Vader's Little Princess, by Jeffrey Brown, is a sequel to his very popular book Darth Vader And Son. It's a series of single-page comic strips about what it would be like if Old Man Skywalker actually had to raise Princess Leia as a teenager. So before the hardcore nerds get out of control about how none of this could have been possible, just remember we're dealing with characters who can talk to Wookies, so take it for what it is.
The Good - The parent in me definitely enjoys being able to share Darth Vader with my two year old. Of course she doesn't get it, but she thinks it's really funny when I do the Vader breathing noise between pages. And at my age, it's just nice to have anyone think I'm funny anymore.
The jokes are really clever, ranging from Leia's slave outfit (above) to a jab at Vader's "Nooooooooo" when he sees his daughter kissing Han Solo. Perhaps the smartest giggles comes from the scene in Empire Strikes Back where Vader has the rebels sit down for dinner... except in this version, Leia has just brought Han home to meet daddy. So instead of showing the boyfriend his shotgun like most dads, Vader takes his daughter's scoundrel to the Carbon Freezing Chamber.
The artwork is just perfect for this type of book too. It's simple, expressive, and captures the spirits of the characters.
The Bad - Am I the only one who was expecting a tongue-in-cheek joke about Leia open-mouth kissing her brother?
The Verdict - Your kid, like mine, has no idea what's going on in this book. My daughter, who does enjoy looking at books about Superman and Batman, would still prefer to look at Bubble Guppies or Thomas. That's not to say she'll never get this kind of humor, I'm just suggesting this book was really made for the parents and not the kids. Those of us who have grown up and are trying to buy back are childhood can now drop $14.95 to try and include our own children in our memories. It's smart marketing, really, and allows us to geek out and feel good about it for a change.
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