My First Stephen Hawking is a new biography for the very youngest readers in the Little People, Big Dreams series. I've reviewed a number of these titles and I'm always impressed and enchanted by how much detail they manage to include in these little books in an age-appropriate and accessible manner.

Released 4th Feb 2020 by Quarto on their Frances Lincoln Children's imprint, it's 24 pages and available in boardbook format.

Written by Isabel Sánchez Vegara it's well written in clear accessible language. I really loved the illustration (p. 4) of the whole family with Stephen and siblings reading at the dinner table and talking. The art by Matt Hunt is appealing and colorful and supports the text very well. The illustrations are rich in small subtle details which bear a closer look. I like that his neurological health issues were mentioned, but not dwelt on, and that they mentioned his relatively normal family life (he married, had 3 kids and a wife).

Well written and appealing, I am really enjoying all of these books. This one is a worthy addition. I received an electronic ARC for review purposes, so I can't speak to the robustness of the physical copy, but the others in the series are quite well made and will stand up to a fair bit of abuse. I imagine this one is no different.

Five stars.

Schön illustriert die wichtigsten Informationen über Stephen Hawking. Das Buch ist geeignet, um interessierten Kindern einen ersten Eindruck zu verleihen, wer oder was Stephen Hakwing war. Natürlich geht es nicht besonders in die Tiefe, aber das muss es gar nicht, um die entscheidenden Punkte seines Lebens rüber zu bringen.

I'm always so glad to have the chance to read these amazing little books. I was really interested in learning more about Stephen Hawking after seeing the movie "The Theory of Everything" and I'm glad that now children will have the chance to learn a lot about the strength and the wonderful soul of this amazing man. I will never stop screaming about how these books literally are a blessing, because young kids can learn so much from them. Really a gem.

Because I like this series so much, I like this book. But it's probably one of my least favorite of the series. Somehow it seems to use a very broad brush to tell his story; whereas the other books tend to have a finer sense of detail or care taken with them.

While scanning through the books on NetGalley, I stumbled across this awesome new board book series for babies and toddlers. The vibrant, yet simple, covers displaying historical women that I have grown up learning caught my eye, and it instantly drew me to dig in and see what this series is all about. 

Through my reading and my post-reading research, I have learned that Little People, Big Dreams is a series that focuses on introducing the youngest of readers to amazing, wonderful women that have influenced the world.

Each book is purposely designed in order to highlight one woman who has made a difference in the world. It tells the story of that women's dream and how she was able to make her dream come true despite the biggest obstacles. 

I loved the simplicity of the design of the series, Little People, Big Dreams. The authors and illustrators who have worked on this project clearly understand their audience, and they have made each of the books reflect exactly what they want their youngest of readers to be exposed to.

Designed for babies and toddlers, Little People, Big Dreams uses simple text and engaging pictures to tell the story of each woman in a kid-friendly manner. 

Often times, my biggest complaint with board books is that they lack plots or messages. Even though board books are purposely designed for babies and toddlers, I absolutely believe they still need to be strong examples of books that contain both strong plots and messages. All age levels of children need to have access to great texts.

I loved how Little People, Big Dreams designed their biography series for baby and preschool readers. There are not many nonfiction book series out there. This series is absolutely helping to pave the way to push the norm for what we typically think of when we think of baby books.

Little People, Big Dreams series is a positive example of how even our youngest of readers can read and learn from awesome books!

The story of Stephen Hawking was absolutely-deserved to become one of the newest biographies add to the Little People, Big Dreams Collection. David's contribution to our world as one of the greatest scientists of all time is surely deserving of his own book within the Little People, Big Dreams series. 

This book is sure to be loved by both you and your littlest reader as you learn all about his fight to bring social equality to all of the world.

This book is part of the Little People, Big Dreams book series for the youngest children.  The illustrations are very appealing; Stephen and those around him are cartoon like while the skies look very pretty.  This short book tells the main facts of Stephen's life including his illness. 


Two quotes from the book:  "But instead of looking down at his feet, Stephen decided to look up at the stars."  Another quote:  No matter how difficult life may seem, there is always something you can succeed at."


The message of this book is to not give up and to follow dreams old and or new.  Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for another entry in a wonderful series.

Perfect gift for the children in your life! Gorgeous illustrations and inspiring and heart warming story!

Stephen Hawking, for me, always was the very skinny guy in a wheelchair, slightly creepy because he needed a machine to speak. And then, suddenly, he wasn't there anymore.
He was one of those people of whom I knew what they did, but only in very vague terms because their work is beyond me. So it is nice to have his life and his work broke down to very simple facts, and maybe go from there, one day. This book gives me the feeling that, if paced correctly, I can understand Mr. Hawking's work. And I like that very much.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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

What a lovely book and genious way of introducing such influential people who have made a difference to the world, to children.
A simple but meaningful book for children with a lovely quote of inspiration at the end.
This is the second book in this series I have read and I cannot wait to read the rest shortly.

Another great addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series. The illustrations were lovely and it covered Hawking's in a way that didn't confuse my children. It was also really nice, as a disabled parent, to read a book to my children that touched on disability without othering the protagonist.

Absolutely adore these books they are my favourite, so beautiful, empowering to any age, informative but well done and not boring in any way at all. These should be available in all schools and libraries

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I love this series. The illustrations are always great and they give good information without being too much. I really like reading these books at night with my son and think they would also be good for older students.

I love the picture books that Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara does. They are perfect for little children.
This one is a board book that introduces the little readers to the incredible life of the genius physicist and author Stephen Hawking.
It is written in simple sentences, which are perfect for the little ones and it offers them inspiring messages.

Stephen Hawking by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is another addition to the beloved Little People, BIG DREAMS series. While the quality of both the text and illustrations certainly lives up to the standard of excellence that we have come to expect from this wonderful series, I did find the story itself to be marginally scaled down and somewhat simplistic compared to previous books. Once again, however, I applaud the author's success at taking a complex lifetime of achievement and paring down the details in a way that is both a respectful tribute, while at the same time remaining accessible to young minds. I will continue to look for any new additions to this remarkable series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Childrens for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on February fourth, 2020.

My toddler loves historical figures. His favorites are the U.S. Presidents (any of them: he has yet to decide his party), but he is interested in other figures as well. Not too long ago, I told him I had a secret to tell him. I whispered “I love you” and he whispered back, “Ibn Batutta.” I jumped at the chance to read this book about an important person with him.

I’ll start with the illustrations. They were adorable. They were simple, but brightly colored. My little guy liked pointing at them and saying “That’s Stephen Hawking” multiple times. They definitely held his interest.

The story itself was cute. It talked about Stephen Hawking in a way that would be easily grasped by youngsters. At times it seemed a little too simple: but it could just be because my toddler wants a wealth of information in his nonfiction books. He sometimes goes a little beyond the “normal” amount of information requested by that age group.

It was very difficult to find good nonfiction books when my oldest was a toddler, and I love that authors are changing that. Overall, my toddler liked it, and so did I. I’d buy this for any curious kid in the 2-5 year old range.

Even though it tells a story about space, hope and perseverance, I felt this book didn't quite have the same quality as a lot of the other books in this series.

This is another brilliant addition to this series – even as an adult I look out for the next book in the series being released. I love the images in this series and this is a delightful introduction to Stephen Hawking, one of the most amazing minds we have had.

They are excellent introductions to some of the well-known, and less well-known, characters that have had a great impact in our lives through a variety of subjects such as literature, women’s rights and science. Stephen is an inspiration to me and his story should be shared with children to show what he managed to achieve even though his health deteriorated he was still an eminent figure in his field and had some astounding scientific breakthroughs.

5 stars from me for this one – a delightful read and one I will be highly recommending!!

This book is beautiful and will be lovely for giving young children an introduction and early insight into his life as it is not too information heavy, easy to digest and also has lovely illustrations.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is an adorable intro to Stephen Hawking. No, it does not go on nto detail about his personal relationships. It's a kid's book.

These books are getting so short.
Did not offer very much information on Stephen Hawking and didn't see anything in this book that would interest a child.
Usually the illustrations are really good, but this book included a picture that I would think would be pretty creepy for a small child.