Marilyn Monroe (Volume 67) (Little People, BIG DREAMS, 67)

My son has at least 20 of these Little People, Big Dreams books. And we love them all. They are very interesting and he learns about all different kinds of people (artists, writers, architects, sports stars, activists, politicians, musicians, fashion designers, etc.) Some are super famous (Gandhi). Some are not super famous (Zaha Hadid--well, at least I never heard of her before reading the book.) They are diverse in abled-ness, ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, etc. All the books are very informative nd I feel really teach my son a lot about so many different people currently and in the past.They all follow the same structure--telling the story of a renowned person from the point of view of the person as a child. In this story, the authors talk about the life of Marilyn Monroe. How as a little girl she ended up orphaned and in several foster families and really all she wanted was to be loved. A lot of focus on what a kid person she was. Of course, it talks about how she got into acting and her success in that. It was interesting because it really didn’t talk about the things Monroe was most known for—high profile relationships, drug and alcohol issues and her overdose. It really focuses on her as a person and her desire to be loved, stemming from her abandonment as a child. On one hand, it’s nice to read a positive book about her because generally I think she is focused on as a tragic figure (or sex symbol.) On the other hand, it seems weird to leave that out. Those are important details and we have other books that at least touch on drug overdoses (The Jean Michel Basquiat book, for example.)Overall, though, it’s great. My son asked all sorts of questions and Marilyn Monroes movies and work after reading this, The illustrations are colorful and engaging. My son is always excited to see we've gotten another Little People, Big Dreams book. I definitely recommend this book (and all the Little People, Big Dreams books.)

Marilyn Monroe is such an American icon, and this illustrated storybook does a fabulous job of introducing her to a younger generation! It highlights the early years of her life (when she was still known as Norma Jeane), and young readers will see her chronologically progress through orphanages, foster homes, a teen wedding, some assembly-line factory work, a few modeling gigs, and even some star-building acting classes.As it turns out, life wasn’t always easy for this little girl from Los Angeles, yet even with a failed marriage and some scandalously risqué calendar photos that were leaked, nothing held her back from ultimately pursuing her Tinseltown dreams!Throughout her career, she promoted equality throughout the cinema industry, and she often gave back to the armed services by performing for military members around the world. The end of the book features a timeline of her life with personal, black-and-white photographs, so children are also given a glimpse of who she actually was as a person — in addition to the informative text and illustrations.I’ve enjoyed many books in the (Little People, BIG DREAMS) series so far, and I look forward to reading several more of the inspirational character stories that have been featured! The books are always concise, engaging, and visually appealing, and I learn something new with every read. The pages depict a multicultural mix of races, genders, and age groups, so I would definitely recommend this story to others.

I've found that a lot of students in my 6th grade classroom don't have a lot of experience reading and working with biographies. Because of this, I have been including books in my classroom library that are for a younger age group, but include the basics of someone's life. This really fits the bill. It's written clearly with just the facts. It gives some story to keep your interest as you read through the main aspects of the person's life.All of the Little People, Big Dreams books are laid out in chronological order. They are filled with more illustrations than writing. They also try to include famous quotes that the person has said within the writing. Sometimes these require a bit more research to completely understand, but that has worked in my benefit because my students then have to go find out more.Overall, this is a page turner that my middle school students can get through in about 15 minutes of silent reading. Because of that, it is popular to have out on the desks when we have independent reading or extra time. It's just long enough to fill that period of time and feel like you have learned something new about the person.

I have been so pleased with this series of books. They take not only celebrities but incredible people in history and show you their lives and something easily digestible by a child. My early elementary kids just love days and now they can read them to me!This particular book is based on Marilyn Monroe's life and his handled gracefully. I'm just like all the books, it gives you a brief and child friendly description of the events in their life from when they were born until when they die. I especially love the fact that they do lots of books on women as my two girls are most interested in seeing themselves and some of these books. Inspiring and fantastic!

Many people, especially teenagers and under, do not know who Marilyn Monroe was. And, many, who did not grow up seeing her name in the newspapers and magazines every day, had no idea how difficult it was for her to reach the celebrity status that she eventually attained.This is another great book in this series, detailing the hard times that Marilyn (or Norma Jean) went through in early life and it is inspiring to see how she pursued her career and succeeded. Fortunately, this book does not mention the sad ending of her life but leaves the child on a positive note with Marilyn going from being homeless to having a home in everybody's life.Interesting artwork and easy flowing sentences will leave a child with admiration and wanting to be like Marilyn.

Beautiful collection book. I will save it for my granddaughter one day.