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Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa


Some little girls want to be princesses, but the girl who would become Marie Curie wanted to be a scientist. She was from a poor family in Warsaw but she was determined to do well and won a gold medal for her studies. In Poland, in the middle of the nineteenth century, only men were allowed to go to University, so Marie moved to Paris where she had to study in an unfamiliar language, but was soon the best maths and science student. It was here that she met and married Pierre Curie, another scientist and they jointly discovered radium and polonium: they would eventually win the Nobel Prize for Physics for this work. Marie was the first woman to receive the honour. Pierre was killed in a road accident, but Marie went on to win a second Nobel Prize, this time for Chemistry. Her work is still benefiting people today.

Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa

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Buy Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Category: Children's Non-Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Reviewed by Sue Magee
Summary: A child with a love of learning grew into the woman whose discoveries helped to revolutionise the treatment of cancer. An excellent biography for the five to eight age group.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32 Date: March 2017
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
ISBN: 978-1847809612

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I've been impressed by Frances Lincoln's Little People, Big Dreams series. They give a basic biography of a woman who started in very ordinary circumstances but who, by her own efforts, achieved much and became famous and they're all pitched at the five to eight year old age group. History has too often been written by men and about men and it's refreshing to see women being brought to the fore. Young girls need role models in every area of achievement, so that they too can be encouraged to make the most of their opportunities. It's difficult to think of a better role model than Marie Curie.

The illustrations in the book are simple but striking, with a muted palette and give a real sense of Marie Curie's life. There's limited text in the book and it's a tribute to the author that quite a complicated story has been told so clearly. It would generally be suitable for an emerging reader, although there are pages where the text is on quite a dark background and might not make for the easiest of reading, but the paper in the book is substantial and there's no bleed through from the reverse which would exacerbate the problem.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

The other books available in the series are:

Little People, Big Dreams: Coco Chanel by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Ana Albero
Little People, Big Dreams: Frida Kahlo by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Eng Gee Fan
Little People, Big Dreams: Amelia Earhart by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Mariadiamantes
Little People, Big Dreams: Maya Angelou by Lisbeth Kaiser and Leire Salaberria
Little People, Big Dreams: Agatha Christie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Elisa Munso

(The whole series would be excellent in the school library, you know!)

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Buy Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
Buy Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa at Amazon.com.

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