I don’t want to sound like an old man but, there was a time before the internet. A time where you only got your entertainment from books, TV and…playing outside with friends.
I was a lazy reader growing up and it was rare that I wanted to actually sit still and read a book. That was until I discovered the “Read Along Books” on vinyl! When my parents brought home my first Read Along book for “Star Wars”, my journey went from lazy reader to enthusiastic reader. The story being read to me with sounds from the movie including Luke, Han and Leia inspired me to read along. Recently, I found a Youtube channel called Star Wars Radio that has uploaded these nostalgic books and I can’t get enough of them! I actually found my old copy with vinyl for the first Star Wars movie!
Of course, these books are still around today but they have moved from the classic vinyl to the more modern CD and streaming. Kids today will never know the pains of accidentally bumping into the “record player”, [that ancient machine we used to play music on], and scratching it forever. It takes away from the intensity of the scene when Darth Vader is lining up to blast Luke’s X-Wing in the Death Star trenches and “stutters” that famous line, “I have you [skip] I have you [skip] I have you [skip]” as the needle on the record player connects with the scratch.
These were great fun for my as a kid growing up and I would argue an effective teaching tool for teaching kids to read and to be excited about reading. If you have never experienced this creative way to experience the Star Wars story, you need to check the selection below.
Now, “you will know it is time to [WATCH BELOW] when you hear R2D2 beep like this – “Beep Woop Beep Bzzz Woo!” – Let’s Begin.”
1979 Star Wars Read-Along Story Book and Cassette
1980 Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Read-Along Story Book and Cassette
1983 Star Wars Return of the Jedi Read-Along Story Book and Cassette
Related Article: Revisiting Vintage Star Wars Toy Commercials
The story continues with the newest Star Wars installments, on CD:
2016 Star Wars The Force Awakens Read-Along Story Book and CD
2014 Star Wars Rebels Ezra’s Wookiee Rescue Read-Along Story Book and CD
Related Article: To Endor and Back: An Interview with Space Bear Props
BONUS: Because I love the Ewoks!
1984 The Ewok Adventure Read-Along Story Book and Cassette
