Episode IV : A New Hope Read - Along Storybook and CD Episode IV : A New Hope Read - Along Storybook and CD is a young - readers ' story from Disney – Lucasfilm Press , released on February 10 , 2015 , written by Randy Thornton and illustrated by Brian Rood . It presents an illustrated version of the story of and also features an accompanying CD with narration of the story and character voices . Publisher summary . " Experience " Star Wars : Episode IV A New Hope " like never before ! Fully illustrated with gorgeous images by " Star Wars " artist Brian Rood , this epic storybook also includes a CD with word - for - word narration , music , and character voices . Follow along as Luke Skywalker meets Obi - Wan Kenobi , rescues Prince ss Leia , and faces Darth Vader for the first time . " Plot summary . In a galaxy torn by conflict , a vessel carrying secret plans for the Galactic Empire ' s ultimate weapon , the Death Star , races towards Tatooine . It is intercepted by the " Devastator " , an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer , but before the Empire ' s agents have time to the search the ship , the Prince ss Leia Organa hides the plans in the memory banks of the droid R2 - D2 and sends him and his companion , C - 3PO , in an escape pod to Tatooine . Leia Organa is captured by the feared agent of the Empire , the Dark Lord of the Sith , Darth Vader , but refuses to provide him with any information . Being that she is an Imperial Senator , he declares her a traitor to the Empire and orders her taken away for questioning . On the planet Tatooine , the droids find themselves captured by Jawa scavenger s . They are then sold to the moisture farmer Owen Lars , who tells his nephew , Luke Skywalker , to clean them up so that they can be of service on the Lars moisture farm . While examining the droids , Luke accidentally activates a portion of a secret message programmed in the R2 series astromech droid , R2 - D2 . The holographic message depicts the woman from the " Tantive IV " , Leia Organa , stating " Help me , Obi - Wan Kenobi . You ' re my only hope . " Skywalker is dazzled by the image of the beautiful woman . He isn ' t sure who " Obi - Wan Kenobi " is , but does know of an old Ben Kenobi , a sort of strange old hermit who lives out beyond the Dune Sea . Fearing that the droids may have been stolen , Luke sets off in a landspeeder to pay a visit to Ben Kenobi . Upon arrival , Kenobi is able to access the full message stored within R2 ' s databanks , which is a message from Leia Organa appealing to Kenobi in the name of his service during the Clone Wars , asking him to deliver the droids to Alderaan , as the R2 unit contains information vital to the continued survival of the Rebel Alliance . At this point , Kenobi informs Skywalker that he was once a Jedi Knight , as Skywalker ' s father was . Skywalker is surprised , as he didn ' t know his father was ever a Jedi . Kenobi gives Skywalker his father ' s lightsaber and tells him that he must learn the ways of the Force if he ' s to come with him to Alderaan . Skywalker , not ready to give up his life on Tatooine , tells him that he can only take him as far as Anchorhead . Kenobi grimly replies that he must do what he feels is right . While traveling to Anchorhead , the group discovers that the Jawa sandcrawler with had previously borne R2 - D2 and C - 3PO had been destroyed by Imperial forces . Skywalker realizes that this means the Imperials would have tracked the trail back to the Lars homestead , but it ' s too late , and the entire property has been destroyed . Turning to Kenobi , he tells him that he wants to join him on his mission to Alderaan . The two travel to Chalmun ' s Cantina , where they meet with Han Solo of the " Millennium Falcon " and his Wookiee co - pilot , Chewbacca . They make a deal to travel on Solo ' s ship to travel to Alderaan and while they head off to sell their landspeeder for some extra money , Solo has a discussion with Jabba , a vicious Hutt that he owes money too . The two come to an agreement that Solo can pay him after completing this next charter , but if he fails again , then Jabba will bring down an army of bounty hunter s upon him . As the " Millennium Falcon " departs for Alderaan , an unpleasant scene unfolds upon the Death Star . Princess Leia Organa is brought before the station ' s commander , Wilhuff Tarkin , who tells her that before her execution , he ' d like her to witness " a ceremony that will make this battle station fully operational . " The full force and power of the station ' s feared weapon , the superlaser , is then brought to bear on Alderaan , completely obliterating Organa ' s home planet . At the same time , the " Millennium Falcon " emerges from hyperspace , only for the crew to find that the planet they ' re trying to reach apparently isn ' t there , only a " small moon . " Obi - Wan Kenobi , however , realizes " That ' s no moon . That ' s a space station . " The ship is quickly caught in a tractor beam from said space station and pulled in . When Imperial forces search the ship , however , they find it empty , as everyone has hidden in secret compartments . Once the Imperial forces leave , the group emerges and sneaks on - board the Death Star . Obi - Wan Kenobi sets off to disable the tractor beam and as he does so , the droid R2 - D2 plugs into an Imperial computer and discovers that Leia Organa is aboard the station . Skywalker convinces Solo and Chewbacca to join him on a rescue mission to save the princess . He and Solo disguise themselves as Imperial stormtrooper s that are escorting their prisoner , Chewbacca . The ruse works and Skywalker discovers the Princess ' s cell . He informs her of who he is and that he ' s come to rescue her . The group beats a hasty retreat as stormtroopers bear down , but it soon becomes clear that they have no real plan of escape . Organa , unimpressed , decides to create her own plan and directs the group to take refuge down a garbage chute . The group lands safely on a pile of smelly garbage , but then finds the walls closing in on them . They ' ve landed in a garbage masher . They are very nearly crushed , but Luke Skywalker suddenly remembers the droids and pages R2 - D2 on his comlink , getting him to shut the garbage masher down . While all of this happens , Ben Kenobi finds the controls for the tractor beam and disables it . On his way back to the " Millennium Falcon " , however , he encounters Darth Vader , his former student who has now turned to the dark side of the Force . As the two engage in a fierce duel , Skywalker and the others make for the " Millennium Falcon " , but Skywalker is shocked when Kenobi seems to simply stop fighting in the middle of the duel , his robes collapsing in a crumpled heap as Vader swings through them . Skywalker is horrified by what he is just witnessed , but there is no time for mourning as he and the others escape the Death Star . Before making the leap to hyperspace , the crew fights off four Imperial TIE / ln space superiority starfighter s . They arrive safely at the Rebel base on Yavin 4 , but have no time to celebrate , as the Empire placed a homing beacon on the " Millennium Falcon " , leading them directly to the Rebels . With the secret plans in their possession , however , the Rebels are able to put together a plan - of - action and launch their X - wing starfighter s against the Empire ' s forces , which even include a TIE fighter flown by Darth Vader himself . In a fierce and challenging battle , after one of the rebel pilots fails to hit the Death Star ' s weak spot , everything is up to Luke Skywalker , whom Vader has right on his tail . Noting " " The Force is strong is strong with this one , " " Vader prepares to fire , only for a laser blast to impact the vessel of his wingman , sending his own ship careening off into space . Solo comms that Skywalker is clear and as Skywalker makes his run , he hears the voice of Ben Kenobi telling him to " use the Force . " He fires two proton torpedo s , landing a direct hit that causes the Death Star to explode . Back on Yavin , everyone gathers to celebrate this great victory over the Empire . Both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are awarded Medals of Bravery by Leia Organa , but though everyone is happy for their victory , they know that the Empire , Darth Vader and the feared Galactic Emperor remain a grave threat . Omissions and modifications . " A New Hope Read - Along Storybook and CD " is a picture book and audio retelling of the events of , but omits a number of details and scenes to fit the story within the format of a 32 - page picture book . The opening scene aboard the " Tantive IV " is presented largely as it is in the film , simply omitting certain dialogue unnecessary to the story . The story then skips ahead to C - 3PO and R2 - D2 being captured by the Jawa scavengers , the details of the journey through the desert omitted . Luke Skywalker ' s story begins with him visiting the Jawas to purchase the droids with Owen Lars , though Owen himself is not pictured . R5 - D4 appears only in the book ' s illustration . The story continues with Luke examining the droids in the garage , omitting all material with Luke speaking with his aunt and uncle and the character of Beru Whitesun Lars entirely . R2 - D2 is shown playing back the message from Leia Organa , but there is no mention of Luke attempting to remove a restraining bolt from him , nor having placed it in the first place . Rather than R2 - D2 escaping into the Jundland Wastes , it is instead suggested that Luke boards his landspeeder directly with both droids and proceeds directly to deliver them to Obi - Wan Kenobi , fearing that they had been stolen . As such , all scenes involving the Tusken Raider s and the danger in the desert are omitted . Upon arrival , Kenobi discovers the full message from Organa immediately and only tells Luke Skywalker of his history as a Jedi and offers him his father ' s lightsaber after the message has been played , though he does not tell Luke that Darth Vader killed his father . The scene following , in which those on the Death Star receive news of the dissolution of the Imperial Senate and in which Vader chokes Admiral Conan Antonio Motti , is omitted entirely . The story continues with Skywalker and Kenobi finding the Lars homestead destroyed and traveling to Mos Eisley , though they are not shown encountering the stormtroopers , nor does Skywalker get into trouble in the Mos Eisley Cantina . Han Solo is not shown having to fend off Greedo , thus skirting the question of who shot first , though he is shown talking with Jabba the Hutt and promising him that he now has a " nice easy charter " and will be able to pay him back . On the Death Star , Leia Organa is taken before Wilhuff Tarkin , but there is never any mention of her being torture d for information and while Alderaan is destroyed , it seems to be done simply out of spite and to horrify Organa . The story then arrives at the " Millennium Falcon " emerging from hyperspace , with Skywalker ' s training with Ben Kenobi and the game of dejarik between R2 - D2 and Chewbacca depicted only the book ' s front cover . The arrival at the Death Star and hiding then boarding is largely the same as in the film , though no reference is made to Vader detecting a familiar presence . Luke ' s persuasion of Solo is only briefly described and no mention is made of the droids being left behind during the rescue of Princess Leia , nor of the difficulties the group encounters prior to them actually escaping with the princess . Though the garbage compactor scene is depicted , the living creature within it is not mentioned . The remainder of the events of the escape from the Death Star are highly compressed , with the group described as simply escaping from the garbage masher and then arriving at the docking bay , where they witness the battle between Darth Vader and Obi - Wan Kenobi . This is described generally as it occurs in the film , with the " Millennium Falcon " s escape and battle with TIE fighters described in a couple of brief sentences . Following the " Millennium Falcon " s arrival at the Rebel base , all scenes involving the discussion of how to take down the Death Star and Luke Skywalker meeting up with Biggs Darklighter are omitted . Additionally , no mention is made of Han Solo choosing to leave with Chewbacca in order to pay his debt to Jabba . The story instead proceeds immediately to the Rebel Alliance ' s assault against the Death Star . This is described in a few brief paragraphs with no mention of Wedge Antilles , nor by name of any Rebel pilot other than Skywalker . None of the scenes during the battle on the Death Star itself are depicted . Following the battle , the story ends with a depiction of Skywalker and Solo being presented with medals of valor . Development . The text and recording are the same as the 1997 release from Walt Disney Records . That version used photographs to illustrate the story , and the audio recording was on cassette tape . The 1997 release coincided with the Special Edition theatrical releases , and thus while omitting many key scenes , does include Han Solo ' s interaction with Jabba the Hutt . Many of the voice actors on the recording , such as Brock Peters and Perry King , were originally featured in one or more radio versions of the " Star Wars " story . Reception . As of February 24 , 2015 , " A New Hope Read - Along Storybook and CD " had five reviews on Amazon . com with an average rating of 4 . 2 out of five stars . Reviewers generally praised it as being a faithful adaptation of the original film and good for young readers , including a dyslexic boy who benefits from the format of being able to listen to the printed story in an audio format . Some reviewers , however , expressed irritation with the voices not sounding like those from the film and certain dialogue being different . A member of the fan site Rebels Report , who was sent an advance copy of the book for review , stated that he was thrilled to see the names associated with the original radio dramas in the cast list on the inside cover . He praised the title as " a great way to introduce your kids to the story of " Star Wars " " and complimented Rood ' s artwork for translating scenes from the Special Edition of the film into his own realistic art style .