Steven Spielberg: Little People, BIG DREAMS

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Director, writer, editor, producer . . . Steven Spielberg is the person behind some of the most celebrated films ever made. Little People, BIG DREAMS Steven Spielberg is an empowering testament to believing in yourself and following your childhood dream.

Little Steven was six when he first went to the cinema. Although he didn't understand the story, he was captivated by the beauty of the moving pictures on screen. Soon after, he picked up his Dad's film camera and began experimenting. By his teens he was making short films—carefully crafting every part of the process, from writing the scripts to directing the shots.

Filmmaking was a refuge for Steven, who faced bullying and anti-semitism at school. show more With his camera, editing machine and notebook he could create a world he felt safe in. As he grew, he found somewhere else he felt at home: Universal Studios. He first visited the company's lot during a studio tour, and was later hired after impressing executives with a short films. Within a few years, Steven went from making TV movies to cinematic blockbusters. Audiences fell in love with his heartwarming adventures, like ET and Jurassic Park, and were deeply moved by his film about the Holocaust, Schindler's List.

After a lifetime of accolades and awards, Steven remains happiest behind a camera--telling stories that encourage us to open our hearts and minds.

Little People, BIG DREAMS: Steven Spielberg features quirky and stylish illustrations; a biographical timeline, complete with historical photos and a detailed profile; recommendations for further reading.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Many of y'all literally grew up watching "old" films of Spielberg's, like Jaws, on your TVs after picking them up at Blockbuster...I saw it on the big screen, first run. I have still never gone back into the ocean. And I won't.

This is the power of the images Spielberg's created. A lifetime later, I still marvel at how his imagination has formed mine, and the generations after me; I'm sure all y'all have a Spielberg-film memory. So when I saw these:





...I was barely whelmed, not a bit overwhelmed, verging on underwhelmed, by their (to me) low charisma choices of subject. The execution is fine, as expected, but it never gets deeper than red-carpet photos do.

I'm criticizing this because the artist is making these to show a master of visual storytelling's life...this does not feel like the best possible execution of that brief.

It's nice art, the story's the story, and for your young auteur-to-be, it will make a lovely gift bundled with ET or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I myownself get wistful dreaming of more.... show less