Little People, BIG DREAMS: CHRIS HOY; STEVEN SPIELBERG

CHRIS HOY: Little People, BIG DREAMS series
MARIA ISABEL SÁNCHEZ VEGARA (Illus. Edita Hajdu)
Frances Lincoln Children's Books (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$15.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Discover the life of Sir Chris Hoy, the cycling champion who became an inspiration to millions.

Little Chris grew up in Scotland with a passion for bikes and adventure. He loved riding his BMX, dreaming of becoming a racing champion. But school wasn’t always easy—Chris had dyslexia, which made reading and writing a challenge. However, he never let it hold him back.

With determination and hard work, Chris became one of the greatest track cyclists of all time. He won six Olympic gold medals and became a sporting hero for Great Britain. After retiring from competitive cycling, he continued to inspire others, writing books for children and encouraging young athletes to follow their dreams.

In 2024, Chris shared his personal battle with cancer, showing the same courage and resilience that made him a champion. His story is one of perseverance, strength, and never giving up—on or off the track.

This inspiring book features lively illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of Chris’s incredible achievements. His story shows that with passion and perseverance, anything is possible.

Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: In a slightly different timeline this'd be about Lance Armstrong. Not much would change apart from names and locations.

I've reviewed four of these to date. I like the overall messaging, focus plus drive can lead to success; I'm less excited about the athlete focused entries, but that's personal to me.

Sir Chris Hoy's name was unknown to me until Paul Hollywood mentioned him in season eleven of The Great British Bake Off, when eventual winner Peter Sawkins made a Chris Hoy cake-bust (that Hoy liked and complimented Peter on). I've desultorily poked about to see what is the what about him, and found him a strikingly decent human being.

So more than my usual slightly grudging three athlete-stars to this entry in a series I can see kids really liking...if it's a subject or a person they're already interested in.

Almost all the art for this publisher, Frances Lincoln Ltd. across all its publishing areas, is very high-quality to my eye. It's the case here, too:

To my eye, the spreads are all quite kinetic, quite full of vigor, as is appropriate for a biking world leader. I was not ever bored by this entry, unlike an earlier one on David Beckham. That half-star was as much as I could make my uneasy-about-athletics self do...too much permanent damage incurred while using one's body to entertain others.

YMMV, of course, and best to get kids things they're interested in and will enjoy while saving the adult worries for later.

I think....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

STEVEN SPIELBERG: Little People, BIG DREAMS series
MARIA ISABEL SÁNCHEZ VEGARA (Illus. Keith Negley)
Frances Lincoln Children's Books (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$15.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Director, writer, editor, producer . . . Steven Spielberg is the person behind some of the most celebrated films ever made. Little People, BIG DREAMS Steven Spielberg is an empowering testament to believing in yourself and following your childhood dream.

Little Steven was six when he first went to the cinema. Although he didn't understand the story, he was captivated by the beauty of the moving pictures on screen. Soon after, he picked up his Dad's film camera and began experimenting. By his teens he was making short films—carefully crafting every part of the process, from writing the scripts to directing the shots.

Filmmaking was a refuge for Steven, who faced bullying and anti-semitism at school. With his camera, editing machine and notebook he could create a world he felt safe in. As he grew, he found somewhere else he felt at home: Universal Studios. He first visited the company's lot during a studio tour, and was later hired after impressing executives with a short films. Within a few years, Steven went from making TV movies to cinematic blockbusters. Audiences fell in love with his heartwarming adventures, like ET and Jurassic Park, and were deeply moved by his film about the Holocaust, Schindler's List.

After a lifetime of accolades and awards, Steven remains happiest behind a camera--telling stories that encourage us to open our hearts and minds.

Little People, BIG DREAMS: Steven Spielberg features quirky and stylish illustrations; a biographical timeline, complete with historical photos and a detailed profile; recommendations for further reading.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Many of y'all literally grew up watching "old" films of Spielberg's, like Jaws, on your TVs after picking them up at Blockbuster...I saw it on the big screen, first run. I have still never gone back into the ocean. And I won't.

This is the power of the images Spielberg's created. A lifetime later, I still marvel at how his imagination has formed mine, and the generations after me; I'm sure all y'all have a Spielberg-film memory. So when I saw these:

...I was barely whelmed, not a bit overwhelmed, verging on underwhelmed, by their (to me) low charisma choices of subject. The execution is fine, as expected, but it never gets deeper than red-carpet photos do.

I'm criticizing this because the artist is making these to show a master of visual storytelling's life...this does not feel like the best possible execution of that brief.

It's nice art, the story's the story, and for your young auteur-to-be, it will make a lovely gift bundled with ET or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I myownself get wistful dreaming of more....