This is another great book to add to the Little People, Big Dreams collection!

I love this series as they are perfect introductions to young people about some of the most famous and influential people from our past and present and are also a reminder about how these people have also changed our history.

5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended and can't wait for my daughter to get involved in the series and for me this book is a much for any children's library

Another great book from the Little People Big Dreams series. This book on Wilma Rudolph focuses on the very adult themes of gender, race and disability in an accessible way for young children. My 5 year old son enjoyed it and the content was inspiring for his young mind!

Please note we are not permitted to write bookseller reviews on waterstones.com whilst on furlough. As such, I will post this review on our website on my return to work.

This beautiful addition to the brilliant series tells the incredible story of Wilma Rudolph, olympian and activist. The book is entertaining, informative, and empowering-- its readers will walk away feeling they can take on the world and they too can achieve greatness.

I love the little people, big dreams books. They are well written, tell a delightful true story in an age appropriate way and have beautiful illustrations.

The Wilma Rudolph book might just be my overall favorite. Her story is so incredibly inspiring and was told in such an exciting way. I love the real photographs in the back! I recommend this and all of the books in this series for anyone who reads to children!

The publisher made a copy of this book available on Netgalley. The thoughts and opinions here are my honest review.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Another inspiring biographical storybook from this author. I had not heard of Wilma before so it was enlightening to read about such a courageous athlete. She shows that running and winning isn't just for boys.

This is such a great series of books. I love that this story is about an inspiring black woman. We need more representation in this world and this book really does take representation one step further. There are so many inspiring women in history, and Wilma Rudolph is one of them. The text is simple, it’s easy to understand, and the illustrations are bright and colourful. A fantastic book for all children to learn more about our beautifully diverse world.

Having just read about Jessie Owens in this series, it was a natural progression to next learn about the insprational life of Wilma Rudolph.

Like Owens she faced the reality in her daily life of segregation which is captured in the book.

Also she contracted polio when a child, forcing her to wear a leg brace.

Despite the obstacles and hardship, Wilma wanted to run like a gazelle and would take up sprinting.
Through her sheer determination and hard work she would win three gold medals at the Olympics.

A truly inspirational story that gives children an example, showing that dreams can be achieved.

With its quirky, colourful illustrations and timeline at the end, the reader will not only be entertained but be educated at the same time.

I continue to love reading this series of famous people and their biographies for children. Wilma Rudolph is such an inspiration to all young people and even older people. She had gotten polio at a young age, but she worked hard to get better and then when the braces came off she became a great athlete and even made to the Olympics.

This title is a board book in the Little People, Big Dreams series.  As is always true of Ms. Sanchez Vegara's books, this title is beautifully illustrated and inspiring as it tells the story of athlete Wilma Rudolph. Young children will learn the amazing story of this girl with 19 siblings who went on to achieve great athletic feats, despite having been diagnosed with polio at the age of four.


In telling Wilma's story, the author honestly and sensitively addresses the racism of Ms. Rudolph's era.  In acknowledging this the author opens the way for a good discussion with a child.


Get these books for a child you know; they will learn that life is full of amazing opportunities and will, hopefully, see that they can set their sights high. They will see too that obstacles can be overcome.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

All three of my children loved this story, along with the beautiful illustrations. I thought it told Wilma’s story in an inspiring light for little ones. I could also use this in my writing curriculum with my students when we talk about vignette memoirs or our research pieces. Overall this was a wonderful story about the great Wilma Rudolph!

Wilma Rudolph was born into a large family in the southern US during segregation. She was diagnosed with polio and her family feared she would never walk again without leg braces. She overcame polio to become an Olympian and was the first woman to win three gold medals. She inspired girls everywhere to run.

This book describes Wilma Rudolph’s life in detail, but in easily understood language for children. The illustrations are well done.

As an educator, I would recommend this book to children to see that they can do big things. Everyone can make a difference. People can and do overcome limitations early in life.

Thank you to the Quarto Group and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My daughter really enjoyed this book. She says: I didn't like that she got sick a lot when she was little. I was a little sad that she had a leg brace but I was happy that she started to run and her dream came true to be able to run like a gazelle.

I think this book is a good introduction to little ones about famous people without all the sad stuff being a big focus. I also did not know she was the 20th of 22 kids in the family!

Another good book of the series .A little girl fighting all the odds to become a champion.
An inspiring story of woman of color.

Goodreads and Instagram Review-Thank you for Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book. This book introduced me to the 'Little People Big Dreams' series, and now I am obsessed. This book shares the story of Wilma Rudolph and describes her hard work despite numerous obstacles. Wilma's athletic prowess is illustrated as is her dedication to equity for all. The illustrated, children's text is accompanied by a more detailed bio at the end, to give a more complete picture of Wilma. I am so excited to read more books in this series with my toddler, and I am glad that our journey started with this book on Wilma Rudolph.

Do you need some inspiration that anything is possible? Then this is the book to read with your kiddo! Wilma Rudolph overcame her circumstances because she set her mind to what she wanted to achieve and did not give up, along with the support of her family. Additionally, she was an advocate for equality for equal treatment of all people, regardless of race. Her story also exemplifies that women are capable of achieving greatness in sports that were thought to be for males only. Overall, reading this book it’s hard not to feel that you can take on anything I order to reach your dreams.

Received galley for unbiased review.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The My First Little People, Big Dreams series provides informative and inspirational biographies about people who left a mark on this earth, no matter what difficulties they have encountered.
These stories are very short, but thats because theyre books for children, so its totally understandable.
I think they are a very smart and wonderful way to introduce little children to such important figures.
This here is tells the story of Wilma Rudolph, the remarkable sprinter and Olympic champion.
Her strenght and determination are really important and good examples for everyone. She didn't let polio stop her and thanks to her caring family and her own strenght, she achieved a lot.

Succinct story about the life of Wilma Rudolph with important emphasis on family, determination, and obstacles faced by women, especially women of color. Uplifting story for families to read together.

Holy determination, Batman! I honestly didn't know much about Wilma Rudolph other than that she was an athlete. This little book showed me how she struggled with illness, faced segregation, played basketball, and made records in the Olympics. She was proof at the time that girls could do anything and that it was important to stand up for things that you believe in.

This was a pretty solid entry into this series! It does kind of gloss over the racism behind the bus segregation that is mentioned, but the author explains it more in the little biography at the end of the book which I appreciated.

This book tells, as it says on the tin, the story of Wilma Rudolph. Not for the first time, this book series introduces me to a famous person I never heard about before, which is in one part due to not living in the US, and in another part due to my disinterest in sports. So it seems my reading fills some important knowledge gaps, and as I stated before, this series - little people, big dreams - is a way to have fun while being educated.

The first pages give you a story about a child who wanted something and persisted. In this case, Wilma wanted to run like a gazelle, but had polio and had to wear a leg brace for years.
After the story, you find a timeline that gives straight facts, and suggestions for further reading.

I really like the diversity of the picks, not only in terms of ethnicity of the people picked, but also the field for which they're famous: Athletes like in this case, activists like Gandhi, artists like Astrid Lindgren, scientists like Einstein.
Will continue with this fun series!

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.