Quarto Publishing Group UK
February 2023
ISBN: 9780711271067
ISBN-10: 0711271062
RRP: $19.99
To be honest, I really don’t think this needs too much promotion because realistically the Little People, Big Dreams series has been such a phenomenal success that kiddos love, and teacher-librarians simply cannot keep on the shelves (about which we are all very pleased really!)…but it’s Freddie so how could I resist asking for this one especially?
I find it almost inconceivable to comprehend that Freddie has been gone for 32 years but it is so marvellous to think that his incredible talent and natural flamboyance has, essentially, become the stuff of legend – a cultural icon loved not only by those who watched him perform throughout his career but have come to know him via video clips, recordings and, of course, more recently the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic.
The Little People, Big Dreams series has revolutionised biographies for younger readers providing them with salient facts and interesting insights into a wide variety of famous faces, past and present and has now sold 7.5 million copies worldwide – an utterly astonishing number! Each book follows the same format with a narrative based on the subject’s life, and facts, detailed profile plus photos at the back, with quirky and colourful illustrations (Ruby Taylor, in this instance). The entire premise of the series is that each of these achievers was a child once, just like the readers, and their successes grew from their dreams, aspirations and determination as they grew older.
For Freddie, it was an extraordinary journey from the tiny island of Zanzibar, through boarding school in India where he discovered his astonishing voice and became determined to be a rock&roll musician and onto to realising those dreams when he moved to London and formed a band called Queen. We, as adults, know that Freddie’s life was in many ways troubled but there is no denying his enormous talent and his zest for life, and it is this which is conveyed via this new addition to the series.
Unless you are one of the isolated few (yes, I am looking at you Mark!) who is not familiar with the series, I don’t need to sell it to you, but of course, it goes without saying that I give it my highest recommendation for your little readers, especially those fascinated with true-life stories, from around 7 years upwards.
Just So Stories 