who read it out loud to them will enjoy it just as much. A great way to inspire the younger generation with history's greatest hits.

This book of factfiles of key figures throughout history is a perfect staple for kids bookshelves. The figures mentioned within range from the known to the unknown, from contemporary to history. It quite simply is brilliant.

This is an inviting book for young readers (or those being read to) that adults will enjoy as well. Mini biographies of the well and not so well known are offered along with appealing illustrations, quotes from the personages and funny (at times) but always true award titles. Some examples: The Bad-Tempered Musical Genius Award (Beethoven); The 1,279 Goals Award (Pele); The Most Loved Diary Award (Anne Frank); The Saving Lives Award (Pasteur); The One Voice Award (Malala Yousafzai) and many more. This book is inspiring and wide ranging. It will give children a sense that they can accomplish great things while enjoying the accomplishments of those who came before them. Highly recommended!