Read, You Must: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel

Once again author Michael Kogge adapts the latest Star Wars film from screen to page! 

Out now from Disney-Lucasfilm Press is the official young reader novel of the conclusion of the sequel trilogy: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel

Like his previous adaptations for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, the movie is retold for confident middle-grade readers in chapter book format. Kogge captures the excitement, humour and tragedy of the end of the Skywalker saga here

At 216 pages The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel faithfully presents all the key moments, but doesn't stop there. Many scenes are expanded upon and actually help clarify some of the events of the film. An early example of one of these advertised "Exclusive Scenes" is how Kylo Ren gets ahold of the Sith wayfinder in the opening scenes. Its much clearer what's going here on in the book than the movie, and much cooler where he finds it. (We won't spoil that here though!)

Throughout the book there are little extra bits to scenes that for whatever reason didn't make it into the final film. For young fans who want to know EVERYTHING, this is a real bonus! Rey's conversations with Leia, Lando talking about his long-lost daughter, Ewoks discussing their take on galactic events are just some of the extra moments here.

Also included are 6 pages of colour photographs from the movie.

Since Michael Kogge has adapted all three sequel trilogy movies (and written Poe Dameron's Flight Log), it's hard to imagine anyone better versed in these characters to write some in-between stories for young readers. There have been a select few (Spark of the Resistence, Cobalt Squadron) but there is definitely room for more adventures between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.

If you have not seen the movie, this is a very faithful retelling of it. Of course if you have already seen it, The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel is an excellent way to relive the adventure!

Publisher's Recommendation: Ages  8-12

Star Wars: Rogue One Teaser Trailer!

Coming this December to our Galaxy (specifically our movie theatres) is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story!

Today the first teaser trailer was released and it's something spectacular!

Obviously it's just a tease of a few scenes from the movie and there's plenty more to come, but this trailer coming only a few months after The Force Awakens' release, the timeline and setting for Rogue One may be a little confusing.

Here's a few questions you may have after watching the trailer. If you have more questions feel free to share them in the comments below!

Is this the sequel to The Force Awakens? Where's Rey, Finn or BB-8?

No. This movie is set between Episodes 3 and 4, shortly before Episode 4. These are the rebels learning about the FIRST Death Star. Luke, Leia and Han haven't met yet and Rey an Finn are years away from being born. BB-8 has probably not yet been made.

Episode 8 (no title yet for The Force Awakens' sequel) is still filming and will come out December 2017.

Rogue One is actually very close to the same time that Star Wars: Rebels happens. It's certainly possible there will be some connections there.

Why am I wearing an Imperial uniform? Wait and see!

Who is the main woman?
After watching the trailer you know exactly as much as anyone else does. She's mysterious and tough and her name is Jyn Erso. She's played by actress Felicity Jones who typically performs in dramatic films (the ones grown-ups like) but you may have seen her in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Where's Darth Vader?
It hasn't been confirmed either way if Vader will be in Rogue One, but he could be. At this point in the overall Star Wars story, Darth Vader is alive and terrifying the galaxy. For that matter, we could also see Emperor Palpatine, Grand Moff Tarkin and more familiar baddies!

The Mysterious Figure aka Back in Black!

But isn't that Vader with the long, black cape?
Maybe. Or maybe it's the Emperor, or maybe it's someone we don't know yet. Oh no...maybe it's Snoke??

Who are all these other guys?
We really don't know at this point. We know they look tough and ready to fight. Hopefully they're good guys! Other than that it's all a mystery.

Is that the same lady from Return of the Jedi? The super-serious one?
Yep. Younger actress, but same character: Mon Mothma. She's a strong leader in the Rebellion and it's great to see her again after all these years!

Mon Mothma. Maybe she'll get to smile just once?

For an excellent breakdown of each scene, check out this article on EW.com

Obviously there are many more questions than answers at this point. It sure is fun to guess though, huh? 

Questions and Answers from The Force Awakens Official Teaser Trailer!

On Friday November 28, the world saw its first official glimpses of the next Star Wars film: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, due in theatres Dec 18, 2015. The key word here is “glimpses” because this was what’s known as a “teaser” trailer - just a few hints and peeks at what’s to come to get you excited, but not enough to give away anything major. Remember at this point the movie is still another whole YEAR away! 

If you haven't seen it yet here it is:

So what are some of the questions you might have after watching it?

Who is talking? Who is he talking to? What does he say?

It's not certain at this point who the character is (he may be the mysterious character in black) but he sure sounds evil and in Star Wars, evil people usually have an apprentice or two, so get ready for some new bad guys!

He says: "There has been an Awakening. Have you felt it? The dark side...and the light."

It's COLD here! Have you felt it?

Who is the man in the desert? Is he a stormtrooper or clone trooper? Why doesn’t he look like a clone from The Clone Wars?

Well it's sure hot HERE!

Few people know exactly who he is or what his role in the story is. He could be a rebel in a stormtrooper uniform (like Luke & Han inside the first Death Star) or he could be an Imperial but he is clearly not a clone trooper. This movie will take place many years AFTER Return of the Jedi, and the Clone Wars happened many years BEFORE that. The Empire did not use clones much (if at all) after the Clone Wars ended and so stormtroopers can be any race, gender, or species. Some of this is being shown already in Star Wars Rebels.

Remember, the use of clone armies was one reason that particular galactic war was different than others in Star Wars history, so that is why the term “Clone Wars” was specifically used for that time.

Why are there stormtroopers and TIE fighters? Wasn’t the Empire defeated in Return of the Jedi?

We’ll have to wait and see what the official explanation is but not every general, soldier or spaceship of the galaxy-wide Empire was there at the battle of Endor. Perhaps some parts of the Empire survived and held power on some planets?

What’s that new droid that looks like R2-D2 on a ball?

Merrily, we roll along...

Some are already calling that “soccer ball droid”! It’s not a droid seen before in a Star Wars movie or TV show, but its sort of similar to a rolling destroyer droid with an R2 head, isn’t it? The real question is: what is it running from...or towards...in such a hurry?

Where’s Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3P0 and R2-D2?

Patience : )

Where’s the space battles & aliens?

Again, patience. It’s all coming! The next trailer will reveal much more, hopefully coming Spring 2015.

No caption needed for this one!

Do you have any other questions about the teaser trailer or The Force Awakens in general? Post them here or leave a voice mail on the app on the right side. We’ll do our best to answer them!

Read, You Must: Star Wars in 100 Scenes

Star Wars In 100 Scenes is a brand new look at the entire Star Wars movie saga (so far) in one hefty, photo-filled volume from DK Publishing. 

The six movies are broken down into a series of two-page spreads highlighting key moments, character introductions and a little behind-the-scenes trivia. The storyline is summarized scene-by-scene by author Jason Fry (Star Wars: The Clone Wars Episode Guide, Jupiter Pirates) as he offers insights gathered from the movies, books, comics and other sources. It is more of a guide book than Fry’s 2011 Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Scholastic), which told the same story but in a much more illustrated storybook way.

The images are stunning of course, and every page is FULL of pictures. Like many other photo-rich DK books, moments that quickly go by on screen are frozen here and allow you to notice details you may have missed no matter how many times you see the movies.

Obi-Wan has a lovely time with the Fetts!

Star Wars in 100 Scenes is written to be appropriate for 7-15 year-olds but fans of any age, including adults, would get something out of this.

Vader's big entrance: dum dum dum DUMMMM!

The emphasis is on action and excitement, as the cover suggests: “Experience the Excitement of the Epic Saga”. Among the 100 exciting scenes highlighted there are some notably absent character and story moments. For example, Anakin meeting Padmé for the first time is never mentioned or shown (pretty vital to the entire overall story) nor is Han Solo’s encounter with Greedo in the Mos Eisley cantina. Understandably, boiling the six films down into 100 scenes meant that some scenes would not make it in. I’m sure there were many debates before the 100 were chosen.

This is a gorgeous book that belongs on any Star Wars fans’ bookshelf. However the best use for this book may be this: if you have a friend or relative who isn’t willing or able to sit down and watch six whole movies but asks “why do you love Star Wars so much?” hand them a copy of Star Wars In 100 Scenes. You’ll likely create a new fan right there!

-Chris @SWKidscast

Read, You Must: What Makes a Monster?

What Makes a Monster? is the third title in DK publishing’s new line of young reader books called DK Adventures after Jedi Battles and Sith Wars (reviewed here). It focuses on the many, many animals, creatures and wild beasts within the six current Star Wars films. Some are “monsters” and some are not monstrous at all. Some are massively huge and some are tiny and cute (almost).

Each of these digest-sized books are 128 pages - a little smaller and much thicker than the popular DK Readers books - and intended for “confident readers”. They are all FULL of gorgeous movie images spanning the Star Wars saga, and occasionally borrow art and diagrams from other DK books like the Incredible Cross-Sections titles. Often there’s a close-up on something only quickly glimpsed in the movies giving even long-time fans something new to see.

Author Adam Bray continues the tradition of many DK titles by writing “in-universe”. There’s no mention that these are about movies at all. Each section has a new heading and then the text focuses on that element for a few pages such as Creatures of the Deep, Monsters as Pets, Creepy Crawlies and Space Monsters.

Sadly there’s no creatures from Star Wars: The Clone Wars in here or from the Expanded Universe. The Zillo Beast is just too big to fit in this book, I imagine!

The book serves as an excellent introduction to the many non-human, non-sentient lifeforms in the Star Wars movies. Think of it as a sort of a young readers’ The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide.

Recommended for any detail-oriented reader who’s enthusiastic to learn more about the furry, scaly, slimy or slithery beasts in the Star Wars saga.

Stay tuned for an interview with What Makes a Monster? author Adam Bray coming soon to Star Wars Kidscast podcast!

Star Wars Kidscast on Official Star Wars site: The Muppet Connection

Darth Vader & Oscar the Grouch briefly appear together in Night at the Museum

Check out the Official Star Wars Blog and see my first post there! It focuses on the connections between two of my favourite entertainment entities: Star Wars (of course) and The Muppets.

Did you know that Chewbacca once danced on The Muppet Show? Or that C-3PO & R2-D2 visited Sesame Street? Learn more here!

Wocka wocka!
-Chris

Star Wars Kidscast Gift Guide for Younglings & Padawans: Part 1 "Watch & Listen"

At the top of any list should be the actual Star Wars films. If your family has yet to own copies of the first 6 movies (fun to be able to say that because Episode 7 draws closer each day!) now is a good time to get them. The "Prequel Trilogy" (Ep. 1-3) & the "Original Trilogy" (Ep. 4-6) are available now as BluRay/DVD combo boxed sets. If you can still find it though, we recommend the earlier BluRay "Complete Saga" set because it has THREE DISCS of bonus features!

If you already have the movies and haven't been collecting each season set of The Clone Wars, you can get the complete set now of all 5 seasons! Each are also individually sold too. This show was/is amazing and never got the recognition it deserved. Sadly it's over, but there's 5 seasons to enjoy again and again!

HighBridge Audio recently re-released the Star Wars Radio Drama on a single mp3 CD. Now you can enjoy this expanded version of Episode 4: A New Hope on the road or at home. Recorded in 1981 with Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Anthony Daniels (C-3P0) reprising their on-screen roles, this official radio adaptation features all the sound effects and music you'd expect, and many scenes that did not make it into the final film.

Imagine if Star Wars was longer with more of Luke's story, more of Leia's journey, and just more original Star Wars! You can chose between two different art styles...light side or dark side. Each comes with 2 Topps collector cards and some extra bonus material including vintage commercials and a making-of documentary. Visit the HighBridge Audio site here to order!

If you've got a young music lover to shop for, consider any (or all!) of the 6 Star Wars soundtrack CDs each with fantastic and memorable scores by John Williams! 



More recommendations to come including MANY Star Wars books, toys, clothes & more!

TELETOON presents LEGO: Star Wars Day - November 28th!

The third & final LEGO: Star Wars Yoda Chronicles episode will debut on Wednesday, November 27th on Cartoon Network USA, and to prep you for it they're running repeats of the first 2 Yoda Chronicles episodes first. 

Here in Canada we have to wait a day to see the Yoda Chronicles finale but TELETOON is certainly making it worth the wait with a marathon of ALL 4 previous  LEGO: Star Wars shows before the new one! No wonder their calling it LEGO: Star Wars day!

On Thursday, November 28 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, TELETOON presents “Attack of the Jedi,” Part 3 of LEGO® Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles. Leading up to the premiere, starting at 5 p.m. ET/PT, TELETOON will broadcast a marathon of back-to-back LEGO® Star Wars specials, including LEGO® Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, LEGO® Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, The Yoda Chronicles: The Phantom Clone and The Yoda Chronicles: The Menace of Sith.

Here's the schedule:

• LEGO® Star Wars: The Padawan Menace - 5 p.m. ET/PT

• LEGO® Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out - 5:30 p.m. ET/PT

• LEGO® Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles: The Phantom Clone (Part 1) - 6 p.m. ET/PT

• LEGO® Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles:  The Menace of the Sith (Part 2) - 6:30 p.m. ET/PT

 Then the BRAND NEW finale to the Yoda Chronicles series:

• LEGO® Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles: Attack of the Jedi (Part 3)

Premieres Thursday, November 28 at 7 p.m. ET/PT

Obi-Wan learns that several major Sith lords and their apprentices are gathered at Mustafar. The Jedi hurry to Mustafar to destroy the Sith in one blow, only to discover that it’s a trap. The Republic fleet is destroyed, but the Padawans manage to put their bus back together. Yoda, Anakin and the Padawans travel to Endor where JEK is. All hope now rests on JEK.

 

Check your local listings for more info or visit Teletoon.com

Countdown to Halloween: 10 Best Star Wars Monsters!

Here's an article from the official Star Wars website about the 10 Best Star Wars Monsters, according to the StarWars.com Team....some of these will make it into the upcoming Star Wars Kidscast Halloween special indeed...

I wish there really was a trading card set of Star Wars monsters!

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2013/10/22/the-starwars-com-10-best-monsters/

Funny 1999 KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell Commercial - Episode One

Jedi Camp - Official Teaser Trailer

Jedi Camp is 6-part fan movie about kids who love Star Wars & learn about bullying and personal strength at Jedi Camp! Check it out:

The website for more info about Jedi Camp is http://www.jedicamp.com