Summary by my daughter: This was a story about a boy who was bullied at school. One day, Lenny Henry fought back with jokes, not fists. When he was older, Lenny Henry made a comedy show that was loved by a lot of kids. When help was needed, he and his good friend raised money for people who needed it. He started Red Nose Day, a day when people all over the world raise money for those in need.

This was another lovely Little People, Big Dreams book. Our family loves these books because they are short but interesting and often inspiring, as was the case with Lenny Henry's story. I highly recommend this book and others in the series for young readers to explore biographies and history.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for gifting our family with an ARC to review. All opinions are our own. We enjoyed it!

This is another good entry in the long running series that can always find a new little person with big dreams to profile. This time the spotlight turns to Lenny Henry. Humor has been a part of his life since childhood as is well demonstrated here. In addition to the ways in which humor helped Lenny both personally and professionally, the comedian founded Comic Relief, thereby helping many others.

This book is illustrated in a fun style. As always, there are additional facts at the back of the book.

Anyone collecting this series, will want to add Lenny Henry to their pile.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 06 February 2024

Lenny Henry is an actor and comedian who helped found Comic Relief and Red Nose Day. This book forms part of the Little People, Big Dreams series which aims to introduce children to influential figures from all professions and walks of life.

I loved the colour and illustrations in this book. His story was told in a really clear and concise way and I liked the fact that further reading suggestions were included at the back. Despite watching Comic Relief every year, I didn't know much about Lenny Henry so I found this really interesting.

Overall this was a great introduction to Lenny Henry and Comic Relief and I loved the illustrations!

Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara has written three children’s books that will be released in early 2024: Lenny Henry, Tenzing Norgay, and Sally Ride. These books are part of the bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS biography series for kids. Each book is 32 pages and beautifully illustrated. They are perfect for reading to small children during “quiet time”.

Lenny Henry tells the story of Sir Lenny Henry, the multi-talented comedian, actor, writer, and activist from Dudley, England. When he was a young boy, Lenny would pretend to be the characters he watched on TV to entertain his six brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, Lenny was bullied at school, but he used humor to deflate the bullies. He became famous at age 16 and later had a very popular TV show, The Lenny Henry Show.

In 1985 Lenny and screenwriter Richard Curtis founded the charity Comic Relief in response to a terrible famine in East Africa. To this day Comic Relief holds its annual Red Nose Day telethon which raises funds for numerous charities that help children in need and tackle worldwide poverty.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, for the advance reading copy.

This is the perfect example of how a short biography for young readers to be like. Enough information. Amazing illustrations. Easy to understand writing. Basic facts and pictures for reference.

Well done.

the inspirational life of a comedian. honestly i've never heard of him before but it always nice to get to read prominent people's early life, including this one

This is the best series to introduce little ones to biographies. I really liked this one! Lenny Henry is hilarious but I didn’t realize how early a start he had! As always the illustrations are so cute!!!

Another great addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series! I'm not really familiar with Lenny Henry, but this book contains an excellent balance of detail and storytelling. The illustrations are lovely. The message of inclusion and empowerment that comes through the story of Lenny's life is very inspiring - especially for kids who may not see a lot of themselves represented in mainstream media and entertainment. I loved this story and think it's an excellent choice for highlighting to young readers!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

I grew up with Lenny Henry being on the TV but I did not know he was an original founder of Comic Relief!
Not that I wish anyone to have a horrible childhood, but I think it's important that younger children hear about it, so they can also see that they shouldn't let it stop them and can still make something of their life.
Great book from a great series.

"Life is always brighter with laughter."

I love this series so much, I quite enjoyed that the books have branched more into todays inspiring people. Where young people today would have heard of Lenny Henry or at least 'Comic Relief' where they would have taken part in the cause themselves- bringing in a pound for non-uniform day or even taken part in a fundraiser. I didn't know Lenny Henry was one of the founders, I knew he had a big part with it, but started it all!!!

As always a lovely book, with illustrations that are a delight.

"Their goal was to make people laugh while raising money for those in need."

*Thank you Netgalley for a copy of the book for an honest review

I always love how these books not only teach kids the amazing stories of iconic people, but I also learn a lot myself as an adult. This story teaches about how no matter your racial or financial background, you can make your dreams come true - what's more important than that!

I love Lenny Henry and grew up with him being a part of my usual tv viewing so it's great to learn more about him.

I grew up when Lenny Henry was on TV a lot and thought I knew a bit about him. However this short biography which spanned from his childhood to present day covered all the salient highlights and introduced me to interesting facts that I didn't know. The illustrations were very generic and Lenny looked different thorough out the ages, which was different I guess.

Anyway back to the man himself. England was overtly racist in the 1970's and has become less so (overt) over time. Thus it was an obvious starting point for me that Lenny was bullied by racists at school and used his humour to deflect. I know Lenny for his tv shows, adverts and past marriage to another comic. I did not know that he co-founded Comic Relief, Red Nose Day and what he's given back to the community. Nor was I aware that he was writer.

Where have I been? Clearly oblivious to this man's achievements and accomplishments!

While short on pages (17) it isn't short on facts or relevant information. The short biographical timeline at the end was a bonus. "Lenny Henry" is perfect for casual fans or those who might want to introduce Sir Lenny Henry to a younger audience.


PS Thanks for the referral to You Can Do Anything Tyrone, which is a good book not just for the representation.

I really like Lenny Henry, and as the Chancellor of the university I went to (Birmingham City University (kind of)) I was interested to find out more about him. I knew he was a big part of the Comic Relief nights and I've always loved watching and taking part in the Red Nose Day festivities but I don't think I ever knew he was the founder! This book was fascinating as always, with great illustrations for the little ones. Amazing!

As always with the books from this author I love it. I get to learn so much from these children’s books! I actually didn’t know much about Lenny Henry before so it wasn’t as exciting for me as others have been but I still enjoyed learning. As a teacher I want to paint the walls of my classrooms with these books about little people for the rest of my career.

This particular one I rated 2/5 stars, but that’s not bad! It’s just not my favorite.

Thank you for letting me read and review this book.

This inspiring biography series for children (4-7 years) brings the exciting figure of Lenny Henry, the talented comedian, actor, writer and activist.

Lenny was born in UK, but his family came from Jamaica. At school, he was bullied because he was Black. Instead meeting aggression with aggression, he fought back with his jokes. At home, he watched his favorite characters and studied how they moved and talked. He auditioned for a TV show and got the part. He became very successful in his business.

He shares his success with others by motivating minority children to dream big, to follow their dreams as he was one of them and was able to achieve it.

His story is a wonderful inspiration for children to dream big. With his contagious character, he shows a different path for fighting back. It doesn’t have to be aggression. Laugh is so much better, and it brings much better results.

This story is accompanied by original illustrations, and easy to understand sentences, right for the target audience.

As always a lovely story from this collection that I will love sharing with my young nieces. Being French, I knew next to nothing about Lenny Henry so I learned a lot! His work to help others less fortunate than himself is inspiring and a great story to share with children. It will also be a great opportunity to discuss with my 8-year-old niece white privilege and the bullying Black kids still face too often.

This is the first book in the little people big dreams series and I thought that it was lovely. I appreciate that it is aimed for children but the ending putting it more into adult/YA wording makes it suitable for all ages to gain something from it. I have always liked Lenny Henry and thought that he did a lot of good work but this gave me a litle more insight into his youth which has obviously made him what he is today.
Great read

I am today years old when I learned what Red Nose Day was really about and how it started, all thanks to this story about Lenny’s life. Lenny is such an inspiring artist and I loved learning all about his persistence and dedication to his comedy and his generous heart that has inspired and helped many around the world. Can’t wait to add this book to pur family’s collection!

As a big fan of the series of Little People, Big Dreams books, I loved reading this one about Sir Lenny Henry. I know of him from his tv work but was intrigued to read more about his life.

My own children at home, and my class at school, adore these books and are always looking out for new ones.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.