Melissa Villy 
There’s no problem with porgs for Melissa Villy, who delights in this charming picture book by Kevin Shinick and illustrated by Fiona Hsieh
On December 15th, the last of the Journey to The Last Jedi books were released. Among them was the latest picture book for younglings, Chewie and the Porgs. It seems my hopes of more children’s titles like this have been fulfilled. The second official picture storybook from Disney Lucasfilm press is just as delightful as the first.
A Charming New Story
Chewie and the Porgs takes place from the moment the Millennium Falcon arrives on Ahch-To island until Rey’s departure and chronicles the adventure Chewie and the Porgs have together. Upon first seeing Chewie at a distance, they are intrigued having never seen a creature like him, and after hearing Rey call him “Chewy” mistake him for food. Chewie sets out to find food on the island, to little success. He keeps running into more Porgs, eventually discovering them taking over the Falcon, and this leads to him learning that they too are hungry. Chewie then decides to use the Falcon’s scanners to find food for both him and the Porgs.
One of my favorite parts were the Wookiee fun facts. We get four of these fun little facts sprinkled throughout the story. Number one is, of course, that Wookiee’s have hearts of gold. I also like that at its heart, this is a story about friendship and helping one another out. Both are great lessons for younglings to learn, and what better way than through Star Wars.
Artwork and Story Combine
The beautiful artwork adds to the story making it a cute, sometimes adorable book that had me going “Aww” at several moments. There are some great little humorous moments too that younglings and adults are sure to laugh at. I particularly liked the moment where Chewie is covered in Porgs perched on his arms; it was a nice parallel to the moment in Beauty and the Beast were the Beast feeds the birds and becomes covered in them as a result.
Illustrator Fiona Hsieh has rendered beautiful oil and acrylic paintings to capture the action of the story. Known for landscapes and animals, she is an illustrator for Tangled: The Series. After perusing her other work online, I can’t imagine anyone else to capture the landscape of Ahch-To and the Porgs.
Author Kevin Shinick is a writer and voice actor who is best known for his work on Robot Chicken and Marvel’s Superior Spiderman comic. He also worked on the unreleased Star Wars Detours. He’s crafted a great story here for younglings full of all the best elements of a great picture book: humor, cuteness, and a short meaningful story. I can’t wait to see more Star Wars stories from him.
This book is perfect to read to your little youngling at bedtime or anytime. Children should be able to read it on their own around the first grade, but remember every child’s reading ability progresses differently. Get it at your favorite bookstore today, or check it out of your local library.
I’m Mina, the Jedi Librarian. I’m a Program Specialist Librarian, lover of all the books, and a lifelong Star Wars fan. I’m also secretly a Jedi.
I loved your book review Melissa. Can’t wait to read the book.