Customer Reviews

James Cameron's Avatar: The Movie Scrapbook

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So far there are two books out there for Avatar that give details on the world of Pandora. Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora (James Cameron's Avatar) and this one. The first is loaded with scientific theory and jargon, and while that's great for the people who are interested in knowing the super technical stuff Avatar: The Movie Scrapbook is also a great resource for those who want to know more yet not enough to write a science journal on the movie. The scrapbook is essentially a light technical manual that covers a lot of the animals, plants, and vehicles seen in Avatar along with details on the Na'vi and their culture.

The pros of this book as opposed to the survival guide come firstly in the easy to read information of the world of Pandora. It's the kind of writing that is easy enough for grade schoolers to read while at the same time not too simple the young adult reader can't appreciate it. Granted your high school student may find the writing simplistic, but that is made up with the second pro: the information. The book has dozens of entries on various subjects from the movie from the gunships and gear the humans used to the musical instruments used by the Na'vi. It seems to cover much of the info in the survival guide (almost in the same order as well), but condenses the details into simple descriptions. Keep in mind it's basic details. If you want a true technical manual then you should go for the survival guide. Interestingly enough there are a few entries in this Scrapbook that aren't touched on in the survival guide like the giant excavator, the tree of voices and woodsprites (those little floating seed things that seem to be omens for the Na'vi).

While the survival guide has more detailed information it lacks something this book has in spades. Large detailed images. The Movie Scrapbook is actually a larger sized book than the survival guide (about twice the size in fact), even though it's thinner in pages (1/4 the thickness of the guide). In that larger size you get bigger, more detailed pictures. While you will find a few pictures in both books the scrapbook touts some really nice images not seen in the survival guide, or even the movie for that matter. The larger size of the scrapbook also make it easier to thumb through and read comfortably compared to the significantly smaller survival guide.

So if you like the movie and want to know a little more about the world James Cameron put together then this book may be right up your alley. If you are a tech freak and are looking for lots of details then pass this up. If you are the uber-fan then maybe get both if you can get the scrapbook for a good price. The images on the book would make it worth it.

this book is a good insight into stuff or veichels/creatures that were not explained into much depth in the film but a better book which i would recommend if you are a die hard avatar fan is the confidental book on pandora. as that book has a more in depth analysis on everything avatar. this book is good overall, this book is more towards the causal fan to answer some questions about the movie and its creatures.

I got the three most likely looking books detailing the art, concepts, and creatures of Avatar. While the Survival Guide is far more detailed, and the Art of Avatar far more, well, far more... this one shows some of the niftiest designs and is aimed at the Young Adult (all those 11-14 year olds) audience. A nice suplement for any fan of any age; shows some things not in the other books.

This slender words-and-picture book is meant for children, telling them about the wonders of Pandora and the Na'vi who live there. I did not see any new or different pictures than those in the thicker book: Avatar: an Activist's Survival Guide, which I would recommend buying as the more thoroughgoing of the two. I did perceive how the writer tried to "tone down" the human insvasion of Pandora, but still couldn't help saying in one part how much the Na'vi hate the huge forest-destroying machines the RDA brought with them.

I bought this book for my daughter and son. They are five and six. Given their high reading levels for their age, I thought the age range marked would be appropriate. The book is interesting with nice illustrations. It contains information that answers a number of questions one might have after viewing the movie. However, it is far below the average 9-12 year old. It reads like the stories I read to my kids when they were around three or four. My children enjoyed it, but I think kids 9-12 would get bored quickly.

Excellent detailed look at the life forms, way of life, and philosophy of life on Pandora, and also at the machinery, labs and weaponry used by the protagonists for the mining operation. For young readers but of interest to all.

I thought the book was very exciting and I was interested in learning about the life on Avatar...I saw the movie three times and will go and see it again...I loved it.

Great part of a collection for the real fans of Avatar., Lots of interesting info that get you into the evolution of this fantastic movie experience.