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First look: Relive a famous Star Wars moment in new picture book, A Jedi, You Will Be
A Jedi, You Will Be is an adorable new Star Wars picture book from Disney/Lucasfilm that recalls the touching training scene in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back on the planet Dagobah — and SYFY WIRE has an exclusive peek inside its treasures, with candid comments from its author and a whimsical selection of concept art sketches.
Written by Preeti Chhibber (a contributing editor for SYFY Fangrrls) and lovingly illustrated by Mike Deas, this sparkling release is a little Star Wars gem that should be judged not by its size. Its simple story allows readers to learn how to use the elusive powers of the Force in this humorous, stylized offering narrated by everybody's favorite green-skinned Jedi Master, Yoda.
It arrives Oct. 6 to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Academy Award-winning film deemed by legions to be the finest in the entire Star Wars Saga.
This is Chhibber's first official Star Wars book, and she was more than thrilled to get to play in this iconic sci-fi sandbox.
"I do have a short story in a Clone Wars anthology coming out later this year, but the two projects happened pretty much concurrently," she tells SYFY WIRE. "Which is bananapants! If a year ago, someone had told me that I'd be writing in a Star Wars book, I would have laughed in their face. This is a dream come true. I'm a huge, huge dork for all things in the Star Wars-verse.
"Partnering with the team over at Lucasfilm has been amazing, as well," she adds. "My editor on this book, Caitlin Kennedy, was as much of a passionate nerd about the universe as I am, and it made the act of writing feel less like work. The best part of writing Yoda is that I am writing Yoda."
One of Chhibber's most satisfying memories of the project was getting to write about the Force.
"The iteration of the Force we experience in the original trilogy is similar to my own belief system, so it was fun working through the familiar philosophies that Yoda imparts onto Luke and working to share the positive ways in which we can interact with the world with such a young audience.
"Also, the illustrations. I cannot wait for the illustrations to be out in the world. I’ve only seen a few samples of Mike Deas’ work, but I can already say it’s my favorite iteration of Yoda."
"More than ever we have an opportunity and responsibility to reach young readers with positive, productive ideas," she explains. "I may not even be able to remember the first time I watched the original trilogy, but its ideas of being committed to goodness and of rejecting the Dark Side played a part in shaping me. So getting to share those ideals with a young audience through a picture book is truly an exciting thing to do."
Journey to the steamy swamp planet of Dagobah in these gorgeous concept art sketches from Star Wars: A Jedi, You Will Be in the full gallery below, then tell us if this must-have fall release will bind your universe together.
