Was it Book Expo or Star Wars Expo?

As I walked the floor of this year’s BookExpo America, I noticed one thing popping up in booth after booth–Star Wars! Here are some of the books coming soon to a galaxy near you.

Jabba the Hutt and R2-D2 welcomed me into the Abrams booth where family favorite Tom Angleberger was signing the latest in his Origami Yoda series. Art2-D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling is a marvelous companion guide to the novels with over 75 things to fold, draw, and do.

You can fold Yoda, of course, using the fancy green and brown paper provided, and you can learn how to draw the characters of the Origami Yoda series and draw like the characters. I love a section called “Tommy Can’t Draw” where there are rectangles with a few crudely drawn lines and you have to guess what they are. Origami Yoda fans will love this book.

Apparently Star Wars and origami now go together like Han Solo and Chewbacca because in the Workman Publishing booth I noticed Chris Alexander’s Star Wars Origami.

New from Scholastic is Star Wars: Jedi Academy, by Jeffrey Brown, who you might know from his adorable Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess. In Star Wars: Jedi Academy, young Roan is denied entrance to pilot school, but then is accepted to Jedi Academy—not your ordinary middle school.

If you’d like more hands-on Star Wars action, Chronicle will set you up with Star Wars Lightsaber Thumb Wrestling. Velcro the lightsabers on you thumbs, choose your battle stage, and then add your own sound effects.

All these Star Wars books will be very handy come October 5, with the return of Star Wars Reads Day. Look for a location near you on the Star Wars Reads website or Facebook page. May the literacy be with you.