Mikaela Shiffrin

Discover the inspiring story of Mikaela Shiffrin, a record-breaking alpine skier who battled tough times to become the very best.

Mikaela grew up under a snowy mountain in Colorado. Her family members were all big fans of skiing, and by the age of two, she was already gliding all by herself, determined to beat her brother! This was to be a theme throughout Mikaela’s career--as a junior skier, inspired by skier Heidi Voelker’s message, she added the acronym ABFTTB to her helmet: ＂Always Be Faster Than The Boys＂!

Mikaela truly fell in love with skiing when, at the age of just six, she started training for slalom. She went to the Burke Mountain Academy, a top ski school, and at sixteen won her first World Cup trophy. Between 2013 and 2018, Mikaela broke many records and won two Olympic Golds--one at the Winter Olympics in Russia in 2014 and one at the Winter Olympics in South Korea in 2018.

The Shiffrin family was very close--Mikaela’s mom was her coach, best friend, and travel buddy, while her dad helped with her training and provided great emotional support. At the height of Mikaela’s success and fame, her dad died following a tragic accident. Mikaela was devastated and considered giving up skiing. She persevered, however, and despite a tough Olympics in 2022, she went on to win her 100th World Cup race in 2025 at the age of 29.

Considered the greatest skier of all time, Mikaela’s story is a thrilling ride of perseverance, discipline, and the pursuit of excellence. Today, she works to help inspire the next generation of skiers, not only encouraging them to succeed and win, but to have fun and enjoy the ride.

This inspiring and exhilarating book features stunning illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with photos and a detailed profile of Mikaela’s life.

Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats: board books with simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers; hardcover versions with expanded stories for beginning readers; treasuries that bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume, with rewritten text for older children; boxed gift sets by theme; plus activity books and a journal.

Select praise for the New York Times Bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series:

＂...cute and quirky...＂--USA Today, in praise of Dolly Parton
＂...address[es] not only setbacks but also their strength to persevere and reach their goals.＂--Buzzfeed, in praise of RuPaul
＂...[an] extraordinary series...＂--TheEverymom, in praise of Mindy Kaling
＂...a fabulous way to teach little ones about the extraordinary lives of influential people...＂--Town & Country, in praise of Vincent Van Gogh
＂...handled in an age appropriate way...＂--Parents.com, in praise of Amanda Gorman
＂...particularly great for this age...＂--NY Magazine, in praise of Prince
＂...encourages kids to dream big to ’achieve incredible things.’＂--Rolling Stone, in praise of Kamala Harris

Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, born in Barcelona, Spain, is a writer and creative director in constant search of new concepts for children’s books. In 2014, she created a book for her two twin nieces for their birthday, which shortly thereafter became the first book in the Little People, BIG DREAMS series. This multimillion-copy bestselling series of picture books explores the lives of outstanding people. From Mahatma Gandhi to Aretha Franklin, to Prince, Sánchez Vegara researches complex careers and makes them accessible to young children, with her unique and mindful style of writing. She works with a diverse team of illustrators to make each book lively, eye-catching and motivating. Working for more than fifteen years for clients in top advertising agencies, her books combine creativity with learning, aiming to establish a new and fresh relationship between children and pop culture. ​