Books & Literature

Book Review: Little People, Big Dreams: Ernest Shackleton, by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

KIDS NON-FICTION: For ages 4-8. Discover the life of Ernest Shackleton, the fearless Antarctic adventurer.

Find out about one of history’s bravest explorers and the huge obstacles he had to overcome to reach his goals.
3.5

Little People, Big Dreams is a series of books about the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists. Each person has achieved incredible things and the stories all begin with a child having a dream. Ernest Shackleton is the 46th book in this series which includes such people as Bob Dylan, Jesse Owens, Mahatma Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, Agatha Christie and Anne Frank, to name a few. What a wonderful line-up of great people from history, some well-known and some you may never have heard of. Ernest Shackleton is a worthy addition.

In this story we learn about Shackleton’s early life, and his dreams to be the first person to reach the South Pole. If you are ever lucky enough to travel to Antarctica and South Georgia Islands, you will discover inhospitable places where he and his crew were stuck for months at a time, never knowing whether they would survive.

Ernest Shackleton,who wasborn in 1874, is a well-known story to many, but having it accessible to young readers is inspiring and may help them to dream and maybe encourage them to one day do something unexpected with their lives. This book gives us a small glimpse into his optimism and ability to keep his crew positive during the hardest of times. He was determined to keep everyone safe and his story is worth researching further. This book may encourage the reader to do so.

Many young children enjoy fiction, but there are also those who prefer to read non-fiction, whether it be animals, countries or space. This series allows the reader to discover history and the great people who had a vision and the will to dare to be different.

Little People, Big Dreams gives young children another choice in what to read. In this book about Ernest Shackleton, it gives more information about him at the back of the book as well as suggestions for further reading. The illustrations by Olivia Holden are also informative and detailed.

Reviewed by Sue Mauger

Distributed by: Murdoch Books
Released: September 2020
RRP: $19.99 hardcover

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