Star Wars Who’s Who in the Galaxy (A Character Storybook)

Would you like to introduce your kids to the world of Star Wars before plopping them down in front of the films for a marathon? Star Wars: Who’s Who in the Galaxy is a pretty good place to start. Exploring both the characters and the important moments in the films (in chronological order, prequels before originals), this book is packed with helpful information, colorful artwork, and enough of the bits and pieces to summarize the saga in short order.

The art is easily the best thing about this book. The characters all have expressive faces and feel like they could leap from the page and head off into battle. The animals are similarly engaging— the wampa art, in particular, is positively badass— and the universe comes to life in vivid, warmly-cartoonish fashion.

But be warned, this is a very Disney-friendly version of events. There’s no crispy Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, no Anakin beheading Count Dooku or slaughtering younglings. And some of the plot summaries are… peculiar. It’s a singularly obtuse take to mention the scene where Han is frozen in carbonite, and only write “Leia loves Han.” Even if you want to keep it simple, not acknowledging that he obviously loves her back, but can’t say so, is a betrayal of one of the best moments in the films.

The art is glorious, the writing a bit less so.