Star Wars Rebels: A Review of Stocking Stuff Story Books

December 23, 2014December 23, 2014 Linda Linda Hansen-Raj, review, Star Wars, Star Wars Rebels

If you’re looking for some last-minute Star Wars gifts for your younglings, consider these young-reader books tied to Star Wars Rebels:

Star Wars Rebels: Rise of the Rebels, Michael Kogge

This is a nice introduction to the Rebels series. It is a chapter book, rated for grades 3-7, but the older end of the range may be bored. Characters are introduced in little vignettes. At first I was unimpressed that was nothing new told in the stories. However, I read this a few times – before I saw Rebels and then afterwards – and it grew on me. That’s always an advantage when choosing a book for little ones. It’s a cute book to introduce the series to younger kids. My favorite character in this book ended up being Chopper.

Star Wars Rebels: Head to Head, Pablo Hidalgo

This book is designed for grades 3-7 and was really fun. It gives insights into each character with D&D style stats on characteristics like strength, intelligence etc. Interesting to note that only the Sith Inquisitor was rated more intelligent than Sabine and Hera. Of all the books I have reviewed for Rebels so far, I found this the most unique and interesting. Good for older kids in the grade 3-7 range and kids who enjoy D&D style games.

Star Wars Rebels: Chopper Saves the Day, Lucasfilm Press

This is mostly a picture book for younger readers. It’s a retelling of the same story as Rise of the Rebels, but from Chopper’s view. Since I find Chopper adorable, I found this a charming book for the youngest readers; however, it is an exact repeat of the story from Rise of the Rebels, so a combination of the two books would probably bore an older reader.

All these books are good introductions to the series; my favorite is still Ryder Wyndham’s Ezra’s Gamble, because it tells an original story. I’m enjoying the series, but look forward to reading more stories focused on the female characters.

Linda has been a Star Wars fan from the time she saw Episode IV in the theatre with her parents and insisted on being Han Solo while playing with the neighborhood kids. She’s now a fangirl who splits her time learning to twirl a bo staff like Ray Park, jumping horses, writing fanfic she dreams up on her commute to work, and spending time with her husband and their own feisty Padawan version of Ahsoka. She can be reached at Linda.HansenRaj@gmail.com and on Twitter.