C-3PO has one thing in common with his maker, Anakin Skywalker. They both have a variety of reasons for disliking sand. You and your kids can read all about it in a brand-new picture book called Star Wars: C-3PO Does NOT Like Sand!
The book takes a Mo Willems-style approach by telling the entire story in easy to read speech bubbles from 3PO, as well as some “Beeps” and “Whoos” from travel buddies R2-D2 and BB-8. Throughout a mission on Tatooine, C-3PO rediscovers all of the reasons why he hates sand (and Banthas, too).
To make C-3PO’s problems even worse, it turns out that R2-D2 and BB-8 actually enjoy spending time rolling over dunes, teasing Jawas, petting Rontos, building sand villages, and watching podracers. 3PO has a hard time watching them have fun on a sand planet while he is so miserable. The prissy droid doesn’t learn anything on this mission, but the antics lead to some fun moments sure to give readers of all ages a smile.
The story is written by Caitlin Kennedy, who also co-wrote the picture book Star Wars: Search Your Feelings. She has a lot of fun playing in the Star Wars sandbox in a kid-friendly way and incorporates the lovable droids that first introduced us to “A galaxy far, far away.”
Illustrator Brian Kesinger takes a unique stylized approach to the droids, giving them readable facial expressions in this cartoony take on these classic characters. It’s not just 3PO’s humanoid expressions that get tweaked, but even the lens on R2 and BB-8 will change to add a little more character to their actions. It’s fun to pay attention to the subtle changes in their lens shape to help them look surprised, excited, or tired of C-3PO’s complaining.
Whether you like sand or not, you’ll have a lot of fun reading Star Wars: C-3PO Does NOT Like Sand! with the young padawans in your life. It explores some of the coolest and most exciting aspects of Tatooine with three of the best droids in the galaxy. Just be careful not to get too close to Banthas.