This was a sweet book great for little readers and fans of the Brontes as well. They are classic writers and when you think of earlier writers and those that inspired writers these are some of the individuals I think about. Reading this book was a delight. This book features the Bronte family of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne when they were little. We learn about their early life and the sadness they endured. We enter their world and get a look at their wonderful imaginations. They loved to read everything and what inspired them. This is everything that inspired their writing.

This is a powerful book showing the power of their imagination and the joy that reading and writing gave them. The Brontes were born to share their imaginations in writing. Everything about this book is a great introduction to new readers of the Brontes to help them learn about these creative writers, but fans will love it too. You get an author's note as well as a well designed timeline featuring the Brontës' lives. Another wonderful element is a craft including instructions that gives details on creating a book of their book.

What a gem of a children's book The Little Books of the Little Brontës by Sara O’Leary and Briony May Smith was. I enjoyed this read so much, I ordered it right away. While illustrations are hard to see on a Kindle, the hardback books illustrations were brilliant. Children could learn a lot about the Brontës just by looking at the illustrations. The story was cute and well done. A nice introduction for children into the Brontës' world on a relatable age level. I also liked that they did not leave out the death of their siblings and mother. While it is a hard topic, it is important and sadly a relatable story for many. The project to make the mini books like the Brontës did was a fantastic touch especially for those families who love to craft, and it would help enforce the story in a fun way. The timeline was helpful for adults and children as they get a little older. At the end I learned a few things that I did not even know about the family which surprised me. I always love to learn something new about people, places, and topics I enjoy. This will be making its way into my children's library for sure. I received a review copy from Penguin Random House Canada through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

I'll read anything Sara O'Leary does quite frankly, and that this one was ALSO about the Brontes? I mean, come on. Perfect. Great illustrations too. I love that there's the focus on literacy and the imagination they had, which was immense. I know illustrated books about Romantic figures is not exactly an underserved market, but I always love and read them when I come across! (C.F. Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein)

This beautiful picture book biography gives a glimpse into the early lives of the Little Brontës. It only touches lightly on the grief and the loss the family faced, focusing instead on the children's imaginative play and their love of reading and writing.

I wanted to love this, and love it I did! An adorably drawn way to introduce the Brontës to little readers

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this title. This book was adorable and also very fun. It led me to look more into the brontes on my own

Many people don't realize that the Bronte children created a series of small books before going on to write some of the most well-known books in Western literature. it's easy to see the writers they will become with this title.

I enjoy reading and sharing child friendly biographies with my grandchildren as well as colleagues and librarians. Very few children have heard of the Brontë siblings and I think that they would enjoy hearing their story. Not only that, but their works are timeless and I would like to introduce their works to younger generations. Although I have only read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, I am now hoping to read others. The siblings, Charlotte, Anne, Emily and Branwell were very close after the loss of their mother and two older siblings. They loved to read their mother's books and it brought them closer to her. They also loved to write and created little books for each other. When not reading or writing they were acting out stories. What a great book to celebrate literacy and the written word. This was a short book that will only introduce the Brontës, but hopefully like the many other child friendly biographies I have read, will pique interest in learning more as well as interest in their published works. Briony May Smith illustrated this book and her illustrations were wonderful. They show the closeness of the siblings, with detail and expressions on their faces. A beautiful book in word and images.

‘The Little Books of the Little Brontës’ by Sara O’ Leary with illustrations by Briony May Smith is a picture book about young siblings who grew up to become famous writers.

The Brontë siblings Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne lived on a windswept moor and knew plenty of sadness. To survive in a somewhat confined existence, they relied on their imaginations to create stories for each other based on all the books they read. They created their own stories in tiny books that were so tiny, the adults couldn’t read them.

I really liked this picture book about siblings who could imagine better worlds. The illustrations are really great too.

In 1820s England, Charlotte Brontë made a miniature book for her younger sister Anne. The three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, along with their brother Branwell, love to tell stories. They had tragic childhoods, losing their mother and older sisters suddenly, but they find joy through storytelling. They grew up to become artists and storytellers.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë are two of my favourite classic novels. They’re both tragic love stories, which makes sense after hearing about the tragedy the authors experienced in their young lives. However, this picture book doesn’t delve into that too much. This story shows the Brontë siblings as playful children, making up stories with the toys and writing mini books. There were even instructions at the back for how to make your own mini book, which I would have loved doing as a kid!

The Little Book of Little Brontës is a great children’s book for kids who love to read!

Thank you Tundra Books for providing a digital copy of this book!

Loved introducing my little reader to this amazing picture book about sisters who had a love of story telling and amazing imaginations. Definitely a hit with my little one.

A beautiful picture book. The Bronte children will certainly capture the attention and imagination of your little ones. The illustrations are charming. Stunning detail! A lovely introduction to the Bronte family, inspiring young readers to explore more.

WE NEED MORE PICTURE BOOKS LIKE THIS IN THE WORLD.

"If you look through the window of this house,” the author begins, “you can see the two of them [Charlotte and Anne] there, sitting at the table. In this way, Sara O’Leary immerses the reader into the isolated and yet creative childhood of Charlotte, Bramwell, Emily, and Anne Brontë in The Little Books of the Little Brontës by Sara O’Leary (illustrated by Briony May Smith; Tundra Books, October 2023). The friendly and familiar second person tone in the present tense gives the picture book feel like historical fiction rather than a nonfiction biography, and these children immediately become creative inspirations for a young child.


An illustration from above shows the lonely family (four children and a father) at a dinner table, empty seats prominent to show the sadness of losing two sisters and a mother in the course of a year. But the book does not dwell on the sadness and tragedy of their lives, or on the wild emptiness of the moors. Rather, the text and illustrations emphasize the beauties of a creative childhood. The illustrations show light emanating from the little book created by Charlotte for Anne, and shadows on the wall have changed into parapets, dragons, and knights. The moors are a beautiful land to explore, and the smiles on the children’s faces make up for their tragedies. Details in the illustrations show the era in which they lived “many years before you were born.”

As the title suggests, the book emphasize the “little books” that the children make together to record their special stories. The author’s note at the end continues the familiar second person tone with instructions on how to make a personal “little book” oneself, and a family history timeline shows the timeframe of their short lives.

I’ve always love Jane Eyre, thanks to the discerning suggestion of my 8th grade teacher. I was not familiar with the Brontë family’s mini-books, and I would love to learn more. Maybe it’s time to read Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Brontë.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance review copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

The Little Books of the Little Brontës by Sara O'Leary is the historically based picture book about the childhood of the Bronte family of authors'. It tells how Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne lived secluded out on the moors of England, and so only had each other and their pets for company. The story takes place not long after their mother and two other sisters passed away from disease, so the house is fairly gloomy. Luckily, they were very creative children, always making up stories and poems, and acting out plays. When they received a box of tin soldiers as a gift, they used them to create even more stories, even making tiny books for them. As they grew up, they fell in love with writing more and more until they became the famous authors they are today. The back of the book even gives instructions on how to make your own tiny book which is fun. The art in here is darker in color but still hopeful and lovely. This would be a good read for a classroom or kids who are interested in history.

This sweet picture book follows the lives of the four Bronte siblings as they imagine and create books together. Although they've had their share of sadness after loosing their mother and two sisters, the children live in a wide world of stores and poetry, novels and ponderings. And when Branwell is gifted a box of toy soldiers, the children embark on a writing adventure that will last them all a lifetime.

The illustrations in this books are beautiful and add to the overall mood of the story. There's additional information in the back including a time line and a paper craft for creating your own book. The story is sweet and shows the resilience of the siblings. But other than that, it doesn't contain a lot of depth. This is a very brief introduction to the Bronte family and may not mean much to a younger audience.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

This picture book has beautiful, warm illustrations and recounts the live of the Brontës. Instead of focusing on the tragedies, the author points out all the good things that helped them develop their story-telling abilities. There is additional back matter that goes into greater detail about who survived and who dies as children.

I deeply enjoyed this book and hope you do too.

Happy reading!

Despite the lives of Charlotte and Anne Brontë being filled with sadness and their physical world limited to the distance they could walk, their inner worlds were boundless. They later created stories that would make them among the finest writers in English literature.

The Little Books of the Little Brontës encourages readers to understand how the siblings used their vivid imaginations to escape their surroundings, fostering empathy for those who face adversity yet find ways to cultivate joy and creativity.

Discussion Questions:
How do Charlotte and Anne use their imaginations to escape their circumstances?
Why do you think the author chose to focus on the early lives of the Brontë siblings?
How does the story portray the power of creativity and imagination?
What challenges do the Brontë siblings face, and how do they overcome them?
Why is it important to understand and appreciate the power of the imagination?
How does the story inspire you to be more creative and resilient in your own life?

It's not often that a fan of the Bronte's can easily share that love with younger readers. This book is not just a children's book, it's the chance for all of the adult readers to build that sense of wonder that we found when first reading the Bronte novels. It's such a unique book that I don't know why it has not been done before. Thanks to Sara O'Leary for sharing her love of the Brontes too.

Little Books of the Little Brontës by Sara O’Leary, 40 pages. PICTURE BOOK, NONFICTION. Tundra Books (Penguin Random House), 2023. $19.
Content: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
The four Brontë siblings were always telling each other stories, and the first books they wrote were handmade for Branwell’s toy soldiers. But they didn’t stop there!
O’Leary gives a short history on the Brontës and the trials they faced and overcame together as they storytold together. After the short anecdote—illustrated with adorable pictures of them as children—O’Leary includes a simple book making activity. I appreciate that this book encourages children to play outside and use their imaginations, but the story itself felt purposeless.
The characters are depicted as White.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

The book cover illustration excited me and I was not let down from there. The joy of books at such a young age melts my heart. This was a charming read about using your imagination and developing incredible stories to share with others. A magically book that captures the creative, sweet innocence childhood can bring. And in this case, these storytellers grew up to keep telling stories. A wonderful introduction for little ones to meet some of the great, classic writers they will read when they are older.

While my ARC copy for kindle was not formatted in the best for viewing the illustrations as this time, I am excited to pick this one up in person later this month. The illustrations and text are sweet and I look forward to sharing with my children - if I am being honest, I hope they create their own tiny books to share. :) Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this digital review copy.