What do you think?
The Little Guys
We are the Little Guys.
Yes, we are small. But there are a lot of us.
Together we are strong, and we can get all we need.
The Little Guys might be small, but they aim to be mighty.
As they head off to find breakfast, they can conquer anything through teamwork―cross deep waters, dig through obstacles, and climb the tallest trees. Nothing can stop them!
But as they begin to amass more than they need, the creatures in the forest ponder―what happens when no one can stop the Little Guys?
Yes, we are small. But there are a lot of us.
Together we are strong, and we can get all we need.
The Little Guys might be small, but they aim to be mighty.
As they head off to find breakfast, they can conquer anything through teamwork―cross deep waters, dig through obstacles, and climb the tallest trees. Nothing can stop them!
But as they begin to amass more than they need, the creatures in the forest ponder―what happens when no one can stop the Little Guys?
40 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2019
About the author
Vera Brosgol
24 books1,376 followersVera Brosgol was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984 and moved to the United States when she was five. She received a diploma in Classical Animation from Sheridan College, and currently works at Laika Inc. in Portland, Oregon drawing storyboards for feature animation.
She has done illustration work for clients such as Nickelodeon, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Simon & Schuster. Her first graphic novel, Anya's Ghost, was published in 2011 by First Second Books.
She loves knitting, baking, and trying not to kill her plants. She hopes you are enjoying looking at her drawings!
She has done illustration work for clients such as Nickelodeon, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Simon & Schuster. Her first graphic novel, Anya's Ghost, was published in 2011 by First Second Books.
She loves knitting, baking, and trying not to kill her plants. She hopes you are enjoying looking at her drawings!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews
September 15, 2019
You are looking at the strongest guys in the whole forest.
Down here.
On this island.
So begins THE LITTLE GUYS, a kind of surprising tale from Vera Brosgol. At first, I thought it was empowering.
We are the Little Guys.
Yes, we are small. But there are a lot of us.
Together we are strong, and we can get all we need.
We can cross deep water where you can't see the bottom.
Off to find breakfast for the Little Guys.
We never get lost in the big, dark forest.
Nothing to fear for the Little Guys.
Things were going along swimmingly. "How great," I thought to myself. "These little guys are little, but they know they have power in numbers. They can get food, all stick together, help each other."
Then the book slowly starts taking some dark turns, as we see the Little Guys stealing food from other forest animals and even beating some forest animals up!
"None for you!
All for us!
Hand it over to the Little Guys!
But when they try to steal the last piece of food from a little bird, all their booty topples over, and falls into the river, along with the Little Guys.
The very animals they bulled and stole from fish them out of the river.
Then they learn to share and help others. I guess.
TL; DR It's good to realize that even though you and your friends consider yourselves the underdogs, you still have to watch yourself, because you can become a bully or a thief and feel 'justified' about what you are doing because you are 'small' or 'oppressed.' But if you are hurting other people, that is bad and not justified.
Sort of a strange kids' book.
Down here.
On this island.
So begins THE LITTLE GUYS, a kind of surprising tale from Vera Brosgol. At first, I thought it was empowering.
We are the Little Guys.
Yes, we are small. But there are a lot of us.
Together we are strong, and we can get all we need.
We can cross deep water where you can't see the bottom.
Off to find breakfast for the Little Guys.
We never get lost in the big, dark forest.
Nothing to fear for the Little Guys.
Things were going along swimmingly. "How great," I thought to myself. "These little guys are little, but they know they have power in numbers. They can get food, all stick together, help each other."
Then the book slowly starts taking some dark turns, as we see the Little Guys stealing food from other forest animals and even beating some forest animals up!
"None for you!
All for us!
Hand it over to the Little Guys!
But when they try to steal the last piece of food from a little bird, all their booty topples over, and falls into the river, along with the Little Guys.
The very animals they bulled and stole from fish them out of the river.
Then they learn to share and help others. I guess.
TL; DR It's good to realize that even though you and your friends consider yourselves the underdogs, you still have to watch yourself, because you can become a bully or a thief and feel 'justified' about what you are doing because you are 'small' or 'oppressed.' But if you are hurting other people, that is bad and not justified.
Sort of a strange kids' book.
August 1, 2019
The little guys are kind of pushy and a little mean. They basically steal all the food in the forest from the animals and hoard it for themselves until they learn a little lesson. They are very tiny, but stick together which makes them very mighty. They become bully’s.
I don’t know if I like the story or not. It’s great to see what one can accomplish as a group, but they are mean in that group as well. This is a beginning story and I’m not sure it gets the point across at the end enough to show this behavior isn’t the best.
The nephew did laugh at this book some. He thought these guys with acorn hats were funny looking. He gave this story 4 stars. The niece thought this story was stupid. She did laugh at some of the antics of these little bottlecap things, but she gave this 1 star.
I don’t know if I like the story or not. It’s great to see what one can accomplish as a group, but they are mean in that group as well. This is a beginning story and I’m not sure it gets the point across at the end enough to show this behavior isn’t the best.
The nephew did laugh at this book some. He thought these guys with acorn hats were funny looking. He gave this story 4 stars. The niece thought this story was stupid. She did laugh at some of the antics of these little bottlecap things, but she gave this 1 star.
June 30, 2019
These little guys are greedy bullies, and the story never addresses this fact. Even my 6-year old knew something was very wrong with this whole thing.
Beautiful illustrations, as always, from Vera Brosgol.
Beautiful illustrations, as always, from Vera Brosgol.
April 2, 2019
Author/artist Vera Brosgol, who was awarded a Caldecott Honor for her picture-book,
Leave Me Alone!
, returns to the form in this new title. The eponymous Little Guys in this cautionary tale relate how they meet the challenges of life in the forest, working together to do big things, from lifting massive objects out of their way to finding enough food to feed themselves. But when they become greedy, and want everything they see, they find themselves taking a fall. With the help of the other forest animals, animals they've been less than considerate of, they climb up again, and this time use their teamwork to help everyone...
The Little Guys is a cute book, pairing a simple text - no more than a sentence per page - with appealing and expressive artwork, and communicating a worthy message about greed and generosity. I don't know that it impressed me as much as Leave Me Alone! , which I found quite humorous, in a surreal way. Somehow this one felt a little too on the nose for me, when it came to communicating its central message. I was distracted, moreover, by the fact that I kept wondering what the "little guys" were - mushrooms? acorns? little gnome people? - while reading, and it detracted from my enjoyment of the story. Tastes vary, of course, and some might find that ambiguity entertaining. Recommended to Vera Brosgol fans, and to anyone looking for new picture-books about teamwork, community, and being generous.
The Little Guys is a cute book, pairing a simple text - no more than a sentence per page - with appealing and expressive artwork, and communicating a worthy message about greed and generosity. I don't know that it impressed me as much as Leave Me Alone! , which I found quite humorous, in a surreal way. Somehow this one felt a little too on the nose for me, when it came to communicating its central message. I was distracted, moreover, by the fact that I kept wondering what the "little guys" were - mushrooms? acorns? little gnome people? - while reading, and it detracted from my enjoyment of the story. Tastes vary, of course, and some might find that ambiguity entertaining. Recommended to Vera Brosgol fans, and to anyone looking for new picture-books about teamwork, community, and being generous.
June 17, 2019
Sorry, but I don't get it. The Little Guys are a bunch of greedy parasites who destroy the homes of the rest of the woodland creatures in their attempt to amass everything. When they go too far, the rest of the creatures help them. It makes no sense. It would be like someone treating their termites as pets and feeding them their prized rocking chair. When a bunch of tiny, unstoppable creatures threatens your own existence, you don't stop to help them; you call a freaking exterminator.
I don't even know what these Little Guys are supposed to be, anyway. The have the strength and cooperation of ants, but they look like acorns. It's just weird.
The story is so weak that I almost wonder if Brosgol was just doodling, came up with a cute acorn character, and then decided to write a whole book around the sketch. Unfortunately, there's not much here. What could've been a good story about greed and redemption ended up being a glorification of a nuisance. Just because something is small doesn't mean it's desirable. Ask anyone who's been the victim of a virus.
I don't even know what these Little Guys are supposed to be, anyway. The have the strength and cooperation of ants, but they look like acorns. It's just weird.
The story is so weak that I almost wonder if Brosgol was just doodling, came up with a cute acorn character, and then decided to write a whole book around the sketch. Unfortunately, there's not much here. What could've been a good story about greed and redemption ended up being a glorification of a nuisance. Just because something is small doesn't mean it's desirable. Ask anyone who's been the victim of a virus.
November 16, 2019
Fantastic book that looks at the dark side of team work - for children - but much managerial wisdom here for corporations.
October 12, 2019
The sweetest book, with a twist in the theme. Yes, cooperation can get you anything, and you are stronger together...but taking and winning isn’t everything. Love the nuanced message.
May 23, 2019
Brosgol's newest picture book is about a horde of tiny little sentient acorns who take everything they can in the forest, even if it means beating up bears to do it. The greedy little bastards demonstrate the dangers of mob mentality. When they try to take too much, they lose it all and realize the error of their ways. The animals they stole from end up helping them.
The Little Guys' mindset makes a 180 so fast I didn't understand why or how they changed their minuscule minds, making the happy and harmonious conclusion feel unearned. However the artwork is charming, especially the first page that shows us the microscope scale of these little guys.
The Little Guys' mindset makes a 180 so fast I didn't understand why or how they changed their minuscule minds, making the happy and harmonious conclusion feel unearned. However the artwork is charming, especially the first page that shows us the microscope scale of these little guys.
September 3, 2024
Labor Day picture book read-aloud marathon with my wife! (Book 3 of 7)
The story starts strong with the little guys of the title working together to gather food, displaying their cooperation, but then the story takes a dark and surprising turn into bullying and robbery that the happy ending just cannot offset for me.
The story starts strong with the little guys of the title working together to gather food, displaying their cooperation, but then the story takes a dark and surprising turn into bullying and robbery that the happy ending just cannot offset for me.
April 21, 2019
Um. Not sure what I just read. Not what I expected... AT. ALL. Loved the illustrations but it appeared that these acorns were bullies and thieves. Two stars because of the artwork.
April 16, 2019
Now that was interesting! I wasn't expecting it to go the direction it did. It starts off with a "we're little, but together we are strong" motif, which is fairly standard. But then it gets suddenly intense with the little guys using their unified strength to harass the animals of the forest and take most of resources. This is NOT something you typically see in picture books. Of course, their greed leads to their downfall and they learn a valuable lesson about not abusing their power. I feel like this is an analogy for something, political or sociological, but I can't figure it out. Brosgol was born in Russia and moved to the US, both large countries that have a tendency to take more than their fair share. So, I suppose there is strength in *those* numbers, but then what to the other animals of the forest represent? Other countries? Who knows, I maybe reading too much into it. Maybe there's an interview somewhere that will shed some light... Anyway, it's different and refreshing. It's not often that a picture book will make me stop and think like this.
April 15, 2019
Odd little over-achieving forest creatures are basically bullies. Until their food pile and them end up everywhere and need rescuing. Yeah, whatever. Color me disappointed, I expected better. Writing was repetitive, art was okay.
April 16, 2019
In this humorous story the little guys show their strength in numbers, but absolute power corrupts absolutely. Yes, their behavior is bad, but I like a picture book that generates discussion so I think there's something good here.
April 22, 2019
Simple words, where the pictures tell a lot of the story with some fairly complex ideas, make this appropriate for early readers. Ideas of fairness, and helping others, and greed should gnerate lots of discussion opportunities for preschoolers and their adult readers.
April 20, 2019
Great illustrations.
May 7, 2019
I love this book for the mentor text possibilities. Add this to your collection for talking about good and bad character traits, perspective of characters, and talking about the message of a story.
May 12, 2019
100 hearts for this entertaining parable! And for Vera’s gorgeous saturated watercolors and adorable creatures.
November 13, 2019
Looking for a new book about sharing? This story about what happens to the by the talented Vers Brosgol will fit the bill.
August 1, 2020
Preschool children will more than likely find this funny, but I personally found it rather underwhelming. The Little Guys are selfish takers until the end. I enjoyed the illustrations.
June 8, 2019
The Little Guys are very small but when they work together they can do almost anything! Using leaves to float, they cross deep water. In the big forest, they hold hands to stay together and keep from being afraid. They find berries and form a stack to reach them. But as they continue their search for more and more food, they start using their combined strength in a way that upsets the rest of the forest. Chipmunks go flying, owls get forced out of their nests, and they even beat up a bear! Soon they have all of the food in the forest! But have they gone too far?
Brosgol follows her incredible Leave Me Alone! with this clever look at the impact of collective action and what happens when even the smallest of us upset the balance of nature and society. The text is simple and straightforward, told in the voice of the Little Guys as they head out scavenging. They are full of confidence as they make the trek to find food and it’s a stirring picture of the power of community until it goes awry in such a spectacular way.
Brosgol’s Little Guys are ever so adorable with their acorn caps and stick-thin limbs. Their orange bulbous noses also add to their appeal. With almost no facial expressions, it is impressive how she gives them emotions with body language. The dwarfing of their size in the forest and beside the other animals is also effectively portrayed.
A delight of a picture book that is an unusual look at sharing with your community. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Brosgol follows her incredible Leave Me Alone! with this clever look at the impact of collective action and what happens when even the smallest of us upset the balance of nature and society. The text is simple and straightforward, told in the voice of the Little Guys as they head out scavenging. They are full of confidence as they make the trek to find food and it’s a stirring picture of the power of community until it goes awry in such a spectacular way.
Brosgol’s Little Guys are ever so adorable with their acorn caps and stick-thin limbs. Their orange bulbous noses also add to their appeal. With almost no facial expressions, it is impressive how she gives them emotions with body language. The dwarfing of their size in the forest and beside the other animals is also effectively portrayed.
A delight of a picture book that is an unusual look at sharing with your community. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
June 5, 2019
I'm not sure how I feel about this picture book. I get the idea of it, I think, that there is strength in numbers but also danger in group think and too much power. But I didn't quite get what would change in these little guys to make them reach out to the other forest creatures and behave generously at the end. Maybe children will relate to the book with its illustrations, created with dip pen, acrylic ink, and watercolor with some Adobe Photoshop assistance, better than I did. The little guys seem to be acorn-like critters, but they are able to move around. Once they move from their island, they seem to take over the environment, displacing many animals and greedily foraging for food. But their greed leads to a mishap, and they change their ways. This one would be interesting to discuss with youngsters, though, for their take on it. I felt sorry for that red bird with her blueberry in her beak.
February 18, 2019
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This picture book was so adorable! It’s illustrations are simple but cute, I’m not 100% sure what “The Little Guys” represented, to me they looked like tiny mushrooms with big noses which I feel was the purpose but unsure. I still loved how they were drawn though.
Everything else was drawn spot on with a little cartoonish vibe.
The store was cute but also had something to teach. If anyone is looking for a new cute picture book I would definitely recommend this when it comes out in April.
It is a picture book geared towards younger kids but honestly I’m an adult and absolutely loved it! So cute, so well drawn and especially for an ARC. For those unaware usually ARCs are Black and White or not the final picture or both but this seemed to be the final picture and in color.
I’m very excited for this book to come out!
This picture book was so adorable! It’s illustrations are simple but cute, I’m not 100% sure what “The Little Guys” represented, to me they looked like tiny mushrooms with big noses which I feel was the purpose but unsure. I still loved how they were drawn though.
Everything else was drawn spot on with a little cartoonish vibe.
The store was cute but also had something to teach. If anyone is looking for a new cute picture book I would definitely recommend this when it comes out in April.
It is a picture book geared towards younger kids but honestly I’m an adult and absolutely loved it! So cute, so well drawn and especially for an ARC. For those unaware usually ARCs are Black and White or not the final picture or both but this seemed to be the final picture and in color.
I’m very excited for this book to come out!
May 21, 2019
Perhaps I'm biased for having read Vera Brosgol's "Be Prepared" graphic novel, but for an illustrated kids book it's freakin' adorable. The Little Guys have big ambitions--too much in fact. I won't ruin the ending, sufficed to say there's a great message to kids about consuming, sharing and community.
The art is evocative of that from the Hilda animated series, full of round characters and backgrounds, rarely if ever a sharp end point. The colors are lush and watercolored (digital? hand? actually hard to tell this time) compared to the limited (but brilliantly executed) color palette of Be Prepared, and conveys animation well simply by lining up a dozen plus of the little acorn-topped fellows in a row for a bucket brigade of berry-picking or digging underground.
An adorable entry in her library, and a delight for the eyes (and funny bone).
The art is evocative of that from the Hilda animated series, full of round characters and backgrounds, rarely if ever a sharp end point. The colors are lush and watercolored (digital? hand? actually hard to tell this time) compared to the limited (but brilliantly executed) color palette of Be Prepared, and conveys animation well simply by lining up a dozen plus of the little acorn-topped fellows in a row for a bucket brigade of berry-picking or digging underground.
An adorable entry in her library, and a delight for the eyes (and funny bone).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2019
I'm not 100% sure the message in this is exactly what we should take from it? It is a nicely illustrated work. "The Little Guys" show how working together to accomplish much with being so little is important. However, what comes across slightly is that "The Little Guys" seem to be greedy and want too much, until they suffer a fall. They get back up again...however, the message here seems a little too much about the world as it is and not as much as what we would like our youngest to become. Maybe I'm reading too much into it...but this one doesn't sit well with me.
April 2, 2019
People are going to LOVE this book. It is about being greedy and learning how to be happy with what you have, but also how to be kind and share. The story has been done before, there are no surprises. However, the art was fun to look at and follow the story with.
June 4, 2019
Ouch, I normally love Vera Brosgol's books but this was a dud for me. I was confused as to who "the little guys" were supposed to be, and the theme (greed backfires, it's better to share) has been done hundred times over to better effect. Cute pictures on nice, matte paper, though..
April 29, 2019
Kids enjoyed this story, about a group of little guys who work together to get everything... and become a bit too greedy. The artwork is fun - the little guys almost look like acorns.
August 8, 2019
I found the allegory here puzzling, possibly because the common cultural assumption is that the "little guy" is usually the good guy. The illustrations are charming and humorous, though.
June 28, 2024
Hilarious to see far too many adults missing the whole point of this book. Are the little guys mean bullies? Yes. Duh. Is the book an endorsement of such? No. Duh.
It’s a lesson in how you shouldn’t be a mean bully because being a community of bullies who steamroll everyone else ruins everything and then you have to learn lessons about how taking everything for you and yours isn’t cool, and how sharing, cooperation, and help are important.
It’s basically a variation on the lessons found in, among others, Leo Lionni’s It’s Mine! and Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle. Now delivered in Vera Brosgol’s distinct style and voice, and in her usual way of not needing to laboriously broadcast the point with a bullhorn. Instead, she expects both adults and kids to be able to figure it out themselves.
Anyway, Rowan and I have a great time with this one. Because it’s funny and fun, and we learn some stuff about not being selfish mobs—even when the mob is comprised of funny weird little guys, who, at first, seem charming and harmless, but, it turns out, aren’t as nice or charming as we initially thought. We learn to pay attention and distinguish between forms and functions—our first impressions and tendency to like cute things vs how those things actually behave and the consequences that follow. That’s good stuff. We’re talking, asking questions, parsing out the story, and coming to some conclusions together. It’s not a book to just pass the time; it’s not telling us what and how to think; it’s presenting a story that elicits conversation between the readers—in our case, between parent and child. What more could one want?
It’s a lesson in how you shouldn’t be a mean bully because being a community of bullies who steamroll everyone else ruins everything and then you have to learn lessons about how taking everything for you and yours isn’t cool, and how sharing, cooperation, and help are important.
It’s basically a variation on the lessons found in, among others, Leo Lionni’s It’s Mine! and Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle. Now delivered in Vera Brosgol’s distinct style and voice, and in her usual way of not needing to laboriously broadcast the point with a bullhorn. Instead, she expects both adults and kids to be able to figure it out themselves.
Anyway, Rowan and I have a great time with this one. Because it’s funny and fun, and we learn some stuff about not being selfish mobs—even when the mob is comprised of funny weird little guys, who, at first, seem charming and harmless, but, it turns out, aren’t as nice or charming as we initially thought. We learn to pay attention and distinguish between forms and functions—our first impressions and tendency to like cute things vs how those things actually behave and the consequences that follow. That’s good stuff. We’re talking, asking questions, parsing out the story, and coming to some conclusions together. It’s not a book to just pass the time; it’s not telling us what and how to think; it’s presenting a story that elicits conversation between the readers—in our case, between parent and child. What more could one want?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews