R2-D2 Books

The illustrations are excellent, but the story is terrible. It's like they tried to tie all three original Star Wars episodes into this little book...Well, the key word there is little, and therefore, the condensing didn't take. It doesn't read well.

While I usually do not review my children's books, this one deserves a mention, especially at the price on the back cover of the copy we have.

This is a board book, with thick cardboard pages. The difference is there is a plastic R2D2 suspended in the spine of the book by a piece of nylon string. When you open the book, there he is, as if in the action being illustrated on the pages. Cute, huh?

The very, very basic story is the first "Star Wars" film , or should I write the first half of the first "Star Wars" film retold from R2D2's point of view. We see Princess Leia put in the data, he is bought by Luke Skywalker, they are saved by Obi-Wan Kenobi, who dutifully retrieves the data. The end.

The book is pretty harmless for kids, not dragging in any violence, battles, or even Darth Vader. Actually, younger kids might get a shock if they think "Star Wars" is about a cute robot and nothing more.

The plastic figure suspended on the string makes it difficult to shelve this little book. I am counting the days when the string will snap, and the story will be read with a gaping hole in the pages. The toy itself is nothing to look at, soft plastic and an assembly line paint job. The illustrations border on the "Saturday Night Live" adventures of the Ambiguously Gay Duo, not meant to do anymore than basically draw the characters to be vaguely identifiable. Obi-Wan looks like Santa Claus and Luke Skywalker looks like Princess Diana.

...This book is just sixteen pages. ..., and you get the little rubber toy for that poor 3-D effect, but isn't it sad that parents who are trying to please their children and their interests must pay this amount? Thank goodness we received this in a box of discarded toys from a cousin who had grown out of it. Any "Star Wars" fan would like this, other beware.