FINALIST — 2026 Literary Global Children's Book Awards (Adventure and Sports Categories) WINNER — 2026 PenCraft Seasonal Book Award, Best Children's Concept Book From the So You Want To Be A… Series — 2026 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, Grand Prize WinnerWhat does it actually take to fall off a building for a living — and walk away every single time?Stunt performers are among the most skilled, disciplined, and invisible professionals in the movie industry. They train for years across martial arts, gymnastics, precision driving, high falls, wire work, fire, and water — mastering each discipline so completely that real danger is replaced by extraordinary preparation. And yet most audiences never think about them at all. That is the job done right.So You Want To Be A Stunt Performer opens this fearless, fascinating career for kids ages 10 to 14 who want to know how it really works. Not just the spectacular moments caught on camera, but the months of choreography, rehearsal, physics, and problem-solving that make those moments possible. This is nonfiction that treats young readers as equals — curious, capable, and ready for the real story.Inside, you will learn how fight choreography is designed across multiple combat styles so every hit looks devastating but no one gets hurt. You will discover how stunt performers train in precision driving and motorcycle work at speeds that would be catastrophic without total technical mastery. You will see how high falls are calculated so the physics of impact is never left to chance, and how fire stunts are performed with a calm built entirely on preparation rather than recklessness.You will also meet the team that surrounds every stunt — coordinators, riggers, safety specialists, and camera operators working together so that a three-second moment in a movie is planned and executed with surgical precision. You will explore the history of stunt performance and the legendary performers who shaped the action filmmaking we know today. And you will find out what young people can start doing right now — the sports, the training, the mindset — to discover if this career might be their path.Richly illustrated and thoroughly researched, this guide covers the science behind controlled danger, the physical and mental demands of the profession, and the real jobs and career steps that lead from training to the set. It is honest about what the work costs and what it demands, because kids who dream big deserve answers that match the size of their ambition.The greatest compliment a stunt performer can receive is an audience that never once thinks about them — because all they see is the story. If you are the kind of reader who watches the impossible and immediately wonders how it was done, this book was written for you.
