"Little People Big Dreams: Mary Shelley" by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Yelena Bryksenkova (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)

The fantastic "Little People, Big Dreams" range from Frances Lincoln Children's Books is a real blog favourite but when we heard about this particular title, we just could not wait to get our hands on it.

"Little People Big Dreams: Mary Shelley" by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Yelena Bryksenkova is probably our favourite of the range yet, and it's perfectly timed for arrival just as we're preparing for Halloween.

After all, what better way to indulge our darker gothic and spooky side by learning about the woman who pretty much started it all.

Mary Shelley's early life was tinged with tragedy, losing her amazing mother at 11 days old, and finding little solace in her new step-family - but eventually becoming very close to her stepsister.

Mary's imagination was incredible, and she loved to hear stories told by her father's many creative friends - including Percy Bysshe Shelley, who she later married.

But without a doubt her fame comes from her most divine creation, "Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus" - a book that lit a fire under me as a youngster, and a book that Mary dreamed up while on a retreat with her husband, her stepsister and their influential circle of friends.

An early life tinged with tragedy that would lead Mary to write a masterwork of horror, love, life and death

When first published, her identity as the author was hidden for many years before it was revealed. Now, rightly, she is recognised as one of the most influential and inspirational writers ever.

If it's even possible to have a historical crush on someone, I've got one for Mary Shelley. 

This book is brilliant, summarising Mary's life brilliantly, with suitably dark and gothic illustrations to underpin Mary's story, and a ton of brilliant facts about "Frankenstein" and the many iterations of the story that have appeared in books, movies and TV.

It's made me want to read the book all over again (as I have done many, many times). Truly brilliant stuff from Maria and Yelena.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A truly fabulous summary of the life of Mary Shelley, one of the most important writers ever to take up a pen and the perfect book for a bit of halloween reading!

"Little People Big Dreams: Mary Shelley" by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Yelena Bryksenkova is out now, published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).