Books of Wonder

Action!: How Movies Began

Action!: How Movies Began - Main image
$14.24 $18.99 In stock

Category: Picture Books

In this “stunning” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) picture book, award-winning nonfiction creator Meghan McCarthy tells the story of how motion pictures came to be invented and the story of the many people who helped create them.

Movies take us on adventures, introduce us to new worlds, and make us feel, but how did they start?

In her trademark easy-to-follow narrative voice, this fact-filled picture book tells the story of the evolution of movies and the people who worked hard to create them—both on-screen and behind the scenes. In fascinating detail, she shows how early photography capturing motion became silent films, which led to the first color films and how those building blocks allowed for the inspiring movies of today.

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Customer Reviews (4.8 / 5 · 5 reviews)

Aurora K. ★★★★★

I was surprised how much detail about inventors and early film technology was packed into a picture book format. The illustrations really bring the history of motion pictures to life for young readers.

Christopher T. ★★★★★

My kid kept asking "how did they do that?" on every page—the fold-out timeline of early movie tricks is genius. We've reread it three nights in a row already.

Penelope ★★★★★

I read this aloud to my 7-year-old and we were both fascinated by the flip-book diagrams that show how early movies worked. The illustrations really bring the history to life, and the text is just the right length for a bedtime story.