Hans Christian Andersen

His parents were poor, but there was a treasure in the house that was treated with care: a fairy tale book from which the father read to little Hans Christian in the evenings. And even if my life cannot be a fairy tale, he must have thought when he began an apprenticeship with a weaver at the age of eleven, at least I want to write fairy tales. Today, the little mermaid – the beautifully sad heroine of one of his 160 fairy tales – is a symbol of Copenhagen, and every year on April 2nd, Andersen's birthday, children around the world celebrate International Children's Book Day. Little People, Big Dreams tells the inspiring life stories of great individuals: each of these personalities, whether philosopher, researcher, or athlete, has achieved the unimaginable. It all began when they were still young: with big dreams.