Words: Bonnie Burton
Art: JAKe
Ever wonder how to order a Bantha Burger or talk about Picasso with Wookiees? Now you can learn how to flirt AND conduct business meetings with Chewbacca’s friends. The new book How to Speak Wookiee from Chronicle Books shows you how to do this and more with chapters like “At the Restaurant” and “On Public Transportation!” Plus the book has handy sound files so you can sound like a Wookiee in no time!
Star Wars artist JAKe illustrates the book with his unique and whimsical style. Born in Hull, England, JAKe was raised by Wookiees from a young age. He speaks the Wookiee language fluently, but with a strong Northern accent. He now lives and works in London, and would never use a cheap Jedi mind-trick to make you visit his site Jake-art.com.
StarWars.com chats with JAKe about his illustrations for the book, his favorite scenes and if his Wookiee roar has improved.
How did you decide what Wookiee scenes you wanted to draw?
The script for the book came in and some scenes like the restaurant and art gallery, where already in the text. Some of the others scenes just specified “Wookiee Scenario” so I could come up with my own scene. I thought it was important to have a holochess scene.
I love the restaurant scene… though shouldn’t a Wookiee chef wear a hair net?
He IS wearing a hair net. It’s just that it’s a barely visible full body hair net. That particular chef specializes in rural Wookiee cuisine. In some remote parts of Kashyyyk, it’s considered good luck for visitors to eat a dish containing Wookiee chef hair. Coughing up the furballs at the end of the meal is the Wookiee equivalent of the dessert trolley.
Wookiees in a Meeting is another one of my favorite scenes! What kind of things do you think Wookiees talk about in meetings?
Wookiees discuss many subjects in meetings, but mainly, discussions start with “Is the air-conditioning actually on in this building?” (”Arrrrrwrrrrrronnkkk raarrh”) and continue in this vein, until someone mentions the topic of lunch. Wookiees have a distinct low tolerance for management-speak like “Blue sky thinking,” “Going Forward” and “Singing from the same hymn sheet” and subsequently, the sound of arms being ripped from sockets is a common sound throughout the intergalactic business community.
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