Author Preeti Chhibber has shared her process for writing the children’s book A Jedi, You Will Be.
A children’s book may be the last place you’d look to find bonus content in the Star Wars canon. But with its growing selection of Star Wars titles, you can find plenty of new Star Wars knowledge — yes, even in children’s books.
And in the latest book to come out, A Jedi, You Will Be, author Preeti Chhibber got the chance to add in a little bit more to the Star Wars universe as we know it. This book is focused on using Luke Skywalker’s training on Dagobah as a story to teach young children about perseverance and never giving up — something, of course, we saw Luke himself deal with when he went to Master Yoda on his swamp-like planet. The book is even told from Yoda’s perspective, hence the title A Jedi, You Will Be. And it’s Yoda who’s the one dealing out lessons and words of wisdom to the young ones who will be picking up these books (and the older ones who may be reading them out loud).
Speaking to StarWars.com, Chhibber revealed what it was like to fill in the gaps and add on to the classic scene from Episode V. For example, in the Star Wars blog post, they have a preview of a page that shows Luke relaxing after his training with a not-so-menacing looking swamp creature. On this subject, Chhibber said:
"[Illustrator Mike Deas] actually answered this on Twitter! My notes in the manuscript were very much, “A creature goes here, something reptilian,” or maybe, “This one might look like a quokka?” and then Mike came back with these really fun and interesting aliens."
In the Twitter exchange Chhibber was referring to, last month, she and illustrator Deas revealed what it was like to add in new elements to the story, specifically creatures. Deas responded by saying that he used a little inspiration from artist Ralph McQuarrie and even showed off a few sketches that inspired the creatures’ designs.
https://twitter.com/DeasIllos/status/1308105694411857922?s=20
According to the Star Wars blog, the book has a few more additional scenes not mentioned here. And yes, while it is just a children’s book and not a full-on novelized addition of the canon, sometimes it’s the simple things that are the most charming.
A Jedi, You Will Be will be out on Oct. 6 wherever books are sold.
For more Star Wars book updates and reviews, keep up with the Books category on Dork Side of the Force.