I have to confess my nerdiness, although I’m not really sure
that I have done a good job at hiding it. Not only am I a bookworm, I am a Star
Wars aficionado. Some people say “Fan Boy,” but that makes me feel like a
little kid. Having these two hobbies/interests/obsessions comes with its own
struggles; of course one of them is fighting the ladies off with a stick. I
love reading and I love Star Wars, but sometimes people do not have the same
passion that I feel when these two topics arise. So you can imagine my fears
when I found out that my wife was pregnant. What if he hates books? What if he
doesn’t love Star Wars? And worst of all, what if he likes Jar-Jar?
I have a very young cousin (now in middle school) who loves
books and reading. I buy her books whenever I can to encourage her love of
reading. I made a deal with her a few years ago that any book that I gave her I
would read too, and we could enjoy it together as part of our shared interest.
Naturally, the first book I gave her was Star Wars themed. She loved it. Now I have my own son and I
want him to be raised with the force as part of his life, but more importantly
I want him to appreciate the written word. How could I ensure that I raise him
to love reading?
I have found a solution to this problem that eases my
concerns. Listed below are a few wonderful Star Wars themed books written for
children; well, written for parents wanting to brainwash their children into
loving the same franchise that they were raised on.
Darth Vader and Son by
Jeffrey Brown
This was actually the first book we purchased for our son
while my wife was pregnant. It is mostly a picture book with little dialogue
and it is about the struggles that Darth Vader encounters as part of being a
father. Some of these include Luke getting a boo-boo, Vader digging Luke out of
the compactor, and even Vader/son naptime. Brown has also written Vader’s Little Princess which is about
the Dark Lord’s little girl, Leia. This was the first book I read to my son,
but mostly I just show him the pictures and say things like “look son, a
lightsaber,” or “that’s Darth Vader.”
