October 1, 2018
British primatologist Jane Goodall is the subject of this addition to the ongoing Little People, Big Dreams biography series. As a child, Goodall already knew that she wanted to learn about animals—especially chimpanzees. Although she didn’t have the resources to attend college, she saved up for a ship passage to Kenya. Once there, Goodall met paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, who needed someone to study chimpanzees in the wild, so she headed to Tanzania. Vegara describes Goodall’s personalized approach to studying the animals (“Instead of numbering them, as all the other scientists did, Jane decided to give every chimpanzee a name”) and details Goodall’s discoveries about chimpanzee behavior and efforts to protect their habitat. Cerocchi accompanies the text with accessible artwork in gouache and pastels. Back matter includes photographs of Goodall and biographical details. Additional titles in the series—focusing on Simone de Beauvoir and L.M. Montgomery—release simultaneously. Ages 4–7.
January 1, 2019
Each appealing picture-book biography spotlights a famous woman and her accomplishments, foregrounding the influence of childhood experiences. Vegara emphasizes empowerment and tackles difficult issues (such as slavery in Tubman) with honesty and sensitivity, but overall the texts are pretty simplistic. The illustrations (each book by a different artist) vary greatly in style. Back matter includes photos and/or paintings along with more detailed biographical information. Reading list.
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