Meet your new favorite good night book…Are You Scared, Darth Vader?

Skeptical I was. Fearful of a children’s book with Lord Vader on the cover. Fear, dread of a different kind. Take a beloved character. One who withstood the drudge of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith and still managed to emerge on the other side as cool as he entered them. Fear not readers of any age. Are You Scared, Darth Vader? by Adam Rex is a joy to read. This is a beautiful book that will immediately ingratiate itself into your children’s library and it’ll stay there for generations.

Moreover, Are You Scared, Darth Vader? is the first book in years that both of our children (aged 8 and 6) immediately said; “Can you read that again please”, the first time after they heard it. This is even more impressive because our children are only vaguely familiar with Star Wars. Sure they know the basic characters.

They know Yoda, Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, Rey and Skywalker something, something. However, they’ve both been Darth Vader for Halloween, have multiple light sabers and have a couple Vader masks that they wear even when costumes aren’t the norm in October. Everybody loves a good heel and Darth Vader is the 500 pound gorilla when it comes to a great villain.

That’s another reason why Are You Scared, Darth Vader? is such a treat. He’s still a villain in the book,  yet it’s laugh out loud funny for adults. Children will smile throughout the book and laugh a certain parts louder than others.

It’s reminiscent of How This Book Was Made, another one by Adam Rex that we really loved. That book is also still in our children’s library and will make the transition to big boxes of books that we save for the grandkids. The art in Are You Scared, Darth Vader is layered, deep and gorgeous. The characters were drawn in Photoshop then superimposed over photographs of a swampy planet that Darth Vader unwittingly finds himself on.

Whatever you do, don’t ask Darth Vader if he’s scared. The less you know about the actual plot of this book the better. I knew nothing about its plot until I read it to our 6 year-old. I immediately ran into our other son’s room, gave the book to my wife who was in there so they could read it. Alas, right behind me was said 6 year-old who was asking me to read the book again.

Are You Scared, Darth Vader? manages to be respectful of the character, in addition to realizing that the character has to evolve in order for the property to be relevant. Older fans have accepted (well most have) that Star Wars has many elements that must be kid friendly. In retrospect, Star Wars-A New Hope was a children’s film. It was a groundbreaking film that introduced classic characters, but it was also a family friendly film.  I hope I’m not shattering the geek Holy Grail by publically stating that.

This book will satisfy families looking for a great children’s book. If your family is one with the Force they will love Are You Scared, Darth Vader. Trust in this and fear not. This is classic stuff that will immediately reward you.