Vader’s Little Princess (Star Wars: Darth Vader and Kids) by Jeffrey Brown

There’s going to be a bit of rambling before my review actually begins, so I apologize for that now.

I went out to my Sharing Library the other day to replenish the contents, which had been looking a little low recently. Imagine my surprise when I found it stuffed to the gills with children’s books, supplied, I suspect, from the largesse of my next door neighbor given that it has books on being a good big sister, and they’re the only family on the street with such (and don’t think I’m not jealous.) I set aside the stack of novels I’d brought out, and set about to neatly arranging the updated contents of the library, in the process deciding to take this book  for myself because it’s just too cute!

Aside: one of my dearest friends, tho we haven’t spoken in a while, is named Vaden and I kept layering his name on this adorable title, especially since he has a little girl, too (and don’t think I’m not jealous of that either!)

To the review! I honestly think that if I hand this to my nine year-old, he’d flip through dutifully then return it to me with a shrug. I mean, he likes Star Wars, but I’m not sure if he’s ever seen the entirety of the original trilogy, and for anyone who hasn’t, the references here will be vanishingly obscure. The jokes are also, in large part, to do with Darth Vader struggling to parent a cute daughter (and son, who occasionally pops up) who grows up to be a rebellious teenager, which really isn’t high on the list of things my kid finds funny yet. I laughed at the contents a few times and definitely admired the art work, but this is definitely a book that will most appeal to the Star Wars fan who happens to be the parent of a daughter, or to a Star Wars fan who is a rebellious daughter. Tho in all likelihood, she’d be the one handing the book to dear old dad as a birthday gift and a reminder that parenting could always be harder!

Overall, cute but, to anyone but Star Wars families (and I know there are a lot of you out there!), inessential.