Star Wars: Absolutely everything you need to know: updated and expanded by Adam Bray et al

DK Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9780241232392
(age: 7+) Recommended for fans of the genre. Themes: Fantasy. Science fiction. Space. Adam Bray has written six books about the Star Wars phenomenon, and this the latest one. Star Wars; Absolutely everything you need to know is an updated and expanded version of a previous publication. You can find information about each of his books on Amazon.
Living up to its promise, the weighty 255 page tome has chapters entitled Protectors of the Galaxy; Bad guys, bounty hunters and the underworld; Weird and wonderful beings; In a galaxy far, far away and The battle continues. So something for everyone. A detailed contents page begins the read, while a comprehensive four page index will please the readers.
Wherever you flip open the book, new information comes to light for even the most avid of fans. And combined with an array of stills, CGI shots and brightly coloured illustrations with text dotted over each page, the book will be sought after in the library.
I opened to the page about the Slime Lords and was treated to an image of the wonderfully inventive character, Jabba the Hutt. On this page I found that Jabba weighed in at 1,358 kilos and was 604 years old at his death, and the sound of him was made using a bowl of melted cheese. Further over is a double page about the Scrap dealers, those hooded, large eyed creatures first seen trying to sell C3PO. Reading the page we find that they smell awful, thinking washing a waste of water, while they are called Jawas, and spend much of their time in the desert, searching for salvage. And further over is a double page, Monsters of the deep. Here the illustrations are of a series of rather nasty toothy looking creatures, and information about the Naboo Abyss where they live. Weight, habits, and the reasons for the Jedi needing to find their way through the abyss and past these creatures is explained.
A fascinating adjunct to the highly successful series of films, this book is full of information that will delight, inform and entertain young readers.
Fran Knight