View source for Little People, Big Dreams: Frida Kahlo by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Eng Gee Fan

{{infobox2
|title=Little People, Big Dreams: Frida Kahlo
|author=Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Eng Gee Fan
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=The second in a series of books for emerging readers telling the stories of people who had dreams as children which they fulfilled as they got older.  Every school library should have a copy.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Frances Lincoln Children's Books
|date=February 2016
|isbn=978-1847807700
|website=
|video=
|aznuk=1847807704
|aznus=1847807704
|cover=1847807704
}}

Frida Kahlo was born in Mexico.  When she was a young schoolgirl she contracted polio and was left with a leg which was ''skinny as a rake'', but she bore the problem stoically and in some ways delighted in being different.  Then one day Frida was in a bus which crashed into a car. She was badly injured and even when she was over the worst she still had to rest in bed and filled the time by drawing pictures, including a self portrait.  Eventually she showed her pictures to a famous artist - Diego Rivera - who liked the pictures, ''and'' Frida.  They married and Rivera encouraged Frida's painting.  She exhibited, eventually in New York, to great acclaim.

I'm ashamed to say that I knew the name 'Frida Kahlo' (although I would probably have spelled it incorrectly) and I knew that she was a famous artist, but I could not have told you any more, but ''Little People, Big Dreams: Frida Kahlo'' gave me a base from which to work.  It's an inspirational story of how a child refused to be bowed down by not just one, but ''two'' serious conditions, but rose above them and made a success of her life. The tale is told in simple language without being at all patronising and the vocabulary is appropriate and occasionally challenging. The font used for the main text is clear and will perfectly suit the emerging reader.

Gee Fan Eng's illustrations complement the text well.  My only minor quibble was that Kahlo's leg which was 'skinny as a rake' appeared to undergo a miraculous recovery - but that's me being Mistress Picky!

The content will suit younger children, but there are notes at the back which give fuller details of Kahlo's life. There are suggestions for further reading and even a museum which you could visit if you aare in Mexico City. The story will appeal to children with an interest in the visual arts, but the beautifully-produced hardback which I read would do sterling service in a school library. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

We've seen another book in this series and been impressed.  [[Little People, Big Dreams: Coco Chanel by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Ana Albero]] tells a similarly inspirational story.  Children interested in art will also enjoy [[Drawing Projects for Children by Paula Briggs]] and we also liked [[Tell me a Picture - Adventures in Looking at Art by Quentin Blake]].  We think you'll also like [[Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World by Laurence Anholt]].

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[[Category:Isabel Sanchez Vegara]]
[[Category:Eng Gee Fan]]
[[Category:For Sharing]]
[[Category:Children's Non-Fiction]]
[[Category:Art]]