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REVIEW: Star Wars A Scanimation Book

Star Wars Scanimation by Rufus Butler Seder

I spend a lot of time reading to my children.  I’ve often said to them, when you read a book the pictures come alive and move in your mind.  Well, for the first time I can read my children a book where the pictures really do move in the book itself!

Star Wars A Scanimation book from Workman Publishing is featured on the New York Times Children’s Bestseller list.  Written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder (Gallop!, Swing!, Waddle!), this super-cool book contains some of the most memorable Star Wars scenes brought to life through a unique process.  By turning the pages, the book takes scrambled artwork overlaid by a striped clear sheet and produces the illusion of motion.  Remember the “moving covers” on the Robin III: Cry of the Huntress mini-series from 1992?  It’s sort of like that, except these are REALLY cool.  Check out the video below.

How cool is that?!?!?  There are 11 different scenes in all.  It includes Obi-Wan battling Darth Maul, the Millennium Falcon zooming away from an exploding Death Star (my personal favorite), Luke riding a galloping Tauntaun, Yoda twirling his green lightsaber, Jango Fett flying away, the red and blue lightsabers of Luke and Darth Vader clashing as they battle, and several more.

This book is really amazing!  I’ve looked at it numerous times and I’m still floored by it.  My wife and children are blown away by the images and fascinated by the process used to create the animation.  I’d recommend it to any Star Wars fan and/or  parent.  It retails for $14.95 and is available from Workman Publishing.  My thanks to the folks at Workman for sending me a copy to review.

2 thoughts on “REVIEW: Star Wars A Scanimation Book

  1. How long is this book? It clearly combines both trilogies, and since it is a kids book, how well does it convey the overall story of Star Wars?

  2. It’s not really a story book. It’s only got the 11 images (12 if you count the cover which is presented inside as well). There are no other pages than these images. The focus isn’t telling the story of Star Wars, but showing these particular scenes in motion. It’s really neat.

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