A great addition to any bookshelf.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really like this series of books because they condense everything but it is packed with information. Freddie Mercury aka Farrokh Bulsara. I did not realize all the things that lead to the band called Queen. Bohemian Rapsody is one of my favorite songs. Bmeing a cat lover and finding he had 10 cats was a plus Unfortunately his untimely death took a very talented muscian and nice person. The illustrations are very well done and pleasing to look at. This book will be sure to hold a child interest.

I’m a big fan of the Little People, Big Dreams books because they break things down in such a kid friendly way! This book about Freddie Mercury was no exception. The illustrations are fantastic and the content is very appropriate.

Another beautifully illustrated book in the Little People, Big Dreams series. I learnt quite a bit about Freddy Mercury in this book, having previously known more about the band, Queen than its individual members.

While the books in this series never delve deeply into events in the subjects lives - I was pleased to see that the AIDS crisis was named.

This quick read was definitely an easy read for middle graders in mind. I am always looking for books to suppliment my biography unit. Maybe for an inclusion room or resource it would be more appropriate at the middle school level. My fifth graders are reading more of the Who Was Who Is, but I have had Little People Big Dreams books before. I was excited to like this book, because Mercury's resurgence of popularity due to the movie that released recently. I think it glossed over sections of his story, but it was appropriate to the age group demographic.

I ADORE these books and this was no exception, I love love love! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this. My son absolutely loved it, he's just getting into Queen songs and so this was a perfect read for us at bedtime ❤️

This series is one of my all time favourites!

It is great for kids and adults too!

I have seen movies and series about Freddie Mercury and this little book has everything there is to know!

Great book, once again!

Thank you so much!

This is a wonderful children's book from the Little People, Big Dreams series, which is an amazing, educational series of books, focusing on inspirational people in the world.

This book focuses on Freddie Mercury, who was a famous musician. We are shown his life from when he was a little boy who was sent from Africa to India to go to boarding school, until he was an adult. When he was at school, he loved music, playing the piano and singing, and when he was twelve years old, he formed a band. After school was complete, he went back to Africa, and then to England. In London, he studied graphic design and sold clothes at a market. He met Roger and Brian there, and he joined their band as a singer, with John joining them later. They changed their name from Smile to Queen, and then they became very famous, and are known all over the world today. Freddie loved his girlfriend Mary, his boyfriend Jim and his cats very much. Freddie sadly died, but his spirit lives on in the hearts of many, and his wonderful music brings inspiration to everyone in the world to this day.

I found this book really interesting, and I really loved looking at the beautiful illustrations in the book, as well as the informative text sections and photographs at the end of the book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

‘Freddie Mercury' by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara with illustrations by Ruby Taylor is book 94 in the Little People Big Dreams series.

Born in Zanzibar, Freddie Mercury, once named Farrokh Bulsara, went to a boarding school in India. He took piano lessons and had an ear for music, but it was singing where he excelled. When his family moved to England, he met some friends and formed a famous band.

This is a great biography. Ruby Taylor's illustrations are colorful and fun.

I grew up hearing Queen songs almost everywhere I went and have many of them memorized. Freddie Mercury had one of the most AMAZING voices EVER and I really enjoyed learning more about his life in this book, like that he was born in Africa, went to boarding school in India, and his birth name is Farrokh Bulsara.

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for sending me a free digital ARC of this book to read and review!

I loved that Freddie Mercury was the latest addition to the Incredible Little People, Big Dreams Series. I new about him through his extraordinary music and entertaining, but not much else.

He was born in Zanzibar and had the name, Farrokh Bulsara. He always wanted to be a Star and loved music. At Boarding School in India, he took piano lessons and would know all the melodies from the Radio. His favorite type of music was Rock-N-Roll. It was fascinating that he was born with 4 extra teeth and this probably helped him reach the highest and lowest pitches when singing.

When Freddie finishes school, he heads to London, the ideal place for a person wanting to be a Rock Star. He becomes part of a band called Smile, but convinces them to change their name to Queen. Queen became a Sensation when it released “Bohemian Rhadsody”, which was an unusual idea of blending Opera and Rock. It was an instant success and is still popular today. Another very well loved song, is “We Are the Champions”. These are timeless songs and Freddie Mercury will endure as the true genius he is. He was part of Live-Aid, which was one of the greatest shows in Rock History.

Sadly, Freddie develops AIDS which brought down the lives of so many people, and was especially devastating to gay men. He recorded a beautiful song, “The Show Must go On” about this.

I really liked this book.
Simplistic in its approach and story telling.
For fans and learners alike its a good easy read.
To the point and direct.

Freddie Mercury by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara (4⭐️)

‘Freddie Mercury’ is a children’s nonfiction illustrated book about Freddie Mercury from birth to death.

This is a great introduction to who Freddie Mercury was and gave me more insight into his childhood. It’s great that the author didn’t use negative connotations when bringing up his AIDS diagnosis. I think this series is great for kids to get to learn about many icons and gives enough information to know who someone is and why they were famous without overloading people with a bunch of facts. If they like the person, they can just go onto further research them and this also gives you a book recommendation at the end if you do want to learn more about Freddie. And as always, I loved the illustrations!

Representation - AIDS; Parsi-Indian; POC; Queer

TWs/CWs - AIDS; Death

My kids have always known who Freddie Mercury was but this book gave them a real look into where he came from. There was a lot I didn’t know. This does touch on his AIDS diagnosis and people passing. Just be prepared for possible questions.

As always the illustrations were terrific.

I watched the Freddie Mercury movie last year, so know a lot about this talented musician. In this book, I did learn a bit about his early years, his birth name and education, but felt that there was a lot about his life that could have been touched upon that would have given the book a bit more depth. Freddie was born in Zanzibar, named Farrokh Bulsara, son of Parsi parents from India. His parents sent him to India for boarding school, where he discovered his interest in music and was nicknamed Freddie. He had an amazing range that he believes was due to having extra teeth. Due to political conditions in Zanzibar his family moved to England when he was in his late teens. He met other musicians and joined their band, The Smiles. Freddie loved clothes and dressing up, selling vintage clothes at markets to earn money. He convinced his band to change their name to Queen and the rest is history. The book didn't talk much about the struggle to make it big, nor his personal life that might have added more to the story. I did enjoy this book and think it would be a great way to introduce Freddie Mercury to a young audience as well as to talk about homosexuality and AIDs in a very basic way. Although Freddie had an underlying talent, it is important to show that he persevered and didn't give up on his dream to be a famous musician. As always there is a timeline at the back with actual photographs and a suggestion of a book to read for more information. Another great addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series.

Freddie Mercury is a such a bicon (that is Bi Icon for those who don't know) and I'm always happy to read more about the details of his life and how he made such an impact on the world. Highly recommended for children!

Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reading copy.

A beautiful book for children about Freddie Mercury. I loved the colorful illustrations and the author does a great job of succinctly summarizing his life and lasting impact. The story was a little rushed, but enjoyable. I think parents who are fans will enjoy reading this one to their kids!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this ARC.

A fantastic story about Freddie. Another great instalment in this fantastic series! The illustrations are well done as always

5★
“…little Freddie—one of the greatest performers of all time—keeps electrifying our hearts with his music, encouraging us to live a fabulous life ... a life as fabulous as we want it to be!”

He was born Farrokh Bulsara on the island of Zanzibar and dreamed of doing great things. At boarding school in India, he studied piano and began singing with the choir.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“Soon he was repeating any melody he heard on the radio, especially if it was rock ‘n’ roll.”

You can see his famous toothy smile in the picture above. The reason it’s such a big smile, is that he had four extra teeth.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“he believed that these teeth helped him reach the highest and lowest pitches of his favorite songs.”

He called himself Freddie when he was twelve and had a band. He was crazy about the English music scene. In 1964, a couple of years after he finished school, his whole family moved to England. London was THE coolest place to be for an aspiring musician.

He was studying graphic design and selling second-hand clothes when he met Roger and Brian, members of a band called Smile.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“They were looking for a singer. It was the chance Freddie had been waiting for!”

Freddie added Mercury as his new last name, and soon, the world recognised him as the star he always believed he would be.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“Once the band was completed, Freddie convinced them to change their name to Queen.”

Queen was popular already, but when they produced “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the world went wild for their blend of rock and opera. [I think they added to the changes the Beatles made when they used more complex melodies than the three-chord basic rock tunes.]

When Freddie and Queen performed at the first ever Live Aid charity concert in July 1985, 75,000 people sang along in Wembley Stadium.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“…almost half of the planet watched live on television. Years later, it was voted as the greatest show in rock history!”

He fell in love and lived happily with his partner Jim, but his closest friend remained his first girlfriend, Mary. The illustrations include a picture of Freddie and Mary and many ‘photos’ of his menagerie of cats!

When Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS, he stopped touring but continued to record.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“…he recorded the most beautiful song to say goodbye: ‘The Show Must Go On.’”

Freddie’s music lives on, and you can listen and watch in countless places. Audiences love to shout out “We Are the Champions” and try to sing along with “Bohemian Rhapsody”, like the classic movie scene from Wayne’s World. SO funny! I have read elsewhere that Mike Myers showed the scene to Freddie before he died to get his permission to use it, and Freddie loved it.

Here's a head-banging version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” from Wayne’s World:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weUuMwZ6Km4

Experience the original here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

We Are the Champions from the 1985 Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium is exactly as illustrated in this little book. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP808MiJUcM

Thanks again to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children’s books for my copy for review and for bringing Freddie to life for another generation of fans (as well as giving us older ones a chance to reminisce).

Freddie Mercury is a new biography for young readers in the Little People, Big Dreams series. I've reviewed a number of these titles and all of them are delightful and exuberant little books which cover the lives of famous cultural, science, arts, and icons of innovation while maintaining an age-appropriate level of detail for young kids. There are over 100 books in the series at this point and they're all worthwhile.

Released 7th Feb 2023 by Quarto on their Frances Lincoln imprint, it's be 32 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

Written by Isabel Sánchez Vegara it's presented in clear and accessible language. The gentle and sweetly whimsical illustrations are well done. The art by Ruby Taylor is appealing and colorful and supports the text very well. The art is rich in small subtle details which bear a closer look, including many of Freddie's outrageous stage outfits based on real life appearances. I loved seeing his beloved cats making an appearance as well.

Well written and appealing, I am really enjoying all of these little books. This one is a worthy addition.

Five stars. This would make a superlative reading circle book, classroom library book, or gift. Queen and Freddie Mercury were and are an important part of the soundtrack of the world's experience for the last 40 years to and this little book is a nice introduction to Freddy's (and Queen's) work for the youngest generation.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.