The Battle Begins

My 6-year-old son has spent a lot of time playing with the stickers in this book. He isn't a child who likes to color very much, so it is nice to find activity books that he enjoys. With this book, you have to find the page each sticker belongs to. This means a lot of time is spent studying the stickers and the pages. Good for problems solving skills. He loves Star Wars and was very happy to receive this book!

In picture book form, "The Battle Begins" is a retelling of "the Clone Wars" film. The story opens with a good introduction that explains the role of the Jedi and the origin of the Clone Wars. The story begins with the Battle of Christophsis, where Anakin Skywalker gets his new Padawan, Ahsoka. Afterwards, the battle moves to Teth in the hopes of retrieving Jabba the Hutt's son. The reader is introduced to sub-plots like the Padme and Ziro the Hutt thread. After the fight with Ventress, Anakin and Ahsoka fly to Tatooine. After some bonding, the Jedi and Padawan eventually return the Huttlet to Jabba, but not before facing additional dangers. The 48 page book covers all of the significant plot elements. In terms of the text, it is on a third or fourth grade reading level. The writing quality is good. Beginning readers will appreciate the large amount of white space that surrounds Rob Valois' text. The title features many high quality illustrations, all lifted from the film. In short, this book is eye candy. A visually interesting choice was made about the graphic layout. On one hand, "The Battle Begins" is a conventional picture book. On the other, the illustrations are put together in a quasi-graphic novel format. Being part traditional picture book and part comic book gives the book a special appeal. For those who didn't watch the film or those who'd like to relive it, "The Battle Begins" retells the "Clone Wars" story.

I am very uimpressed with this book! It is hardcover, comes in a book jacket, and has full-color photographs! This book is great for young readers and Star Wars collectors who want to add it to their bookshelf!