Lucy Maud Montgomery: My First L. M. Montgomery

My First L. M. Montgomery is a new board  book in the series Little People, Big Dreams. Written by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara and illustrated by Anuska Allepuz, it is due out 6th Aug 2019 from Quarto on their Frances Lincoln imprint. Aimed at babies to the youngest readers, it's 32 pages, perfect for a storytime or read-along for the youngest. It's available as a boardbook.

This entire series really impresses me with its biographies of people who lived quite difficult lives and experienced opposition, racism, threats of violence and other things which might not be entirely suitable for young kids. The way the books are written doesn't completely avoid or sugarcoat what they lived through; it also doesn't present it in a way I would be uncomfortable reading to my own or others' kids.

In this particular book in the series, young Maud suffers the early loss of her mother and her father leaves her in the care of her grandparents, who provided for her physically but were remote and generally not affectionate. She turned to her prodigious imagination and the incredible nature around her to keep her company in her isolation.

The art supports and enhances the simple, stark history beautifully.

Five stars for the book and the series.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.