If you don’t already, go straight to Twitter and Instagram and follow Kendra Brown, especially if you are a parent to young children. She keeps things so, so real and creates really inspiring content. When I found out that OwlKids Books was publishing her first picture book it was a definite must read! 

Small But Mighty illustrated by Catarina Oliveira is a non fiction picture book all about tiny creatures. Many of these creatures are ones that may not make it to the top of your child’s favourites list and that’s why this book is spectacular! It shines a light on different species that have a huge impact on our planet. The Bear is a big non-fiction fan and although he is ten and I feel like pretty much knows everything about animas, he found all kinds of facts and information in this book that was new to him. 

I love that this book is not just about insects, there are definitely some covered inside but there are lots of other tiny creatures too like birds, ocean dwellers, mammals and amphibians too so a great cross section of different species to learn about. Kendra give readers so much valuable information about each creature featured and clearly explains why they are so important to the earth and why we should make sure to protect these little guys. Something new in her book that I have not seen a lot of in other non-fiction picture books is in the top right hand corner of each page she tells readers how big the animals are by comparing their size to a common object. Readers get an opportunity to understand the scale of each animal by referencing something they see everyday, so awesome!

Catarina Oliveira’s illustrations are incredible. I love how she has chosen to illustrate the creatures lifelike as well as fun and cartoony. It adds to the fun of the book but also provides readers with accurate visuals of the animals should they ever encounter them in the wild. She has used vibrant colours and visually appealing keeping readers flipping through the pages to learn more and more.

A fabulous debut from a fabulous person! Cannot wait to read more of her sure to come books and holding out hope for a Kendra Brown dinosaur book 🤞🏻