OUR MOVIE MAKERS

I'd put this at nine and up, chiefly up. But I think curiosity about what goes on behind the scenes in pictures starts at an early age, so pick your young customers with that in mind. As an adult, with a number of informational books on the movies in my background, I still found this illuminating and new. It is not a book about the stars and their supporting casts. It is a book about the steps by which an idea comes to life, about scenario preparation, about research into historical and factual detail, about the research into costumes, decorations, etc. about the ""props"" and how they are taken care of, about costuming, casting, rehearsing, about camera and sound work, about choice of location. There is something about the ""bit"" parts -- walk-one-and extra and stand-ins and understudies. There's section on animated cartoons. And a chapter on boy actors. And a final one on Charlie McCarthy. A swell job.