This is a great overview of cinematic special effects, much of it concerned with movies the average older elementary school child might have seen (Enchanted, Titanic, Harry Potter), profusely illustrated with movie stills and behind-the-scenes photos. There was also historic material, of which my favourite was the contrasting photos showing New York destroyed by tidal wave as filmed in 1933 and in the 21st century (The Day After Tomorrow). Unfortunately, the cover image (which did not come from any of the movies discussed, so it's somewhat pointless) immediately put off my 10 year old movie buff of a grandson, who I'm sure would have loved it otherwise. For his 8 year old equally movie-savvy sister, we folded the cover back to conceal it and read the book with her, which worked beautifully and she did enjoy it and learned a lot, as did I. If not for the fact that children DO, invariably, judge books by their covers, I would have given this one four and a half stars. ( )