I finally get to review another of Jeffrey Brown’s Star Wars books! Goodnight Darth Vader is another fun book showing what life might be like if Darth Vader had to raise his twins. This time, it’s a spoof of that classic bedtime storybook, Goodnight Moon.

Luke and Leia don’t want to go to bed when that time rolls around each day, as is common with all young children. To help them go to sleep, Darth Daddy reads them a bedtime story to help them get in the mood for sleeping. Brown really did his homework for Goodnight Darth Vader, and included references to many characters, some well-known and some not so much. All of them are drawn in his cute and child-friendly style, even those characters which aren’t terribly cute (Sarlacc, anyone?).

As in the previous books, Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess, Brown has a knack for adapting the famous phrases or characteristics of our beloved Star Wars characters into something new. “If you only knew the power of sleep.” “Luke! Leia! Join me and I will complete your bedtime!” Tell me you didn’t hear James Earl Jones‘ voice when you read those. Go ahead. I’ll believe you.

For anyone who is a Star Wars fan, or anyone who enjoys a fun picture book, Goodnight Darth Vader is an excellent choice. The only drawback to the book is that some of the rhyming is not quite as good as it could be, but I give props to Brown for really trying. As with all of Brown’s books in this series, there aren’t too many words, and all the illustrations are colorful and fun. I recommend this book.

Release Date: July 22, 2014 (USA)
ISBNs: 1452128308 (9781452128306)
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Language: English

MySF Rating: Four point five stars
Family Friendliness: 100%

Content:

Alcohol/Drugs: 0
Language: 0
Nudity: 0
Sexuality: 0
Violence: 1 (goofy violence)