Children’s Book Review – “Star Wars: Use the Force! Discover What It Takes to Be a Jedi”

Has your young child expressed interest in becoming a Jedi? Or are you a Star Wars-loving parent looking to introduce your kids to the fictional group of warrior monks known as the Jedi Order? Well, Lucasfilm Publishing and DK have recently put out the perfect book for you and your family.

Star Wars: Use the Force! Discover What It Takes to Be a Jedi is a handy, easy-to-read guide to all things related to the Force and its users from A Galaxy Far, Far Away. It’s packed with tongue-in-cheek humor and simple, fun drawings depicting the trials and training a Padawan learner must go through to become a full-fledged Jedi Knight.

Written by Christian Blauvelt (Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills) with illustrations by Dan Crisp and Jon Hall, Star Wars: Use the Force! is, like many other recent Lucasfilm-licensed books and internet content like YouTube animated series, surely intended to drum up more interest in the George Lucas-created Star Wars saga among the younger generation. And it generally takes a light-hearted approach in doing so– having read the book, a child will walk away with more knowledge about the Jedi and their role in the larger franchise, but they’ll also be entertained by a steady stream of jokes and cartoons that ensure this would-be guidebook doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Presented somewhere between in-canon and from the perspective of an Earthling aware of the Star Wars series’ pop-culture surroundings, Star Wars: Use the Force! draws upon existing lore to explain the importance and function of the Jedi Order in the galaxy, from its efforts to keep the peace to its military duty during the Clone Wars. It introduces its readers to the major players of the Force-using religion– among them Master Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker– then examines opposing Dark Side beings such as Sheev Palpatine, Darth Maul, Snoke, Kylo Ren, and of course Darth Vader. The book then sketches out a rough outline of the rise and fall of the Jedi Knights as we know it to have existed over a thousand generations, following through to the emergence of the First Order and the significance of Rey’s arrival to confront the overwhelming evil of the galaxy.

Also mentioned are a variety of lightsaber fighting styles, spaceships and other modes of transportation utilized by the Jedi, gear one might find on a Jedi’s utility belt, what the experience of attending the Jedi Academy might be like, and how one actually acquires the Force to begin with. Like other similar books before it, Star Wars: Use the Force! provides a decent surface-level look at the Jedi for those who may only know the word in passing and want to learn more about that particular aspect of the fictional Star Wars universe. It’s bound to make a good stocking-stuffer gift for younglings who are ready to take their first steps into a larger world.

Star Wars: Use the Force! Discover What It Takes to Be a Jedi is available now wherever books are sold.

Mike Celestino
Mike serves as Laughing Place's lead Southern California reporter, Editorial Director for Star Wars content, and host of the weekly "Who's the Bossk?" Star Wars podcast. He's been fascinated by Disney theme parks and storytelling in general all his life and resides in Burbank, California with his beloved wife and cats.