Written by: Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara
Illustrated by: Daria Solak
For ages: 4 years and up
Language: English
Topics Covered: Historical Figure, Musical Artist, Women in Music, Biography, Philanthropy, Feminist.
Summary: Dolly Parton is a human that we do not deserve, she is such a gem! This book follows the story of her life for a young reader, from a young girl with 11 siblings to being one of the most well-known musical artists of all time.
Dolly started singing young, and was working steadily on radio when she was 10. She became incredibly well-known and toured extensively by herself in her signature big hair and sparkly dresses. Something we love about Dolly is how much she sticks true to herself and wears whatever she wants, no matter what else anyone says (even if it’s derogatory). She continually champions the LGBTQ community and even has her own theme park in Tennessee, Dollywood! Something else she has done to give back to her community is the Imagination Library, which sends monthly books for free to children who sign up. Dolly continues to inspire and perform to this day, because she’s a complete badass.
This book was sent in consideration of the Best Books of 2019 list by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books (an imprint of Quarto), but all opinions are our own!
About the Author & the Illustrator:
Mª Isabel Sanchez Vegara was born in Barcelona, Spain, and she is a writer and creative director perhaps best known as the author of much of the Little People, Big Dreams series. Six years ago, she decided to self-publish a book that had been in her mind for a long time. One day, one thousand copies of arrived at her home – she had no idea what she was going to do with them! She opened a little online shop, placed them to some pretty stores in her neighborhood and, one by one, she sold them all. Soon, publishing houses started to approach her to write books, but she was working on another idea of her own: a series about little people with BIG dreams. Each book tells the childhood story of one of the world’s female icons in an entertaining, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers, allowing them to identify with the characters in each story.
Daria Solak is a proud 90s kid. She studied graphic design at Art Academy in Warsaw and Bologna. Daria is a full-time girl and illustrator, living in London by choice. Daria is addicted to crayons, coffee and children books*
*(and following dogs on social media)