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Who Was . . . ? Series
Who Was Steve Jobs?
Steve Jobs, adopted in infancy by a family in San Francisco, packed a lot of life into fifty-six short years. In this Who Was…? biography, children will learn how his obsession with computers and technology at an early age led him to co-found and run Apple, in addition to turning Pixar into a ground-breaking animation studio. A college dropout, Jobs took unconventional steps in his path to success and inspired the best and the brightest to come with him and “change the world.”
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
375 people are currently reading
1283 people want to read
About the author
Pam Pollack
71 books37 followersPamela Pollack is a writer/editor/compiler of children's and young adult books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 247 reviews
February 19, 2024
Who Was ...? biography series for middle grade brings the intriguing figure of Steve Jobs who who changed the way the world communicates.
Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955. From childhood he liked putting things together. His curiosity led him to Hewlett-Packard’s Explorer Club where he took lectures in electronics; where he also met Steve Wozniak.
After High School, he convinced the dean of Reed College to attend the classes for free since he didn’t have money for tuition, but at the end he wouldn’t receive the degree. He stayed there for eighteen months.
In Steve’s parent’s garage, he worked with Wozniak on the Apple computer. They didn’t have the money for the parts to build the ordered computers. Steve was so good at persuading people that he got a credit for the parts.
Steve’s new company grew quickly, but he was a perfectionist, and a little thing off would send him into rage. He became known as difficult to work with. As he worked on Macintosh, it turned out people weren’t as interested in personal computers as Steve hoped. With some arguments with the board members his position declined and later he left the company.
He started a new company NeXT. Steve admired anyone who did something new and different. He became a huge fan of George Lucas, director of Star Wars. Steve invested in Pixar, but the games were too expensive. With his power of convincing, he did it again and convinced Walt Disney to invest in Steve’s next three movies.
In 1995, Toy Story became the most popular movie of the year.
At the same time, Apple was struggling. Their computers weren’t up to speed with new applications. He agreed to return temporarily, but stayed permanently.
His next product was iMac which became the bestselling computer in the world. Then, came iPod. His last product was iPad.
After having cancer, in his speech to the graduating class at Stanford University, he said that “time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life… have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
He left us with very powerful words. He was a man who didn’t care much about money. With his billions he lived in a modest house. What he truly cared about was to be useful, to continually reinvent himself. He used his power of convincing to create something he had a strong vision for and something he strongly believed in.
The first part of the story has a feel of being rushed. There is a moment where after High School, it was his dream to travel to India. He earned the money and went to India, and that was it. Why was it his dream to go to India? I wished some parts were a bit more developed in the first half. The second half has more dimensions to his story.
Nevertheless, the story enforces the dimensions of a man who pursed something he strongly believed in, and used his skill of convincing to help him get closer to his goal.
This illustrated biography series for young readers, ages 8-11, is presented in a relatable way, with simple sentences and enriched with insightful inserts.
TRENDING INSPIRATION: “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
https://biopurposeland.blogspot.com/
Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955. From childhood he liked putting things together. His curiosity led him to Hewlett-Packard’s Explorer Club where he took lectures in electronics; where he also met Steve Wozniak.
After High School, he convinced the dean of Reed College to attend the classes for free since he didn’t have money for tuition, but at the end he wouldn’t receive the degree. He stayed there for eighteen months.
In Steve’s parent’s garage, he worked with Wozniak on the Apple computer. They didn’t have the money for the parts to build the ordered computers. Steve was so good at persuading people that he got a credit for the parts.
Steve’s new company grew quickly, but he was a perfectionist, and a little thing off would send him into rage. He became known as difficult to work with. As he worked on Macintosh, it turned out people weren’t as interested in personal computers as Steve hoped. With some arguments with the board members his position declined and later he left the company.
He started a new company NeXT. Steve admired anyone who did something new and different. He became a huge fan of George Lucas, director of Star Wars. Steve invested in Pixar, but the games were too expensive. With his power of convincing, he did it again and convinced Walt Disney to invest in Steve’s next three movies.
In 1995, Toy Story became the most popular movie of the year.
At the same time, Apple was struggling. Their computers weren’t up to speed with new applications. He agreed to return temporarily, but stayed permanently.
His next product was iMac which became the bestselling computer in the world. Then, came iPod. His last product was iPad.
After having cancer, in his speech to the graduating class at Stanford University, he said that “time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life… have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
He left us with very powerful words. He was a man who didn’t care much about money. With his billions he lived in a modest house. What he truly cared about was to be useful, to continually reinvent himself. He used his power of convincing to create something he had a strong vision for and something he strongly believed in.
The first part of the story has a feel of being rushed. There is a moment where after High School, it was his dream to travel to India. He earned the money and went to India, and that was it. Why was it his dream to go to India? I wished some parts were a bit more developed in the first half. The second half has more dimensions to his story.
Nevertheless, the story enforces the dimensions of a man who pursed something he strongly believed in, and used his skill of convincing to help him get closer to his goal.
This illustrated biography series for young readers, ages 8-11, is presented in a relatable way, with simple sentences and enriched with insightful inserts.
TRENDING INSPIRATION: “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
https://biopurposeland.blogspot.com/
May 19, 2019
Time is limited,so don’t waste it living someone else’s life...
have courage to follow your heart and intuition.
خیلی خلاصه همه چیزو توضیح داده بود اما با این وجود کتاب رو خوب پیش برده بود.
have courage to follow your heart and intuition.
خیلی خلاصه همه چیزو توضیح داده بود اما با این وجود کتاب رو خوب پیش برده بود.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2015
Who was Steve Jobs? was an outstanding biography. I love the Who was ...? books because they are short, to the point, and will help me finish my six books. This book explained how Steve Jobs was able to live out his dream in making life different for the better.
March 20, 2018
I like this book because it was a page turner. This book would be good for 3rd graders. If you liked who was Jonny apple seed you will like this book. Steve jobs creates one of the most productive company's in the U.S.A.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2018
Who Was Steve Jobs was such a good biography. This series is probably my favorite. This is short book about a life with loads of stories. to me the pictures make it so much better. I'm not really a full word book type person if you know what I mean. The pictures are such a good add-on. overall i enjoyed the book and it's series. I recommend this book to people who like a decent paged book about a huge topic.
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November 20, 2016What a great biography! This gave me tons of information for my school presentation, and it also was fun to read. I've never really was interested into "Who Was" biographies but this changed my mind. I recommend this book to anyone who want's to learn about the great life of Steve Jobs.
January 15, 2015
This was a pretty good book this book talked about the life of Steve Jobs. He was the man that created the Apple store.Thanks to him we even have Apple things now like I phones that he has created.
October 7, 2023
I have learned to never underestimate a simple book, because simple is often not easy.
This was a very memorable and inspiring read, and very worth it. This was a story about the famous Steve Jobs, and how he became from an enthusiastic five-year-old to the person he is today. A person who has learned to think differently to change the world.
I was told dozens of times the inspiring story of Steve Jobs, and today I decided to read his journey myself. After all, I had to do better than to let the book sit and collect dust. And I did not regret this. Non-fiction is for everyone, because they are stories very much like fiction. From Steve Jobs' story, you should remember what he did that earned your respect and to learn from the best, as well as to learn from his mistakes.
At the end of the day, you took valuable information and an inspiring story from a book that takes you no longer than one hour to read. This book is very much for everyone, so lucky you that this book is in your possession. If it’s not? It definitely deserves to be. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, read on!
P.S., let’s end this with my favorite quotes of all time.
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
- Steve Jobs
This was a very memorable and inspiring read, and very worth it. This was a story about the famous Steve Jobs, and how he became from an enthusiastic five-year-old to the person he is today. A person who has learned to think differently to change the world.
I was told dozens of times the inspiring story of Steve Jobs, and today I decided to read his journey myself. After all, I had to do better than to let the book sit and collect dust. And I did not regret this. Non-fiction is for everyone, because they are stories very much like fiction. From Steve Jobs' story, you should remember what he did that earned your respect and to learn from the best, as well as to learn from his mistakes.
At the end of the day, you took valuable information and an inspiring story from a book that takes you no longer than one hour to read. This book is very much for everyone, so lucky you that this book is in your possession. If it’s not? It definitely deserves to be. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, read on!
P.S., let’s end this with my favorite quotes of all time.
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
- Steve Jobs
February 14, 2020
It took me a few days to read this book.I consider this book is very easily to read and I believe that it is also very interesting because I found many things about Steve Jobs's life.I discovered who Steve Jobs was and what he did,and how he became so popular.In the beginning was a simple boy who was passionate about building or fixing things,who helped jos father in their garage.Slowly he had developed and became a well known person.He went through many things and this life wasn't so easy.He was a different man and he had many strange habits and he always was looked at differently.Now we're happy to use his technology,but many of us don't know where the name of his bussines comes from.I consider that this thing is very interesting and all the people must know that ,,Apple'' comes from Steve's pleasure in eating apples.
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December 17, 2018“Who Was Steve Jobs” by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso is a good book for any times you need to write a biography on someone or something and is filled with tons of information. The book talks about the time Steve was born, to the time the Macintosh computer was released, to the time Steve leaves Apple, to the time Steve joins Apple again and introduces the ipod and lastly to the time Steve sadly passed away. The book also talks about Steve’s love for machines. I would recommend this book to people who like to read about other people’s life and people who need information for a report on someone or something.
February 19, 2019
Who was Steve Jobs by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso is a 5 out of 5 stars. Something great about this book was how much I learned about him, I didn’t expect to know so much and many of the things were surprising. It was also fantastic to know how and when he created apple because it felt inspiring to know that anyone can make a big difference. I learned quite a lot and personally think it’s a great book. The book was very simple to read but I liked the simplicity of it. I honestly would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about the origin of apple or Steve Jobs.
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February 5, 2021What did i think of this Book was that Steve Jobs as the child he used to watch his father wild his father working on the machines. also Steve Jobs always loved machines and his father repaired machines for a living.and Stave Jobs grow up he start working on the computer and the Apple computer company. and wild Steve Jobs work in Apple company he didn't want any one to tell him what to do and people start not like him anymore so the had to fired Steve Jobs. And when they fired Steve Jobs Steve Jobs start his on company and the company was called NEXT.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2017
I read this aloud to my three elementary aged kids. I wanted them to have a sense of why Apple products are amazing and how much technology has changed just in last 15 years. They really enjoyed the part about PIXAR the most. The book doesn't shy away from Jobs' awful treatment of people. He was a true visionary. I totally teared up reading the last few pages.
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April 25, 2017Steve job is the creator of the company apple.who later on got sick, and got kicked out of his own company.
April 17, 2018
This book Who Was Steve Jobs was very interesting but the thing that confuses me is when they kept throwing random words and years and dates and I could not keep tract of all of it but it still was a great book so I gave this book 4 STARS!
March 4, 2020
who was a steve job??
Steve Jobs is the guy who invented apple. Apple is a company that has an apple computer or phone that most people are using. he is actually CEO Apple so he was in charge of seeing Toy Sort a lot of the first Pixar movies ever came out.
he is very very smart, but he is a kind out crazy and buzzy guy.
my mom told me to read this book but honestly, I hate like science book so I really dint want to read but after reading this book I'm happy because I learn a lot of stuff of apple and I'm also using apple computer and phone so if I imagen that steal jobs made it I feel so amazing.
I think everyone should read this book because this book is very short even this book has a lot of information.
Steve Jobs is the guy who invented apple. Apple is a company that has an apple computer or phone that most people are using. he is actually CEO Apple so he was in charge of seeing Toy Sort a lot of the first Pixar movies ever came out.
he is very very smart, but he is a kind out crazy and buzzy guy.
my mom told me to read this book but honestly, I hate like science book so I really dint want to read but after reading this book I'm happy because I learn a lot of stuff of apple and I'm also using apple computer and phone so if I imagen that steal jobs made it I feel so amazing.
I think everyone should read this book because this book is very short even this book has a lot of information.
November 20, 2021
It was exciting to learn about the creator of Apple. Without him I wouldn’t be able to write this review on my iPhone. He had so many struggles but he always persevered and came through. He changed the world just by creating a company that would go on to create great things. He is a great role model because of how he never gave up and always ran the company his way.
August 16, 2023
You have a good movie
December 6, 2018
Who was Steve Jobs is an ok book. It didn't tell you what he did as a child it just told you what he did as an adult. Steve jobs was the co founder of Apple and he was doing a great job. But he founded this company the board voted him out of his own creation! Steve didn't know what do do so he bounced around for a while and then he decided to work for Pixar. He was one of the creators of toy story and made millions. When he was doing well over there he noticed that Apple was slowly fading away so he donated lots of money and offered to come back. They immediately said yes and Jobs regained his spot back at Apple.
August 28, 2017
Planing to read Steve Jobs biography, i found this short book about him. I learned several things about Steve Jobs and i really liked his insistence on creating the device that he had on his mind.
Short biography that i can say i learnt different things from it.
Fun and easy to read book, i recommend it..👍🏼
Short biography that i can say i learnt different things from it.
Fun and easy to read book, i recommend it..👍🏼
March 12, 2020
It was the best book I read in my life because the informations very nice
Khalid
Khalid
March 21, 2020
REALLY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 22, 2019
it is about steve jobs and how apple was created and the struggles he went through.
March 7, 2021
idk about this one but the book i read had the same cover but it was by who.HQ i guess thats the company but same book in english it was so good to me maybe because i love reading about people in the past and history storys
December 9, 2014
this book was about the man who made apple with his friend. i really like this book because it told me about the person that made my phone brand so this is why i really like this book .
April 5, 2020
Steve Jobs was a complete jerk to his first daughter and didn't have anything to do with her for years. For me that defines what kind of person he was more then any achievements he made.
October 1, 2022
"العمر قصير، لذا لا يجوز إضاعته في محاكاة حياة شخص آخر… تحل بالشجاعة لاتباع قلبك وحدسك".
November 6, 2018
Book Review
Review by Krista Guillen
“Who Was Steve Jobs?”
It was a biography of Steve Jobs it was the almost the last book I read in 2013. This was written by Pam Pollack. I read this book in almost a week and I decide to read it again because it was so interesting his journey his challenges I spent reading this book the first time in Acton Academy and the second during the Holidays in Pantaleon. Most of the time I spent reading this book was in club Pantaleon and during the period of Individual work back in Elementary.
From this book I learned the following things:
1. Steve Jobs thought that if his body was healthy he wouldn’t need to take a bath.
2. Steve Jobs was an adopted child and became a very successful person.
3. Steve Jobs, the past to High School when he was eight years old.
4. Steve Job had a business that became a purpose and that the reason he created an apple.
Is about Steve Jobs life and is so interesting his challenges and all that stuff because I would be that success if I was adopted because I would have a lot of problems and another kind of things the first time I read it, I didn’t understood anything so I decide to read it again and that was the best thing I have ever read so it became my favourite book of “Who Was?”.
This book relates to my Hero’s journey that it doesn't matter if you are adopted or not you can be very success never give up on what you are doing and don’t see your business as your business see it as your mission.
I would recommend this because is a very cool book maybe would help you in your journey as it helps me and I think it is interesting to read of people who made an impact it the world as Steve Jobs did. Something that helped me was his challenges and that challenge helped me pass mines and I think it would help you too.
Well, my passion is cooking. I always like cooking but I didn't know what was my passion when I came to Acton so I start digging more deeper and deeper until I funded my first passion I still digging for more I am that kind person that will have a lot of passions but only two business. So let's continued digging, discovering things and new passions.
In my Hero's Journey I am doing fine only that I have a little issue, my little issue is that I always want everything to be fast and perfection because on my journal I want it to be fast and I need it to be perfect because sometimes we'll always if I don't complete journal I am angry with myself so I need to work on that too.
Review by Krista Guillen
“Who Was Steve Jobs?”
It was a biography of Steve Jobs it was the almost the last book I read in 2013. This was written by Pam Pollack. I read this book in almost a week and I decide to read it again because it was so interesting his journey his challenges I spent reading this book the first time in Acton Academy and the second during the Holidays in Pantaleon. Most of the time I spent reading this book was in club Pantaleon and during the period of Individual work back in Elementary.
From this book I learned the following things:
1. Steve Jobs thought that if his body was healthy he wouldn’t need to take a bath.
2. Steve Jobs was an adopted child and became a very successful person.
3. Steve Jobs, the past to High School when he was eight years old.
4. Steve Job had a business that became a purpose and that the reason he created an apple.
Is about Steve Jobs life and is so interesting his challenges and all that stuff because I would be that success if I was adopted because I would have a lot of problems and another kind of things the first time I read it, I didn’t understood anything so I decide to read it again and that was the best thing I have ever read so it became my favourite book of “Who Was?”.
This book relates to my Hero’s journey that it doesn't matter if you are adopted or not you can be very success never give up on what you are doing and don’t see your business as your business see it as your mission.
I would recommend this because is a very cool book maybe would help you in your journey as it helps me and I think it is interesting to read of people who made an impact it the world as Steve Jobs did. Something that helped me was his challenges and that challenge helped me pass mines and I think it would help you too.
Well, my passion is cooking. I always like cooking but I didn't know what was my passion when I came to Acton so I start digging more deeper and deeper until I funded my first passion I still digging for more I am that kind person that will have a lot of passions but only two business. So let's continued digging, discovering things and new passions.
In my Hero's Journey I am doing fine only that I have a little issue, my little issue is that I always want everything to be fast and perfection because on my journal I want it to be fast and I need it to be perfect because sometimes we'll always if I don't complete journal I am angry with myself so I need to work on that too.
May 20, 2022
Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso tell us the story of Steve Jobs. They start with his inspirations and helpers, “His father repaired machines for a living. As a child, Steve loved to watch his dad build and fix things.” (1) “Steve met Steve Wozniak who was several years older. “Woz” had an amazing talent for making things. He was going to a local college and designing computers as a hobby.” (13) Steve didn’t grow up wealthy or even middle class really, consequently Steve didn’t have the funds to afford classes. But Steve had a passion and intense dedication to learning. “So Steve went to the dean of Reed. He asked if he could live in the dorms and sit in on classes for free. Steve wouldn’t ever get a degree, but he would learn about subjects he was interested in.” (13) After that foundation of learning, Woz worked towards making an easy to use personal computer. Steve Jobs pushed it forward and made Apple Computers in 1976 without even the money to start the business. But they made it by borrowing parts from an electronic store and selling this modern Apple computer back to them. “... Steve thought plastic looked cool and modern. And how a computer looked was important. If it looked good, people would want it.” (22) This strategy worked out as many people clung to Apple’s fun looking products.
Steve Jobs was not any small amount of determined. He was extremely determined to make his product the best; he was a perfectionist. With this perfectionism came angriness in small imperfections in the workplace. With a couple tragedies to add insult to injury, Apple’s business went bankrupt. However, we know that Steve did not let that stop him.
This memoir teaches that hard work does pay off and when you really do try to perfect your craft you will be remembered for it. Steve Jobs made opportunity out of a place where many would say there was none and had creativity like no other that can really inspire the reader to take on their own ideas and make them come true.
November 27, 2019
Book Title: Who Was Steve jobs?
Author/Illustrator: Pam Pollack & Meg Belviso/ John O'Brien
Reading Level: 5.0
Book Level: 4th Grade through 8th Grade
Book Summary: "Who Was Steve Jobs" is a fun, short, biography on the well known tech giant Steve Jobs. This biography takes us through Steve's journey from the start of his passion/hobby, computers and technology, to running, losing, then returning to the famous company Apple.
Bookshelf Genre:
Biography
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits
Presentation: "Who Was Steve Jobs" would make a wonderful mentor text for teaching students about Presentation, due to the way the author's integrate simple sketches throughout the story, to enhance the narrative on Steve Jobs' life. In my classroom, I would utilize this text by making copies of all the pictures and putting them into a little wordless picture book - and task my students to figure out what the story is about. I would then have my students read the book, seeing how the combination of the written narrative with images enhances the message - then I would ask my students to reflect on why the author included images, what benefit could there be to adding images into their written work?
Other Suggestions:
Life Lesson - While not a reading trait, I would utilize this book to also teach my students about how someone's passion could turn into their life work. In the book, Steve Jobs loved machines and fixing things - which he was able to use to build a multi-billion dollar company. I would ask my students what passions they have that could possible develop into life-long careers.
Author/Illustrator: Pam Pollack & Meg Belviso/ John O'Brien
Reading Level: 5.0
Book Level: 4th Grade through 8th Grade
Book Summary: "Who Was Steve Jobs" is a fun, short, biography on the well known tech giant Steve Jobs. This biography takes us through Steve's journey from the start of his passion/hobby, computers and technology, to running, losing, then returning to the famous company Apple.
Bookshelf Genre:
Biography
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits
Presentation: "Who Was Steve Jobs" would make a wonderful mentor text for teaching students about Presentation, due to the way the author's integrate simple sketches throughout the story, to enhance the narrative on Steve Jobs' life. In my classroom, I would utilize this text by making copies of all the pictures and putting them into a little wordless picture book - and task my students to figure out what the story is about. I would then have my students read the book, seeing how the combination of the written narrative with images enhances the message - then I would ask my students to reflect on why the author included images, what benefit could there be to adding images into their written work?
Other Suggestions:
Life Lesson - While not a reading trait, I would utilize this book to also teach my students about how someone's passion could turn into their life work. In the book, Steve Jobs loved machines and fixing things - which he was able to use to build a multi-billion dollar company. I would ask my students what passions they have that could possible develop into life-long careers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 247 reviews