I will have to admit that as a geek parent, I often purchase items for my daughter that are for nostalgic purposes or are just plain geeky gimmicks. When I saw the children’s book Goodnight Darth Vader, I knew that I just had to have it because…why not? (I ended up putting it on her wish list, and my sister got it for my daughter as a birthday present.) I think it’s cute that there are so many geek novelty items out there that I can share with my daughter. This particular Star Wars-themed children’s books is particularly adorable in all of the right ways. It brings back a lot of nostalgia for adults, and is fairly cute for the kids.
Goodnight Darth Vader is a children’s book written and illustrated by Jeffrey Brown. It was published in 2014 by Chronicle Books. Brown has written previous Star Wars-themed children’s books such as Darth Vader an Son (2012) and Vader’s Littler Princess (2013). Goodnight Darth Vader continues the tradition of combining the rhythm and repetition of children’s books with cute pictures and Star Wars content. It parodies the classic children’s book, Goodnight Moon.
The premise of the book is that Darth Vader needs to get his children, Luke and Leia to bed, as if they were a somewhat normal family. The rest of the book goes through saying “goodnight” to all of the familiar Star Wars characters from the original trilogy to the prequels. It’s definitely a nostalgia trip for the adult reading the book, though I’m not quite sure if the young child will appreciate it as much.
The “good nights” go (mostly) in chronological order from The Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi. Every two pages rhyme, so when you open the book, each set of pages go together. Some of the rhyming doesn’t flow as nicely as other sets, but for the most part, it’s an enjoyable book to read aloud to a child.
The artwork is definitely the best part of the book. It fits the tone and feel of the book quite well. Each page has a fairly full color comic-like drawing of a particular Star Wars scene. Sure, it’s cutesy, but it is a children’s book after all.
Though the book is very enjoyable, I wish that there was the option of getting it as a board book so that it is a little more toddler-proof. I could only find it as either an e-book or as a hard cover with soft pages. Overall, though, I think this is a great buy for Star Wars fans who would like to share their fandom with the younger generation. Yes, it’s a bit of a gimmick, but I don’t think most adults who are considering purchasing this book will mind.