Review: Star Wars Workbooks

By: Dominic Jones

Lucasfilm/Disney and Workman publishing recently teamed up to produce a series of Star Wars Workbooks which teaching children valuable skills, such as reading and writing,  using the Star Wars saga as a base.  The good folks at Workman publishing were kind enough to provide us with some samples of the workbooks, and I must say I was quite impressed.

After looking through the Preschool ABC Fun, Kindergarten Writing and ABCs, 1st Grade Writing, and Second Grade Reading books, it's clear that these books were not only designed to teach the younglings to read and write, but also to help them become fans for life.  The exercises feature the usual characters and locations you would expect, like Wookiees, Endor, and Darth Vader, alongside some more "hard core" references like Banthas, Ithorians, and Plo Koon.

The learning exercises are largely what you'd expect from these types of books, with traceable letters and a Star Wars alphabet (i.e, W is for Wookiee) for the younger children, and Fill-in-the-blanks and reading comprehension questions for the older ones.  The exercises also feature lots of illustrations to keep kids engaged, some straight from the films, others more humorous in nature.

The books also feature a nice mix of Original Trilogy and Prequel trilogy references.  I always love to see elements from all six films next to each other on even footing, and I'm glad to see that Workman and Disney are interested in introducing kids to the entire saga (not just the OT).  I was also excited to see some references to the Emmy Award winning animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars scattered throughout the book, a highlight for me was seeing the five younglings from the younglings arc of season five featured in the Second Grade Reading book.

Another thing I was very pleased to see in the Second Grade Reading book was a brief biography of George Lucas!  I was impressed to see that the books were not only focused on the in-universe elements of the saga, but on Star Wars history as well.   Another nice touch of Star Wars history included in that book is a review of A New Hope from May 1977.

Overall the Workman Star Wars Waorkbooks are an excellent introduction to learning, the saga, and Star Wars history and are a must have for anyone with younglings.  They work great for kids who already love Star Wars, and could serve as an excellent introductions for those who have yet to be introduced to the galaxy far, far away.....

You can order the workbooks from Workman Publishing here.

If you have a product you would like The Star Wars Underworld to review, send an email to swunderworld@gmail.com

Read more...

Review: 'Star Wars: Jedi Academy'

By: Dominic Jones

One of the more unexpected presents I found under my tree this Christmas was the book Star Wars: Jedi Academy by: Jeffery Brown.  Brown has previously written and illustrated the popular Darth Vader and Son and Vader's Little Princess, collections of one panel comics that show Vader's life as your run-of-the-mill father, so I, naturally, was intrigued by the book.  And just so we're clear, this book has zero relation (other than being Star Wars, of course) to the Jedi Academy video game or trilogy of novels by Kevin J. Anderson.

The book is best described as part comic book, part journal, and part scrapbook.  And it is fantastic!  The story follows young Roan Novachez, a Tatooine native who dreams of becoming a pilot, but winds up on a journey to become a Jedi Knight.  Sound familiar?  Well the comparisons between Roan and Luke and Anakin Skywalker pretty much end there.  The book is written from an 'in-universe' style, as if it were Roan's Journal.  Some of the entries are written like typical journal entries, while others are drawn out as a comic book.  On top of that it includes 'artifacts' from Roan's first year such as school newspaper covers and letters from home.  Jedi Academy follows Roan through his first year at the Jedi Academy and covers everything from lightsaber classes to the science fair to gym class taught by a Wookiee!   Brown injects just enough Star Wars into common middle school occurrences to make the book laugh out loud worthy no matter how old you are.

Jedi Academy is definitely aimed at younger audience and thus deals with issues such as bullies, fitting in, and your first school dance.  However, there is a universality to many of the issues that anyone who has set foot somewhere new and intimidating can understand (new school, new job, etc.).  For example, when Roan first arrives at the Jedi temple and is nervous of finding his way around, rather than thinking back to middle school, I found myself thinking back to three months ago when I first arrived at my university campus and tried to find my way to my first lecture (now that an adventure!)

That being said there are plenty of other elements to amuse older fans.  For example, when Roan describes his first impressions of Master Yoda he includes the comment that Yoda "looks like a puppet."  (I hope I don't have to explain to you why that's funny!)  On top of that there are references to real world things, such as famous works of art, that will provide adults with a laugh but may go over the heads of younger readers.

If you are looking for a "serious" contribution to the Star Wars canon, then this is not the book for you.  However, if you're looking for a fun read with a few laughs then do yourself a favor and pick up this book.  Jedi Academy definitely will appeal to kids and the kid inside you.  And it will definitely leave you wanting more (sequel?)

Rating: 9.5/10

Buy Star Wars: Jedi Academy on Amazon

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization. - See more at: http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2013/01/clone-wars-review-missing-in-action.html#sthash.Ma2jvVxC.dpuf

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization. - See more at: http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2013/01/clone-wars-review-missing-in-action.html#sthash.Ma2jvVxC.dpuf

Read more...