The Chewbacca Story adapted by Benjamin Harper

     The Chewbacca Story adapted by Benjamin Harper is a retelling of the events from the original and sequel trilogies from the point of view of Chewbacca...well, sort of. It retells only the events that Chewbacca had a part in without using the first person. I think this could've been a really interesting retelling if they had actually done it from his point of view. Instead, we're left with a partial story and a manner of story-telling that is more than anything just this happened then this happened. A let down for sure. But it is a children's book so I can understand to some degree.
     There is a Chewbacca toy - his head that makes noise when you press a button - attached to the book for the reader to play when reading. It makes a low mournful growling noise which is more indicative of sad Chewbacca than typical Chewbacca. I would've liked to see the toy make at least three different noises, encapsulating all Chewie's manners of speaking. Throughout the book there are Chewie icons that indicate the reader is supposed to play the toy. These icons are proceeded with the alternating phrases, "Chewbacca roared" and "Chewbacca howled." And as I already said, the toy does neither of these things. Plus the dialogue tags are tacked on and seem out of place. I feel it would've made a better story if the dialogue tags had been left out completely and the icon was just placed in opportune locations.
     When the book talks about Chewie saving C-3PO on Cloud City, it doesn't go into his immense efforts to put the droid back together. The Empire Strikes Back junior reader I just finished goes into so much detail about how Chewie was caring for C-3PO and wanted him to be whole. The details were meaningful and showed his heart. I wish that had been relayed here as well.
     I know I'm being really picky, but I've just read so many better young readers. No new thoughts or emotions were added so this was just a straight up retelling of events. Pretty disappointing.
     The one thing I did appreciate, although it would've been super cool to see more pages devoted to this, was the inclusion of pre-original trilogy Chewie stories. "During the Clone Wars, he helped free Jedi younglings. He also fought valiantly in the Battle of Kachirho on his home planet when droid armies invaded, and helped Jedi Master Yoda escape a sinister plot to wipe out the Jedi." These are both important events in Chewie's life, glossed over as prologue. *Sigh*
     Not really worth the read, but it's available right now for only $4 on Amazon so if you really want to check it out, it's affordable.