Star Wars    adapted by Larry Weinberg Order:  USA  Can Random House, 2004 (2004) Hardcover, Audio Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by J. A. Kaszuba Locke Larry Weinberg has adapted the adult Star Wars book and movie to a story for youngsters in large, bold print, illustrated by original color photos of the cast and scenes from the movie - including R2D2, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan-Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia. The pronunciation of some words - such as Tatooine ('tah-too-WEEN') - is included in parentheses. The story begins, 'Long ago and far, far away there was an evil empire. It ruled over a whole galaxy.' Within that galaxy, Rebel planets attempt to free themselves from the empire's rule. Darth Vader and his troopers are searching for the written plans for the 'Death Star'. Princess Leia is travelling on the Rebel ship, which is attacked by Vader. Leia uses droid R2-D2 to sneak the plans to the Alliance, before she is captured by Vader. R2-D2 and Threepio end up on the planet of Tatooine, home of Luke Skywalker. Avoiding the Tusken Raiders, Luke and the droids find Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ben), a Master Jedi, who has been in seclusion in his desert home. Ben sees Leia's message and cry for help via a hologram shown by R2D2. In search of a ship, Ben, Luke, and the two droids meet with Captain Han Solo and Chewbacca, who own the 'Millennium Falcon'. They hire Han to assist in rescuing the Princess. Weinberg offers a splendid adaptation of Star Wars (A New Hope) for youngsters. The language of R2D2 - 'Pling, plang, bleep! Gleep, blurp, glurp, wur-beep' - is wondrous, as the little droid travels with his faithful companion Threepio, who understands all languages. I highly recommend Weinberg's version as a saga worth reading by young and old together. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews