"This illustrated collection of diverse biographies profiles women from around the world and throughout history who dreamed big and then lived those dreams.

Using the same winning format as her beloved first volume, Little Leaders (2017), Harrison expands her focus. In chronological order and spread by spread, from philanthropist Fatima Al-Fihri of ninth-century North Africa to contemporary artist and architect Maya Lin, each “dreamer” is presented, with a page of text about her youth, her environment, and her accomplishments facing a full-page portrait. The portraits feature cherubic faces (with eyes always closed), clothing and objects representing the woman being honored, and a background that reflects her achievements. A few familiar names (Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo) are included among many that will be new to readers, such as Esther Afua Ocloo, an entrepreneur from Ghana, and Asima Chatterjee, an organic chemist from India. The thread that ties them together is their pursuit of opportunities to use their talents even when the world they were born into wasn’t ready for them. While the book’s flawless design matches that of Little Leaders, the reading level is higher, perhaps because many of the women led intellectual pursuits and so may be less easily explained. Still, readers who value science and discovery as much as art and activism will be delighted to find this follow-up volume. Eighteen further figures are briefly profiled before the backmatter.

Another volume to enrich every household, school, and library and inspire another generation of dreamers. (further resources, sources, glossary) (Collective biography. 9-13)" www.kirkusreviews.com

Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World is a beautifully illustrated book filled with the celebration of 36 women from all over the world. There are well known women such as Frida Kahlo, Marie Curie, Katherine Dunham, and Toni Morrison. There are also less known women (at least to me) such as physical therapist and inventor, Bessie Blount Griffin, actress and inventor, Hedy Lamarr, organic chemist, Asima Chatterjee, and dancer and choreographer, Amalia Hernández.

I'm in my late twenties and I don't have children, but this book is so adorable and I'm glad I picked it up. I wish things like this were around when I was a kid. I picked it up because if I ever do have kids, or nieces and nephews, I know I will have books that show all kinds of women. This book talks about women in all fields of life; inventors, artists, dancers, scientists, writers, and educators.

I recommend this book to both adults and children alike to learn more about women throughout history. I can't wait to read more from Vashti Harrison. ( )

The story written by Vashti Harrison explorers black women of history who have accomplished many things. These trailblazers have made great contributions to the world from science to speaking up for others.

This book contains 36 short (one page) biographies of a diverse assortment of successful female creators—both artists and scientists—intended for children. Each double page spread contains an illustration (created through Photoshop) of the featured woman and a biographical sketch. Following the biographies, there are a couple of paragraphs of an additional 18 women, with a single paragraph of information about them for further study.

I am conflicted on how to rate this book. On the one hand, this book fills a big gap, not just in children’s literature, but in biographies in general, focusing on successful women, especially women of color. On the other hand, the interest level is probably 3rd through 6th grade, but I think the reading level is at least a 5th grade level, and it is not the most engaging writing style.

The illustrations also create a dilemma for me. The colors are lush and beautiful and I think children will be drawn to them and like them. (I like them.) However, the faces are babyish, and I wonder if they leave an impression that these women are not to be taken seriously, especially for young boys.

Despite my concerns, I will be purchasing a copy to keep in my classroom library.

Note: I read the Kindle edition of this book on my iPad and do not recommend the Kindle edition. Each page displayed as a double-page spread, with the bio information on the right and the illustration on the left. The text was small, it could be enlarged slightly paragraph by paragraph, but was still small and difficult to read. It was impossible to read on my iPhone. ( )

The book Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World is about 35 different influential women from around the world and the impact each of them has made. There are people students may recognize and others they will not. There are writers, artists, scientists, inventors, and more represented in this book. This makes the story entertaining and relatable for students. While this book is targeted for younger students I still think it is applicable to middle schoolers because I shows and very broad representation of women that have different races and come from different cultures. This make it a very relatable book and it inspires women to go after their dreams and that their potential is limitless. This book would be really great to read during history when going over influential women in world history. ( )