Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World

by Vashti Harrison

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History comes the highly anticipated follow-up, detailing the lives of women creators around the world.

Featuring the true stories of forty women creators, ranging from writers to inventors, artists to scientists, Little Leaders: Visionary Women around the World inspires as it educates. Readers will meet trailblazing women like Mary Blair, an American modernist painter who had a major influence on how color was used in early animated films, actor and inventor Hedy Lamar, environmental activist Wangari Maathai, architect Zaha Hadid, filmmaker Maya Deren, and physicist Chien-Shiung Wu. Some names are known, some are not, but all of the women had a lasting effect on the fields they worked in.

The charming, information-filled book reveals the leaders as both accessible and aspirational so the listeners know that they, too, can grow up to do something amazing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781549176807
Publisher:	Hachette Book Group
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Vashti Harrison earned her MFA in Film/Video from CalArts and BA from the University of Virginia. Her experimental films and documentaries have shown around the world at film festivals. After a brief stint in television as a production coordinator, she is now a freelance graphic designer and a picture-book illustrator (books forthcoming from S&S and HarperCollins). She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Editorial Reviews

Winter 2018

Gr 2–5–Harrison's nonfiction picture book reads like a who's who list of daring women. This compendium highlights the life histories and achievements of 36 curious and resourceful women, both living and deceased. Some, like Marie Curie, are often featured in collected biographies, while others, like Bessie Blount Griffin, may be less familiar. Each woman is allotted a one-page biography adjacent to one of Harrison's now iconic portraits, crafted in Adobe Photoshop. The "dreamer" stands calmly and confidently, eyes closed, in the setting where she made a breakthrough, surrounded by the tools of her trade or her objects of study. In her introduction, Harrison reminds readers that in their own time, many of these women were not seen as luminaries and that it took a while for them to be appreciated. She also emphasizes throughout that scientists are creative artists. Back matter includes a list of 18 other visionary women, each with her own short biography; a catalogue of work by the subjects; and additional resources. VERDICT Recommended for elementary nonfiction collections.—Lauren Younger, Nicholson Memorial Library, Garland, TX

School Library Journal

Bahni Turpin’s and Adenrele Ojo’s crisp style introduces 40 women who made an impact through their determination and innovation. These brief biographical sketches, filled with interesting information for young listeners, are narrated with energy and enthusiasm. Turpin and Ojo highlight author Harrison’s appealing choices of women to learn about, whether they are familiar names such as physicist Marie Curie and painter Frida Kahlo, or those who may be new to this audience, such as chemist Asima Chatterjee and physical therapist Bessie Blount Griffin. The lively opening suggests that those listening explore their own worlds with imagination, making mistakes and asking questions. Looking at the images in the book or the accompanying PDF will likely help keep the women distinct for listeners. S.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

Bahni Turpin’s and Adenrele Ojo’s crisp style introduces 40 women who made an impact through their determination and innovation. These brief biographical sketches, filled with interesting information for young listeners, are narrated with energy and enthusiasm. Turpin and Ojo highlight author Harrison’s appealing choices of women to learn about, whether they are familiar names such as physicist Marie Curie and painter Frida Kahlo, or those who may be new to this audience, such as chemist Asima Chatterjee and physical therapist Bessie Blount Griffin. The lively opening suggests that those listening explore their own worlds with imagination, making mistakes and asking questions. Looking at the images in the book or the accompanying PDF will likely help keep the women distinct for listeners. S.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

2018-11-12

This illustrated collection of diverse biographies profiles women from around the world and throughout history who dreamed big and then lived those dreams.

Using the same winning format as her beloved first volume, Little Leaders (2017), Harrison expands her focus. In chronological order and spread by spread, from philanthropist Fatima Al-Fihri of ninth-century North Africa to contemporary artist and architect Maya Lin, each "dreamer" is presented, with a page of text about her youth, her environment, and her accomplishments facing a full-page portrait. The portraits feature cherubic faces (with eyes always closed), clothing and objects representing the woman being honored, and a background that reflects her achievements. A few familiar names (Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo) are included among many that will be new to readers, such as Esther Afua Ocloo, an entrepreneur from Ghana, and Asima Chatterjee, an organic chemist from India. The thread that ties them together is their pursuit of opportunities to use their talents even when the world they were born into wasn't ready for them. While the book's flawless design matches that of Little Leaders, the reading level is higher, perhaps because many of the women led intellectual pursuits and so may be less easily explained. Still, readers who value science and discovery as much as art and activism will be delighted to find this follow-up volume. Eighteen further figures are briefly profiled before the backmatter.

Another volume to enrich every household, school, and library and inspire another generation of dreamers. (further resources, sources, glossary) (Collective biography. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews