The power of sibling love and the imagination shines like a beacon of light through out the story.

While being a short picture book, the author manages to bring quite a bit of depth and life to the Bronte siblings. The sad family history is mentioned and sets a solemn atmosphere before launching into the more playful moments of the siblings. Each one is presented as their love for tales, the creation of their little books, as well as the special meaning of the toy soldiers settles in. They come across as average kids which makes them easy for listeners to identify with and connect to. Still, there special love for tales comes through and inspires. It introduces readers to the history without overloading and makes it 'touchable' instead of something far and distant.

The text is a little longer, so not for the youngest listeners. It does make a nice read-aloud. The ending was a bit more hazed, which I assume was an attempt to nod toward their adult lives without leaving the atmosphere of the childhood. Still, it works well to introduce young listeners to the Brontes and also is great for classroom or group settings.

As an extra bonus, there are instructions at the end of the book, which explain and show how readers/listeners can create their own tiny reads. This as well as the beautiful illustrations throughout the tale make in an inviting book to dive into and enjoy. ( )

I learned a lot about the Brontes by reading this book. The pictures made it very enjoyable and enhanced the text with their bright colors. I especially enjoyed learning about the "little books" the Brontes created. This picture book also contains information at the end about how to make a little book of one's own, as well as a timeline for the lives of the Brontes. This is a great book for parents and children to read together.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Purely delightful to read! A brilliant way to introduce children to the Brontes and a love of books!

An alternate history of a famous literary family. This well-researched picture book features the little Brontes, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Bramwell, enjoying childhood games and creating their imaginative little books. Beautifully illustrated and dream-like, there are hidden gems in the background of every illustration and throughout the writing, on each page, you feel drawn into their childhood fun as if you were a part of their family. Featured at the end of the story is a timeline of the Bronte's lives and a step-by-step guide for making your own little books. ( )

In the afterword to her picture book that focuses on the literary creativity of the four Brontë siblings, author Sara O’Leary opines: “It has become commonplace to think of the lives of the Brontë children as having been sad and mournful but I think they were quite lively, happy children.” This view, even if I’m not sure I agree with it, colours O’Leary’s story about how Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne came to write little books, inspired by their father’s gift of wooden toy soldiers to nine-year-old Branwell. Each of the siblings took and named a soldier, and they created a series of adventures for them, recorded in minuscule print on tiny papers (suitable for the toy soldiers they were made for), which were then hand-sewn together. This creative enterprise began in 1826, a year after their sisters Maria and Elizabeth had died of tuberculosis and five years after the death of their mother from cancer.

O’Leary manages to communicate a remarkable amount about the young Brontës in very few pages—their love of both their pets and the Yorkshire moors, their reticence when visitors arrived at the Parsonage in Haworth, Yorkshire, and their being a world unto themselves. Briony May Smith’s delicate, muted-colour illustrations provide an attractive accompaniment to the text, though I found her depiction of the children a bit too cute and cartoonish for my taste.

The author includes instructions for young readers to make their own books. I’m not sure how useful or necessary these are. Making little books is fairly common practice in early primary classrooms, and most young readers would already know what to do. The story is followed by an author’s note, a timeline of key events in the Brontës’ lives, and a bibliography.

This is a nice enough book. For adult readers familiar with the Brontës, there is of course nothing new here. I see the book as having rather limited appeal to children. ( )