'Alexander Von Humboldt' by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara with illustrations by Sally Agar is a biography in the Little People BIG Dreams series.

Alexander Von Humboldt wasn't a great student, but had a pretty unusual mind. He was able to see the world differently and see how things were interconnected. He became so famous that many things in the natural world are named after him.

I really liked Sally Agar's illustrations in this one and it's a solid entry as usual.

I had not heard of Alexander von Humboldt, but I knew of some things named after him (Humboldt Falls, Humboldt River, Mount Humboldt). This is a great little book that starts off with a little boy who lived in Prussia, the son of a wealthy man who loves nature. It shows that he had a lot of opportunity, but chose to travel and learn about nature. He saw how man was destroying the world as well as discovering plants and animals that were little known, if known at all. He drew them, named them and shared them with the world. He was also a map maker and shared weather phenomenon on his maps. He concluded that the earth was just one big interconnected living being. It took him most of his life to publish all the books sharing his discoveries. This was a great child friendly biography that is very relevant today with climate change and animals being endangered. As always there is a timeline at the back of the book and suggestions of where to find out more. I really liked the illustrations in this book, they were a bit more realistic, yet very child friendly. A great addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series.

Alexander Von Humboldt by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara looks at the life of this intrepid explorer. As a boy, Humboldt felt like a misfit. He saw the world through different eyes, and this led him to embrace the natural world. He became a botanist/ biologist and spent several years in Meso- and South America, studying all the diverse flora and fauna. At the end is a section with more detailed information on life, suitable for older readers. Inspirational and educational both, this entire series is great, and full of delightful art to engage younger audiences!

Amazing story of Alexander von Humboldt, whose name can be found in so many flora and fauna, even some venues in the America. Whose curiosity drives him to move forward and discover so many things we can enjoy nowadays, like weather forecast. In a small book of introduction of the scientist to children, the author did her best to include most of his achievements, one amazing effort! Always enjoy the series.

von Humboldt is a figure most of us will find unfamiliar. He isn't often the subject of history lessons or children's books. We don't often dig into the world of naturalists or scientific expeditions. Given his focus on the natural world he will be a compelling figure for children. The book focuses on curiosity and the importance of discovery, necessarily avoiding discussion of the dark side of exploration and colonization but that can be corrected via careful conversation with your child. This book will be of particular interest to children interested in animals and scientific classification.

‘Alexander von Humboldt’ by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is a great addition to the Little People, Big Dreams series.

I adore the Little People Big Dreams collection!! This is a lovely one and I actually didn't know much about Alexander von Humboldt so it was useful for me too!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to the book in exchange for my honest feedback.

It appears little people big world finally did a historical fiction figure I knew nothing about. And I think them for that. This was just enough information to get you interested in the life of the person. Without so much information it bore you. Overall, the story works is entertaining and interesting

I love this book series and I especially love the books within it that bring to light lesser known figures, such as this one. Alexander von Humboldt was an explorer and botanist, so this books depictions of nature were beautifully done. I really recommend this educational picture book!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced ebook copy of this title!

5★
“In the kingdom of Prussia lived a wealthy boy called Alexander.”

I liked how this began like a fairy tale, because his life is certainly out of the ordinary. His father was an extremely important man in the royal household, so Alexander and his brother were expected to rise to the same heights. He had other ideas.

[This is the caption for picture 1 in my review on Goodreads]
“From a very young age, he was curious about everything to do with nature”

After studying plants, animals, and rocks around Europe, he was ready to travel the world. In South America, he and his friend Aimé were appalled to find that European settlers had caused Lake Valencia to begin drying up because they were cutting down all the trees.

[This is the caption for picture 2 in my review on Goodreads]
“By cutting down trees, humans were harming the whole ecosystem.”

Here was a Western scientist learning what indigenous people already knew – that trees store water, protect soil, cool the air, and provide animal shelter.

[This is the caption for picture 3 in my review on Goodreads]
“Alexander von Humboldt, shown mixing with the locals”

He travelled up the Orinoco River with indigenous guides, where no Western scientist had ever been.

[This is the caption for picture 4 in my review on Goodreads]
“He drew maps and took notes on everything he found, even an electric eel whose shock could kill a person!”

In the Andes, he worked near volcanos and stayed put during an earthquake so he could take measurements. He climbed what Westerners thought was the highest known mountain, Chimborozo, looked down at the landscape through the clouds, and saw the connections between everything.

[This is the caption for picture 5 in my review on Goodreads]
“The Earth was one living being!”

He travelled all over and then crossed Mexico, making maps and measuring everything.

[This is the caption for picture 6 in my review on Goodreads]
“He was the first to draw maps showing the air temperature, a technique still used in weather forecasts.”

I admit how ignorant I was about Alexander von Humboldt and his amazing exploits, but I am familiar with some of these Humboldt names.

[This is the caption for picture 7 in my review on Goodreads]
“Alexander learned of so many things that hundreds of rivers, mountains, plants, and animals were named after him.”

The Humboldt River, Humboldt Falls, the Humboldt current, the Humboldt penguin, the Humboldt Glacier – the list seems endless. Of course, many places and plants and animals still have their indigenous names, but the scientific world seems to be pretty keen to make sure this important scientist will always be honoured and remembered.

When he returned home to Europe after five years, he began organising his research, planning to write a book – in a couple of years. It took twenty years. He published many books, his most famous being Cosmos : a Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe

[This is the caption for picture 8 in my review on Goodreads]
“It was a fantastic journey across all of creation, from distant galaxies to oceans, volcanoes, mountains, plants, rocks, and tiny creatures.”

I have always said that teachers have two jobs: Keep curiosity alive and teach children how to find information. I believe all children are born naturally curious, but we need to find what it is that sparks their interest and then show them how to follow it, so we can encourage more little von Humboldts.

This curious little boy grew up to teach the Western world how to see that everything in nature is connected to everything else and to understand the importance of protecting that unity. As always in this series, at the end there are four photos of him plus a short, detailed biography and a reference to another book to learn more about him.

Now I know why I like these books. They encourage curiosity and they help kids find out more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto’s Frances Lincoln Childrens’ Books for the preview copy from which I have shared a few illustrations.
8 likes

This book is part of the Little People, Big Dreams™ series of biographical picture books and tells the story of Alexander von Humboldt, a naturalist, explorer and one of the first environmentalist. Von Humboldt explored South America for 5 years, recording information as he traveled, and he turned his research and findings into a book that it took him nearly 20 years to write, Kosmos. Hundreds of animals, plants, rivers and mountains were named after him and he is remembered as the first western scientist to recognize the importance and unity of nature around the world.

Sally Agar illustrates this story in a bright, flat graphic style that perfectly accompanies the adventure. Since this is a picture book biography intended for a younger audience the illustrations provide a large part of the experience, and the images in this book definitely enhance the story and will engage the young reader.

This book does a nice job of providing pertinent information about an important historical and scientific figure that many might not have heard of and would be a wonderful book for teachers of younger children to share to encourage natural science and environmental research.

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This is a bright and bold introduction to Alexander von Humboldt for young children. The text is informative and age appropriate and the biographical timeline at the end of the book is a nice addition.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher,and the author for giving me a free digital copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fine entry into the series! The author definitely tried to get across that most of what von Humboldt did had already been done/known by indigenous people, but it still kind of felt like that could have been highlighted more.

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 that’s because they’re books for children, so it’s totally understandable.
I think they are a very smart and wonderful way to introduce little children to such important figures.
This little book tells the story of Alexander Von Humboldt, the famous botanist, and adventurer. In his life, he achieved many goals and discovered lots of species and plants. He was moved by a great love for nature and the earth in general. He surely is a great example to follow!

Another great addition to this series, and one of the first new-to-me people. I appreciated how the story shares the broader context -- not just what he brought to the world, but also how he learned from others and was able to share that with the Western world.

We love this series of books. They are brilliant little reads that set us off on a voyage of discovery.
Alexander led us off on a discovery of nature and how the flora and fauna was all connected.

I think that Alexander von Humboldt is so fascinating. I really don't remember learning about him in school, so I'm glad to find a children's book describing some of his adventures. I think that the challenge is that his adventures are so extensive, it is impossible to capture them in a short childrens book. But I think it is a great little book to expose young minds to this great man, Alexander von Humboldt.

Thank you to NetGalley for exposing me to an author that I've overlooked. Also thank you to NetGalley for providing the opportunity to read Alexander von Humboldt in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara for writing this book and Quarto Publishing Group. Publication date is June 26, 2022.

WoW! All of Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara books must be one of the best little books to purchase for children, these are the best-selling series of books and educational games that explore the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

Alexander von Humboldt:-

As a kid, Alexander wasn’t a great student. He had a naturally curious mind, but he saw the world differently to his teachers and fellow pupils, and just couldn’t quite fit in. But when he began collecting plants as an adult, Alexander realised he’d found his passion.

From then on, he become a great explorer, travelling the world to document all kinds of plants and species. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the scientist.

I highly recommend all of these wonderful books and a must for any child's book shelves.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

We love this series. This book was extremely interesting as we didn’t know who this impressive person was. This is a wonderful book that gives just enough information to keep little ones interested and asking questions. The illustrations are amazing as always.

This picture book biography tells the story of Alexander von Humboldt, a scientist who is known for being a leader in his field and demonstrated an understanding that all elements of nature are co-dependent upon each other. Including all of the necessary biographical information but told as a children's story, this book introduces several important scientific and historical concepts such as cartography, biology and the ways that scientists in the 1700 and 1800s discovered and created meaning about the world around them. I could definitely see this book in my Grade 3 classroom library and would recommend it to parents and teachers of children in the age 6-12 range. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.