Review by Booklist Review
Though Barretta sometimes strains to point out parallels between Spielberg's films and his life ("Wherever he lived, he felt like an outsider, like an alien from another planet," while at school "bullies circled him like hungry sharks"), this searching account of the great filmmaker's formative years frequently draws from published interviews. Along with mentioning his early amateur productions, it fills in young cineastes on important technical aspects of the art--from staging and editing to watching both popular movies and audience reactions with analytical eyes. The author also looks at his subject's religious and family background, both in his childhood and in his adult years, and closes with selective lists of his films (up to 2018's Ready Player One) divided into age-appropriate sections. The dramatic lighting and vivid colors in Orback's illustrations of the young Spielberg in various settings, usually with a camera, and some of his iconic characters are properly cinematic.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Budding film buffs gain insight into the work of Steven Spielberg (b. 1946) in this play-by-play account spotlighting his school-age cinematic efforts and first amateur feature-length film. Opening with Spielberg's early experience as a moviegoer in the 1950s, the book shines a particular spotlight on the way that experiences from his youth, ranging from anxiety to his parents' divorce, shaped his sensibilities as a director. Through filmmaking, the creators present Spielberg as finding solace from trouble at home, bullying, and antisemitism--themes the title readily identifies in his movies. Italicized quotes from the subject and references to his box-office creations trace a clear path to Hollywood acclaim, while Orback's painterly digital illustrations depict him at work alongside re-creations of relevant film reels. Back matter includes a filmography and references. Ages 5--9. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--6--Life stories that focus on an individual's childhood are particularly appealing to young readers, and the focus of this picture book biography ensures that it will inspire kids who feel familiarity with Spielberg's early experiences. Enchanted by movie magic from an early age, Spielberg was lucky to be born into a creative family. Realistic, painterly illustrations capture the 1950s era when he was growing up in New Jersey, his fertile imagination beginning to take root through drawing, dressing up, playing pranks, and making music. His camera skills developed after a move to Arizona, though he struggled with anxieties, antisemitism, bullies, poor grades, and tension between his parents, who eventually divorced. The story adeptly links the boy's fears and hardships to his most celebrated movies and focusing on the filmmaker's own conviction that even the most fantastical of his stories is based on his own life. The narrative concludes with Spielberg becoming the youngest director at a major studio at the age of 21; a few facts about his later life are also presented as a sequence of images on an old-fashioned filmstrip. The book includes quotation sources, fun facts, and suggestions for age-appropriate viewing of Spielberg's movies. VERDICT Inspiring text and illustrations evoke the journey of an iconic filmmaker. Recommended for all collections.--Gloria Koster
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Scenes from a famous director's childhood. A young boy watches a train wreck on the big screen in 1952, and it inspires a life of "movie magic." Steven Spielberg's story moves from New Jersey to Arizona and then California as he deals with bullies, antisemitism, and his parents' divorce. Through all these hardships, he found solace in storytelling, whether scaring his sisters with creepy stories or using his dad's handheld camera to record original scenes. The director once said that "hardly a single one of my films isn't based on something that happened in my childhood" (one of several quotes from Spielberg incorporated in the text), and many iconic scenes from his movies are situated in the context of his life, like when young Steven let out the science-class frogs before they could be dissected or his father's recounting of stories from World War II. Panoramic, colorful, action-packed spreads show these details and more, giving the book a cinematic feel. This would be challenging to read aloud--it's on the longer end, and the prose uses the more complex writing style common for picture-book biographies. It would be ideal for a slightly older audience who want to sink their teeth into a biography but aren't quite up for a chapter book. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Educational and entertaining. (fun facts, recommended viewing, quote sources) (Picture-book biography. 7-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
