Ambassador Ahmed Best, the actor behind Jar Jar Binks and Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, leads a month of activities for readers of all ages throughout October.
As a child, the library was Ahmed Best’s refuge and reading aloud served as the gateway to discovering his own unique talents for voice acting.
“The thing that stops people from doing different voices is this idea of how silly that they’re going to sound, right? They immediately get self-conscious,” Best tells StarWars.com. “All that matters is that the person you’re reading to enjoys it. That’s where the Jar Jar voice came from. I used to do [that voice] for my little cousins. I would do different voices, but the Jar Jar voice was the voice that got them to really pay attention, the one that made them sit down and really look at me and laugh.”
This October, Star Wars Reads returns for a month-long celebration of the power of storytelling, inspiring readers of all ages. Created in 2011, this year Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks, Kelleran Beq) serves as the official Star Wars Reads campaign ambassador to engage directly with students and readers in the Greater New York area throughout the month.
Best’s latest role included a visit to PS100 in the South Bronx, just across the street from the 17-story apartment building where the actor grew up, and speaking to current students inside the very library where Best once hid from his childhood bullies. “Reading was very much my escape. It was a safe place, especially reading comic books, which was like my happiest place on earth,” Best says. “But I have a very close relationship to libraries and most places of reading because it was a refuge for me. When I was a kid, I used to get bullied a lot and I would run away from bullies and hide in the library and the librarians saved me, pretty much.”
Checking in at the school’s office and signing his name to the visitors’ log made Best feel like he was back in first grade. “I felt like I was a kid again, but it also helped me recognize that I’ve come a long way from those hallways,” he says. “It was funny. I walked into the principal’s office to sign in and I was like, ‘Ooh, I spent a lot of time here. And it wasn’t always for good reasons.’”
Best fell more deeply in love with reading in his teenage years, when he discovered William Shakespeare’s Othello. “I remember being 15 and it was like, the words just spoke to me,” Best says. “Most of my classmates hated it, and I was trying to pretend like I hated it, but I loved it. I loved every word. That’s what got me into theater. I started reading plays out loud.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Best’s parents to take him and his siblings to poetry readings and original plays performed in the basements of New York brownstones and tucked away in the city’s lofts. “I just loved seeing people transform in these very intimate spaces. So when I started getting into reading plays and reading poetry, being on a stage and saying those words was just so comfortable. I was never afraid of making mistakes on stage and to this day, anytime I’m on stage, I feel like I’m at home. And I’m really passionate about literature as an adult because it is a gateway to autonomy. It’s a place where you can really dictate what the world is, where you could articulate what your imagination is. It’s how ideas travel.”
Best’s work with Star Wars Reads has been a full circle moment that he’s delighted to share with a new generation. A long time ago he was just another kid from the South Bronx, going to a movie theater for the first time to see Star Wars: A New Hope. “I never thought that I’d be a part of Star Wars ever,” he says. Now he’s the embodiment and voice of Jar Jar Binks, Grogu’s savior Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in the flesh, and the writer of Marvel’s Star Wars: Jar Jar Binks #1, a comic he wholeheartedly endorses to get readers in your life into Star Wars Reads this month.
“It is a book where Jar Jar actually comes of age and he recognizes and realizes that he has a responsibility as a senator,” Best says. Kelleran Beq also appears in the comic, showing Jar Jar that he has power in his voice. “And there are a couple of Easter eggs in there that will tie into a lot of the later episodes of The Clone Wars and A New Hope.”
Read on for even more information about Star Wars Reads, and our official list of suggested books and comics to encourage everyone from early readers to lifelong fans to explore the expanded galaxy of Star Wars books…
Before Star Wars became a captivating film or a franchise full of galaxy-spanning series, it all began with a simple tale of a brave farm boy, a resilient princess, and the Jedi who changed their lives.
“For nearly 50 years, Star Wars stories have connected generations of readers through unforgettable characters, grand adventures, and incredible formats. Star Wars Reads is an opportunity to celebrate that legacy, the power of reading, and welcome readers of all ages into a galaxy far, far away,” says Michael Siglain, creative director of Lucasfilm Publishing. “Partnering with organizations like First Book expands access to books and educational resources for fans of all ages, and helps readers to find their own Star Wars story.”
During the campaign, Star Wars Reads will also support under-resourced communities across the country by providing book donations, classroom resources, and activity kits. In collaboration with children’s literacy nonprofit First Book, Disney Publishing will help provide 500 eligible educators with a Star Wars Reads Educator Toolkit, along with a $100 gift certificate to access books from the First Book Marketplace. Also new this year, Penguin Random House Children’s Books will donate books to First Book, helping expand access to Star Wars titles.
- In addition to visiting schools in the Greater New York area, Ahmed Best will join select Star Wars talent at New York Comic Con for the “Lucasfilm Publishing: Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away...” panel and signing on October 9, 2026 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Later that evening, Forbidden Planet NYC will host Best and fellow authors Charles Soule, Will Sliney, Ethan Sacks, Delilah S. Dawson, Kiersten White, Chris Kempshall, and Kristin Baver for a public autograph signing from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
- Educators and students are invited to participate a nationwide classroom reading challenge from Epic Books For Kids for a chance to earn exclusive prizes and experiences.
- For more than 25 years, Disney has supported First Book, providing millions of books to help expand access to books and educational resources through the First Book Network of more than 600,000 educators and the children they serve in low-income communities across the country. Find additional Star Wars Reads details here.
Star Wars Reads honors the magic of reading through a commitment to inspiring the next generation of storytellers and innovators. The campaign — focused on the power of storytelling and community building for the Lucasfilm Publishing program — includes coloring pages, games, trivia, printable keepsakes, and crafting activities.
More Ways to Celebrate:
- Parents, teachers, and librarians can access the new downloadable (and printable!) bookmark, table topper, and activity kit!
- Host or join an event at your local library or bookstore in celebration of Star Wars Reads. In the past, events have included Star Wars themed scavenger hunts through the shelves and craft-making (think DIY Yoda ears)!
- Start your Star Wars literary journey today and share stories from a galaxy far, far away with friends or family by reading a beloved favorite from our list of suggested titles below.
Young Readers
- Star Wars: ABCs in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
- Star Wars: Meet the Characters
- Star Wars: You’re My Little Grogu
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian We Are One (Little Golden Book)
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian Adventures with Grogu Pop-Up Storybook
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Where I Go, He Goes
Middle Grade Readers, Teens, and YA
- William Shakespeare’s Star Wars The Mandalorian of Nevarro
- Star Wars: Hiding From the Dark
- Star Wars: Eyes Like Stars
Comics Enthusiasts
- Star Wars: Jar Jar #1
- Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren #1
- Star Wars: The High Republic Adventure: Pathfinders #1
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu: Danger in the Dark
- Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Echoes of the Empire
- Star Wars: Rogue One: Cassian Andor #1
- Star Wars: Galactic Tales of Terror
Adults and Lifelong Fans
- Star Wars: Legacy
- Star Wars: Thrawn (Deluxe Edition)
- The Art of Star Wars: Andor (The Complete Series)
- Star Wars: Edge of the Abyss (Reign of the Empire)
- Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian Visual Guide
And pre-order or ask your local library to carry these forthcoming titles!
- Star Wars: Star Pilots | Available Oct. 6
- Star Wars Icons: Vader | Available Oct. 20
- The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | Available Nov. 3
- Star Wars: Smugglers and Scoundrels - Race for Jabba's Bounty | Available Nov. 17
