| Product: |
Spectacular Special Effects - Diana Kimpton |
| Date: |
26/01/09 (91 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Really informative
Disadvantages: Is targeted towards children
Spectacular Special Effects is a superbly informative yet incredibly imaginative book of knowledge written by Diana Kimpton. The book gives a great insight into the fabulous world of special-effects at the theatre and on the big screen.
This book is written for children aged between 8 and 14 and is definitely suitable to both boys and girls. I myself am nearly nineteen yet I personally really enjoyed reading this little gem. I found it incredibly informative yet it was written in a style that meant it wasn't like reading a boring school textbook and the subjects covered were both interesting and more importantly relevant to the topic.
The book itself is split into 18 chapters with the first being an introduction and the last an epilogue. The remaining 16 chapters each focus on a different aspect of special effects and cover topics such as animatronics, sound effects, movie models and creating weather as well as a timeline of important dates in the lifetime of special effects. Now each one of these chapters gives an great deal of informative on its specific topic yet it gives it in an extremely fun and entertaining manner using language and ideas that appeal to children.
As well as all this information the book also contains a lot of humour, which keeps both children and adults entertained whilst reading. Some of this humour comes from the written word, which has been very cleverly constructed but a large chunk of it comes from the fantastic carton style pictures that adorn many of the pages. Some of these pictures help illustrate points made in the text but others are there simply for their comic value and the humorous effect that they have. Whatever there purpose they are in my opinion superb and really make the book enjoyable to read.
On top of the artwork the main text is also broken down by the use of boxes to separate and highlight interesting points. Bold font for headings, bullet points and lists also help break up the text and make it more digestible. The comic strips contained within also make the book pleasing on the eye and so keeps children, especially those easily distracted, concentrated on the information the book contains.
To be perfectly honest I cannot find a single fault with this book. From page one to the back cover I found myself rather engrossed in the information presented. The topics are varied and so hold your interest throughout and the style of writing is constantly refreshing and bright. I must say though that I presume that at least a slight interest in the cinematic industry certainly increases the appeal of this book.
All that's left for me to say is that this book contains 160 pages and retails around the £4.99 mark. It is definitely worth the price too because the information inside is bound to capture the imaginations of all the read it.
Summary: A great informative read for children and adults
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