Maya Angelou

First published in Spain, the Little People, Big Dreams series spotlights notable women. Each short, simply written biography begins in girlhood, conveys the adult's significant achievements, and ends with a bit of inspiration. The striking artwork illustrating each text has a strong graphic look, stylized in Amelia Earhart and folk-art inspired in Maya Angelou. In a simply worded, straightforward presentation, Maya Angelou introduces Maya as a child sent to live in Arkansas, where she experienced racism as well as a physical attack that left her unwilling to speak for a time. She came to love the written word, and as an adult, she traveled widely, worked to help all people get treated equally, and wrote powerful stories and poems. Each book concludes with a few photos, a brief time line, and a biographical summary for older readers. Although both books are attractive, the relative scarcity of books on Angelou makes this a particularly good choice.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist

Gr 1-3-Very simple biographies introduce famous women to young readers. Each selection highlights the accomplishments of its subject but does not go into detail. The lack of specificity, however, makes difficult topics more manageable for a child audience. In Maya Angelou, for example, the text says that Maya's mother's boyfriend "attacked her" and as a result Maya did not speak for five years. A significant event in Angelou's life is included but in an age-appropriate way. The illustration style for each book is different and seems chosen to suit the subject. In Maya Angelou, cartoon-style images appear strong and solid, reflecting Angelou's determination to overcome obstacles in her life. Amelia Earhart employs an airier, less representational art style that matches Earhart's sense of adventure and mystery. Observant readers will find small jokes, such as in a suburban scene in Earhart where most houses have a car parked alongside but one house has a rocket ship. Back matter includes photographs and a few more details about the topic person. The books are factual, without invented dialogue, but no sources are listed. Briticisms appear in Earhart, with terms such as learnt rather than learned. VERDICT These books serve as attractive overviews of the people profiled, but children will need further resources to get a full perspective of the subjects' lives.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.