SilverWook said:

That might have have been a better introduction to him than we ultimately got. Wonder if Brooks worked from an earlier draft of the script?

I don't think so. Here's what I could find on the "revised rough draft" of the Phantom Menace, simply called "The Beginning": http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com/thebeginning.html

This opening scene is a fleshed out version of Anakin's near-fatal podrace crash which was only referenced in the script/film. It made for a more immediately engaging start to the book (which you should totally read on Amazon). I still remember that opening, it's so much better than the film.