Sunday Night Television: From an Idea to Disney

Sichol, Lowey Bundy. From an Idea to Disney: How Branding Made Disney a Household Name
February 12th 2019 by HMH Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Edelweiss Plus

Not just a biography of Walt Disney, this informative book concentrated on the business aspects of Disney's career, and follows the trajectory of the company after his death and to the present day. There are a lot of interesting details about how Disney set up his first several studios (a lot of which failed), pioneered in the area of full length animated movies, and turned his stories into a full blown commercial realm. It was also interesting to read about Michael Eisner's effects on the company-- I was not aware that my children grew up during the Disney Renaissance! Also intriguing was how the company grew too big and had to scale back some of its commercial enterprises that didn't fit in with is core values.
Strengths: This was a fast-paced, interesting book about a well known and popular business. It has more depth than the Checkerboard Biography Library or the Pilot: Brands We Know Books, which I really liked.
Weaknesses: There are no photographs or drawings from the movies. None. It's all black and white line drawings. I understand that getting the rights to these would be expensive, but it was a huge lack.
What I really think: Debating purchase. My students are not picking up fun nonfiction as much, and this seems to come in a paper over board format. There is a Follett Bound Glued version, so I may buy it next year.