Category: Lego Books

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review

The Lego Adventure Book Review

Lego-Adventure-Book-ReviewWe highlighted the The Lego Adventure Book Vol 1 by Megan Rothrock in an earlier post and thought it looked like an outstanding concept.

So we are very excited that the publishers, No Starch Press have sent us a review copy – now we get to go up close and personal with the book and see if it is as wonderful as we thought it was.

You can read the review below or just take my word for it –
The Lego Adventure Book is worth every cent!

Lego Adventure Book Vol 1 Review

I’m old enough to remember the early days of Dorling Kindersley – when their concept of photographing subjects on uncluttered white pages was a novel thing.

Now of course the style is ubiquitous with the DK brand and sets the standard for Visual Guides on just about any subject, Lego included.

But this unique, clean and austere style comes at a cost. There is something missing from the DK books – personality.

And I understand that austerity does serve certain subjects, well… after a while I begin to yearn for a little personality, some character or narrative.

And  personality is something that Megan’s book displays on every one of its 200 pages.

Lego-Adventure-Book-review-1

The Lego Adventure Book is like mixing the best parts of DK with your favorite all ages comic book.

You get model ideas, dioramas, step by step instructions as well as a comic book style story following Megan around on an adventure, as she learns building secrets from a variety of experts in the field.

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review- Trains

From buildings to cars to castles, trains, planes and even Lego Friends, she learns about a diverse range of models on her travels:

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Building the Idea Lab
Chapter 2: A LEGO Town
Chapter 3: Hot Rods and Cool Rides
Chapter 4: From Below!
Chapter 5: The Sky’s the Limit
Chapter 6: The Turtle Factory
Chapter 7: Starfighters
Chapter 8: Mighty Mecha
Chapter 9: Medieval Village
Chapter 10: Triassic Park
Chapter 11: Making New Friends
Chapter 12: Full Steam Ahead
Chapter 13: Steampunk
Chapter 14: A LEGO Legend

Works Of Art

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review-PlanesOne of my favorite sections was Chapter 5, The Sky’s the Limit. I kept being reminded of the films of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli as I was reading this section.

The propeller-driven planes would look at home in Porco Rosso or Nausicaa – they manage to be unique without being overtly showy – you do believe they could fly.

They just seem to “work”.

And really that is the case when you take the time to look at all of the models in the book, they are all works of art created using diverse Lego pieces and building-techniques .

Some more quirky than others – the turtle-robot factory is a sight to behold 🙂

For Lego Fans Of All Ages

Lego-Adventure-Book-Review-TrailerThe Lego Adventure Book is the kind of book you can just give to Lego fans of any age and watch as they (depending on their age) absorb the visual information by osmosis, read through the story and be inspired to build similar models or methodically follow each instruction to re-create the models on display.

But for parents, one of the best ways to get the most out of the book is to share in making a model with children.

Some techniques are unusual and won’t have been utilised in pre-packaged Lego sets…and that is a great thing!

For kids to know they can attach minifigure legs to the front of a mining drill is a real revelation. Just how they do that is another thing. Engaged parents can help with these sorts of micro-contruction methods.

In short The Lego Adventure Book is an asset for Lego fans and builders of any age.

Older fans will reap the true gems included in its pages but younger fans will enjoy the comic nature of the narrative and be inspired by the unique and complex models.

Where To Purchase The Book

You can go to your usual haunts to buy the book but if you buy the hard copy directly from the publishers you receive a free PDF version which is a wonderful gesture and I wish all publishers offerred this option.

Otherwise:

The Lego Adventure Book Vol 1 Image Gallery

Thanks to No Starch Press for the review copy of The Lego Adventure Book and to Megan Rothrock for taking the time to make such a wonderful resource.

We look forward to The Lego Adventure Book Vol 2 and the further adventures of Megs 🙂

Lego Star Wars Books The Padawan Menace

Lego Star Wars Books – The Padawan Menace

Lego Star Wars Books The Padawan MenaceThe Padawan Menace is part of the range of Lego Star Wars Books available from Scholastic publishing.

The Padawan Menace

The Padawan Menace was a short animated film produced in partnership with Lego and the Cartoon Network. With a run time of 22 minutes it was longer than regular Lego Star Wars shorts like Bombad Bounty and the Quest For R2-D2. As a result you won’t find this particular short film on Youtube (legally) though you can pick it up on DVD and Blu Ray.

The synopsis of the film is as follows:

The Padawan Menace
Star Wars and the LEGO Group join forces for this all-new animated adventure!

A routine Jedi Academy field trip is turned into a rip-roaring comic adventure in LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace.

Tour guide Master Yoda leads a group of rambunctious Jedi younglings through Senate chambers when he senses a disturbance in the Force.

Summoned to help save the Republic, he discovers that one of the younglings, Ian, has secretly boarded his ship… and young Ian has a taste for adventure! Meanwhile, C-3PO and R2-D2 are put in charge of the boisterous group and find themselves in over their heads.

As the evil Sith prepare to wreak havoc, it’s up to Yoda and the Droids to ensure that their young charges aren’t torn to bits!

The Padawan Menace Book

Padawan-Menace-PageThe adaptation of the Padawan Menace was produced by Scholastic and is written in the form of a comic, or more specifically a Photo-comic, or Photo-novel.

It differs from most other Lego Star Wars comics because the artwork is not hand-drawn illustration but screen captures from the movie itself.

Personally, as a fan and mother, I think this detracts slightly from the overall experience of the comic but I realize I might be in the minority here.

For me, books like Darth Maul’s Mission and the other comics in that series can inspire kids to create their own comics more than still-photos from a movie can.

When an artist is able to illustrate the scenes and characters of Lego Star Wars in a dynamic and humorous way, it can inspire kids to try their hand at similar drawings themselves. Photo-comics like this don’t have that similar energy and spontaneity. 

Having said that if your child is a fan of the movie and just learning to read then this would be a wonderful early reader to help them engage with books.

The reading level is appropriate for early grades, with a few larger words like “hyperspace” which young Star Wars fans will probably learn with glee 🙂

Overall The Padawan Menace is an inexpensive book that complements the short animated film well and would be a worthwhile addition to a young child’s collection.

For older fans who like reading comics, try the illustrated series first as this photo-novel won’t have long-term interest for more discerning fans.

Where To Buy