May the Fourth
The cover of The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. It's hard to take a picture of a glossy book jacket! There is slight damage on the front cover, which is why we got a discount at the Broadway Book Mall. Thumbnail picture is without the book jacket. I wonder who will win the duel? I wanted to serve up popcorn to our Star Wars Lego Minifigs!
Last Saturday was #IndependentBookstoreDay, and had I known ahead of time, I would have made an effort to visit my local indie bookstore. As it was, I had to work that morning and the Santa Ana winds didn't let me sleep the night before. I was too tired to trek out. So, in honor of independent bookstores plus May the Fourth, I thought I'd review the picture book, Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight by Tony Diterlizzi and illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie.
We procured this book from Broadway Book Mall during our last trip to Denver. (We also visited Fahrenheit Books, which is a few doors down.) There are many independent bookstores in the Denver area. Inspired by some fellow Bookstagrammers, we've decided to explore at least one independent bookstore whenever we are on vacation. Though Fahrenheit Books is small, it is chock full of some great used and vintage books, including comics. And Broadway Book Mall is sectioned off by various sellers so there is so much to explore. Little Lion's mission while we were there was to find a good Iditarod book. And we definitely did! She was so excited to get Race Across Alaksa: The First Woman to Win the Iditarod Tells Her Story by Libby Riddles and Tim Jones.
Back to Luke, The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight is a re-telling of the original Star Wars trilogy from Luke's point of view. Ditrelizzi does a great job of fitting a lot of information in without getting too bogged down. It's more like the older type of picture books, with definitely way more than 1000 words. But, if you're re-telling the whole trilogy, you'd have to be a bit lengthy. And let's face it, we all know this story anyway. So kudos to Ditrelizzi for keeping his re-telling engaging and riveting.
If you're a Star Wars fan, what you're really purchasing this book for is the gorgeous artwork by Ralph McQuarrie, who was the concept artist behind the original trilogy. The details are amazing and the interpretations are great too. Who doesn't want to see the underside of an AT-AT? Or a close-up of a wampa? The illustrations are full of action, as seen in the picture above of the infamous duel between Luke and Darth Vader.
No, there is no kiss between Han Solo and Leia. But why would there be? This story is from Luke's point of view.
I'm hoping that The Last Jedi will focus a lot on Luke Skywalker as a continuation of his journey. We shall see.....
Rating: A must-have for Star Wars fans. I'd even create a new category of rating for this book--rather than put it on the bookshelf, it deserves a spot on your coffee table so you can peruse the illustrations at will.
Ages: Young padawans on up. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)
What are you doing for May the Fourth? Check out our review of the graphic novel of the original trilogy, or watch Mr.Bookworm and the Bookworm Girls' read-along excerpt below. BTW, the graphic novel of the prequels is out now but I couldn't get myself to buy it when I saw it at the bookstore earlier this week....we're purists over here, but I'm sure Little Lion will ask for it soon. Episode III (Revenge of the Sith) is her favorite because it's when Anakin truly becomes Darth Vader.
What's your favorite film of the Star Wars series?
