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Star Wars: The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary & Incredible Cross Sections

Jan1
The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary

The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary

Pablo Hadalgo

DK, 2017

80pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9780241281093

 

The Last Jedi Incredible Cross Sections

The Last Jedi Incredible Cross Sections

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Jedi Incredible Cross Sections

Jason Fry

Kemp Remillard

DK, 2017

48pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9780241281079

In 1977, when most of the world was dancing to Saturday Night Fever  George Lucas created a collection of characters who lived  “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away”.  Who could have foreseen that 40 years on those characters would still be as popular as ever and the eighth episode in the saga would break box-office records in its first weekend of release.

In The Last Jedi , the second film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.  And, like its predecessors, it is packed with memorable characters and amazing machinery so it was inevitable that these two publications would accompany its release as fans and fanatics strive to know more about everyone, everywhere and everything.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi™ The Visual Dictionary is the definitive guide to the movie revealing the characters, creatures, droids, locations, and technology from the new film whilst The Last Jedi Incredible Cross Sections reveals the inner workings of 13 key vehicles from Episode VIII of the Star Wars™ saga, Star Wars: The Last Jedi™. Each vehicle is shown as an intricately detailed, full-colour cross-section artwork, complete with callouts to the important features of each ship. Clear, comprehensive text makes this an indispensable reference guide for the new craft in the Star Wars galaxy.

The Star Wars phenomenon has spanned almost the entire length of my teaching career and I wish I had $1 for every child, particularly boys, who has sought out the publications accompanying each film, pored over them with mates for hours discussing, reading, searching, and learning so much more than just about the topic of the book.  With the usual excellent and now expected standard of DK publishing they have been stand-outs, almost impossible to keep on the shelves and these two new additions are no exception. 

There will be few students who have not seen this movie over this holiday period and so to come back to school to a display which features the very latest in print accompaniments will be like a huge welcome banner telling them that the library really does have something for them in 2018!

Can’t get better than that!

Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia

May4
Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia

Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia

Adam Bray

Cole Horton

Tricia Barr

DK Publishing, 2017

200pp., hbk., RRP $A39.99

9781465459626

 

Forty years ago when most of the world was dancing to Saturday Night Fever  George Lucas created a collection of characters who lived  “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away”. Star Wars was launched and Hans Solo,  Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2D2,, Eowks and Darth Vader became part of our vocabulary and light sabres and X-wings were in everyone’s home!

Fast forward to 2017 and Star Wars has more fans now than then and it holds the Guinness Book of records record for the most successful film merchandising franchise ever.  So on this, the 40th Star Wars day, this visual encyclopedia will be greeted with enthusiasm from fans new and old.  

The publisher describes it best…

“Covering more than 2500 characters, creatures, planets, vehicles, Droids, weapons, technology and more from the Star Wars universe, this visual tour is the ultimate compendium for the epic saga and beyond.

With a full history of the galactic politics, the Jedi Council, and the Empire, Star wars: The Visual Dictionary walks fans through the entire timeline of Star Wars.  Galleries of images and information on every page, including lightsabers, languages, clothing and more are showcased with fascinating facts and trivia…Discover the food, architecture, transportation and more from this galaxy far, far away.  Each section of the book focuses on different topics to dedicate special attention and detail to every part of the universe, no matter how small.  From the planets in the outer rim to Padme’s bridal wear, nothing is missed.

A celebration of all things Star Wars, this visual museum is the perfect addition to any fan’s bookshelf.”

 

Given that I couldn’t keep the books on the shelves in my primary library two years ago, this would also be a great addition to a library’s shelves too.

Star Wars Galactic Atlas

Nov16
Star Wars Galactic Atlas

Star Wars Galactic Atlas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Wars Galactic Atlas

Tim McDonagh

Hardie Grant Egmont, 2016

80pp., hbk.,  RRP $A39.99

9781405279987

While Star Wars: The Original Trilogy: A Graphic Novel told the story of the original three Star Wars movie, this magnificent tome is for the aficionado who want to know more and understand more.  In full colour and measuring 37cm x 27cm, huge double-page spreads cover everything from Endor and Naboo to Tatooine and Yavin 4, at the same time spanning the epic stories, the strange creatures and the glorious vistas of the galaxy of long ago and far, far away.

It contains everything a fan wants to know about the worlds and creatures of the Star Wars universe. Facts about planets and characters are woven into complex, brand-new illustrations that will keep them  busy for hours.

Your Star Wars fans will love this.

Star Wars: The Original Trilogy: A Graphic Novel

Nov15
Star Wars

Star Wars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Wars: The Original Trilogy: A Graphic Novel

Hardie Grant Egmont, 2016

208pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760128180

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away – well it was actually 1977 and the world was very different then – George Lucas released the first of his Star Wars movies and such was its impact that almost 40 years on those who saw it then are still fans and every day it gathers a new cohort, young and not-so-young.  Such was the success of the original, plans for more were made and in 1980 it was followed by The Empire Strikes Back and in 1983, The Return of the Jedi.

Since then there have been prequels and sequels and a massive merchandising franchise that it holds the Guinness World Records title for the “most successful film merchandising franchise. With the 40th anniversary clearly in sight this is only going to grow and so the release of a graphic novel -the preferred book format of so many- is sure to build a whole new legion of fans.  

Containing the three original films, now dubbed Episodes IV, V and VI this release will appeal to those who are already devotees (so many of my family and friends have asked for the review copies) as well as gather new ones.  For those in school libraries it will add another dimension to your Star Wars collections of both fiction and fact which never seem to stay on the shelf and always have a long reserve list, in my experience. Now the core of the phenomenon is accessible to even the most reluctant reader or new English speaker in print format and that alone, makes it a must-have.

And a certain Christmas stocking is sorted for me!

Batman: Character Encyclopedia

Mar22
Batman: Character Encyclopedia

Batman: Character Encyclopedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batman: Character Encyclopedia

Matthew K. Manning

Dorling Kindersley, 2016

208pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780241232071

 

We are definitely in the Age of the Super Hero as books and movies about characters from long-ago comics light up the eyes of our younger readers, particularly the boys.  The reserve list for anything of that nature was long in my library last year.

Batman, aka  the “Caped Crusader”, the “Dark Knight“, and the “World’s Greatest Detective” was first introduced to the world via Bob Kane, Bill Finger and DC Comics in May, 1939 – before the outbreak of World War II – and is as popular today as ever. After witnessing the murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne, has declared war and revenge on criminals and using his Batman alter ego and his supporters Robin, police commissioner Jim Gordon and his butler Alfred Pennyworth, he goes forth to fight crime particularly his arch-enemy The Joker, using his intellect, his wealth and his physical abilities rather than any super-powers. His dream is to create “a better, brighter Gotham City”.  This creates a huge scope for writers to produce multiple stories of his escapades which have enthralled audiences for generations.

Throughout this time, many characters have passed through his life and in this newly-published encyclopedia, the reader is introduced to 200 of these through thumbnail sketches, “Vital Stats” and vivid illustrations. Each is designated with a ‘hero’, ‘rogue’, ‘ally’ or ‘neutral’ icon and there is a brief indication of what happened to them in the end. Each character has their own page and the reading is easy making this a wonderful way to capture those who are more entranced with film rather than text and who may be thinking that books have little to offer them. They might even be encouraged to talk about their particular favourite and write or draw a page for a new encyclopedia about super heroes.

For those who still like to teach children how to use encyclopedia, it has all the regular attributes including a contents page and full index (including bolded entries) and because the entries are not in the traditional alphabetical order of encyclopedic format, the reader has to use these to navigate the text. Great, subtle practice – a bit like eating vegetables disguised as drinks or cakes!

I can see this being as popular as all the other super hero titles on the shelves.