Ahsoka in Action! - The Clone Wars

A 2013 Dorling Kindersley/Smithsonian release, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SNAKE AND OTHER SCALY REPTILES is geared to readers ages 7-11. Having said that, older readers would enjoy this once-over, well-illustrated guide to snakes and assorted creepy crawlies as well.

The book's 80 pages are fairly evenly divided between snakes and reptiles with units on prehistoric monster snakes, adders, rattlesnakes, snake charmers, snake skin/fangs/venom/hibernation habits/etc., spitting cobras, python vs. alligator match-ups, snake tales, chameleons, crocs, turtles, iguanas, Komodo Dragons, desert dwellers and so on. The text is informative and flows easily. The book is appealingly illustrated with dozens of photographs, illustrations and maps. Visually, the book is top-notch.

Whatever their age, people interested in our forked-tongue, fanged, scaly friends will enjoy this book. Recommended.

~borrowed from the Library

THE ADVENTURES OF C-3PO is another book in the DK Star Wars line. It has 940 words and features pictures from the many movies. It is at the high 3rd Grade Reading Level, with a font that is rather large for 3rd graders.

This is a rather useful book for young Star Wars fans as it summarizes C-PO's adventures. It begins with his creation on Tatooine and follows him from his droid factory mixup to Jawas, to Death Star, and then Ewoks. Here's the text from the first page:

Hello!
I am C-PO.
How may I help you?
What's that?
You don't want my help?

You want to hear
about my adventures?
Well, that is a strange request.

But, of course, I am
programmed to be of service.
Now, where shall I begin?

These Star Wars books can be very useful to motivate some reluctant readers. They can also be shared with younger children who are curious to know about the Star Wars universe.

~borrowed from the Library

BOBA FETT: JEDI HUNTER is from DK's Clone Wars series. This series of books does not have pictures from the movies but animation stills. This book has 817 words (large font) and is at the mid-3rd Grade Reading level.

This book is basically a Baba Fett biography. It tells about his father Jango and about his desire to assassinate the sinister Mace Windu.

I-personally don't find most of the Clone Wars books to be all that intriguing but this one seems particularly well written. The author, Clare Hibbert, brings some excitement and intrigue into history.

As with all of the books that I review where I give a grade level, this one has an Accelerated Reader test available for teachers to use. I've personally found that less motivated readers will 'push' themselves so that they can read these Star Wars books.

"Blast Off!" is a youngling's encyclopedia of Star Wars characters. Each spread introduces a character with one to three descriptive sentences. The beautiful illustrations are typically a blend of studio stills and scenes from the films. The movie shots are drawn from the entire saga, sometimes combining original trilogy and prequel imagery. Most of the characters are the good guys including Han Solo, Princess Leia, Yoda, Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Curiously, Anakin is introduced as a separate character from the one included villain, Darth Vader. The final page features a composite of all characters and an invitation for the reader to select a favorite. The self-described level one book actually includes a table of contents and a glossary. Almost as good as a ride on the Millennium Falcon, this thirty-two page book is a fun way for young readers to "Blast Off!" into the Star Wars universe.

"Blast Off!" is a youngling's encyclopedia of Star Wars characters. Each spread introduces a character with one to three descriptive sentences. The beautiful illustrations are typically a blend of studio stills and scenes from the films. The movie shots are drawn from the entire saga, sometimes combining original trilogy and prequel imagery. Most of the characters are the good guys including Han Solo, Princess Leia, Yoda, Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Curiously, Anakin is introduced as a separate character from the one included villain, Darth Vader. The final page features a composite of all characters and an invitation for the reader to select a favorite. The self-described level one book actually includes a table of contents and a glossary. Almost as good as a ride on the Millennium Falcon, this thirty-two page book is a fun way for young readers to "Blast Off!" into the Star Wars universe.

~borrowed from the Library

BOBA FETT: JEDI HUNTER is from DK's Clone Wars series. This series of books does not have pictures from the movies but animation stills. This book has 817 words (large font) and is at the mid-3rd Grade Reading level.

This book is basically a Baba Fett biography. It tells about his father Jango and about his desire to assassinate the sinister Mace Windu.

I-personally don't find most of the Clone Wars books to be all that intriguing but this one seems particularly well written. The author, Clare Hibbert, brings some excitement and intrigue into history.

As with all of the books that I review where I give a grade level, this one has an Accelerated Reader test available for teachers to use. I've personally found that less motivated readers will 'push' themselves so that they can read these Star Wars books.

"Blast Off!" is a youngling's encyclopedia of Star Wars characters. Each spread introduces a character with one to three descriptive sentences. The beautiful illustrations are typically a blend of studio stills and scenes from the films. The movie shots are drawn from the entire saga, sometimes combining original trilogy and prequel imagery. Most of the characters are the good guys including Han Solo, Princess Leia, Yoda, Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Curiously, Anakin is introduced as a separate character from the one included villain, Darth Vader. The final page features a composite of all characters and an invitation for the reader to select a favorite. The self-described level one book actually includes a table of contents and a glossary. Almost as good as a ride on the Millennium Falcon, this thirty-two page book is a fun way for young readers to "Blast Off!" into the Star Wars universe.

"Blast Off!" is a youngling's encyclopedia of Star Wars characters. Each spread introduces a character with one to three descriptive sentences. The beautiful illustrations are typically a blend of studio stills and scenes from the films. The movie shots are drawn from the entire saga, sometimes combining original trilogy and prequel imagery. Most of the characters are the good guys including Han Solo, Princess Leia, Yoda, Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Curiously, Anakin is introduced as a separate character from the one included villain, Darth Vader. The final page features a composite of all characters and an invitation for the reader to select a favorite. The self-described level one book actually includes a table of contents and a glossary. Almost as good as a ride on the Millennium Falcon, this thirty-two page book is a fun way for young readers to "Blast Off!" into the Star Wars universe.