Non Fiction

How do you inspire children? Especially when it comes to realising that it’s not only adults who can make a difference in the world? That’s exactly what Never Too Young sets out to do and the timing for Little Miss C to read this couldn’t ‘t be better.

Having read Create Your Own Happy LMC seems to have been empowered somewhat by the realisation that she is in charge of her own future. Even at the tender age of 8.

Never Too Young shares the stories of 50 children who have made a difference in the world. With a double page spread devoted to each person, there is full size illustration of them alongside a page describing what they did to make a difference.

One thing I really like about this book is the mix of “children” that have been included. Some are historical figures whose actions are well know – like Anne Frank or Mozart. Others may only just be into adulthood, but are still well know to children of today, like Emma Watson. Some are not household names at all, but all have an inspirational story to tell and it’s been really interesting talking to LMC about how people don’t have to be “famous” in the traditional sense to make a difference to others or the world around them.

The other thing that I really like about this book is that it’s not just looking at one gender. I fully understand other books that do, but it’s also lovely to see a book that just celebrates children rather than just boys or girls. On a practical level, that also means it’s the perfect book to be a gift for either a boy or a girl.

My daughter is Year 4 at school and loves reading and took to this straight away as a book to read on her own. It’s also perfect for sharing with children (either older or younger) and with there being a page per person it’s nice to be able to split it up and read a couple of pages at bedtime or similar. The list at the start of everyone covered, makes it easy to dip in and out of the book if you prefer to do that rather than read it all in order.

Since reading it, Little Miss C has already written proudly about the people she’s read about in Never Too Young in her school reading record, and she’s also spoken at length with me about how good it is to read about “children who do things, rather than just about grown ups”. What more can I say?

Never Too Young! was written by Aileen Weintraub and illustrated by Laura Horton. It was published by Sterling in September 2018 and priced at £11.99 in hardback, but is available for less (£7.82 at the time of writing). ISBN 9781454929178. It is available to buy online here.

Disclaimer: We were sent a copy off Never Too Young! for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own. This post contains affiliate links.