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Baby Yoda toys are finally arriving

Image 1. "The Mandalorian" merchandise, whose release was delayed to avoid spoilers, makes its debut before Toy Fair New York. Photoby: Devin Doyle/The Washington Post

The absence of Baby Yoda toys was a destroyer of many 2019 holiday hopes. The wait will officially

come to an end this spring. Disney and Lucasfilms officially announced the launch of Baby Yoda

merchandise in mid-February.

The two companies gathered journalists in New York City at an event at a hotel. They showed off

their Baby Yoda products in all forms.

The products ranged from pajamas to PopSockets. Finally, they will soon be in the eager hands of

Star Wars fans.

The event was officially described as a showcase for products from two shows. The products are

based on the live-action "The Mandalorian" and the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." The

two hits, made by Disney Plus, are considered to include the best of the fictional universe since

"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."

Most Famous 50-Year-Old Child In Hollywood

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.25.20Word Count 687Level 860L

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There was no denying that everyone wanted to see products based on the most famous 50-year-old

child in Hollywood. Strangely, the toy Baby Yodas had been unavailable in stores even after the

child's viral fame in the fall.

That child, by the way, is officially just "the Child." The character has not yet been named on "The

Mandalorian." Fans have begun calling him Baby Yoda. The Child looks a lot like Yoda, the

legendary "Star Wars" Jedi master. After the show first aired in November, the Child went viral

through memes and GIFs, especially one that showed him sipping soup.

On February 20, the Child was finally everywhere. The Child in the form of Legos, action figures,

costumes, backpacks, hats, shirts, wallets and socks were on display at the event.

Animatronic Baby Yoda Blinks And Coos

You can get a framed image of a famous scene in "The Mandalorian." The scene is when young

Baby Yoda reaches out of a capsule and extends the cutest finger into the universe for the first

time. The capsule itself can be bought, too. It includes an animatronic Baby Yoda that blinks, coos

and will melt your heart.

The soon-to-be-available Build-A-Bear plush Baby Yodas come with special features. If you

squeeze its left hand, it makes baby noises. Squeezing the right hand makes "The Mandalorian"

theme song play.

Lucasfilm and Disney are still not sorry that their toys

were not ready for the 2019 holiday season. Fake

products were sold online. Disney tried to remove

them.

However, attendees of the Toy Fair got confirmation

of what was already believed. Baby Yoda does not

appear in "The Mandalorian" until the end of the first

episode. The only way to keep its appearance a secret

was to not have any products ready for purchase.

Those products would have been seen online months

ahead of when "The Mandalorian" aired. Because of

this, the creators of the show asked Disney and

Lucasfilm to wait on making toys until the first

episode was released.

A Surprise For Star Wars Fans

The goal of holding back on products was to give Star

Wars fans a surprise. Dave Filoni is a producer of the

show. He said he wanted fans to have the same feeling

they had when they discovered Star Wars for the first

time. He was OK if that meant millions of dollars

would not be made in toy sales.

"It's so hard to do surprises anymore," Filoni said.

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JoAnn McLaughlin also works at Lucasfilm. She did not know about Baby Yoda because the

decision to keep the character a secret came before she started working on the

project. McLaughlin learned quickly, though.

She said Disney would not stop calling. The company wanted to know how fast the show would air

so they could start making products. She also said fans should expect to see Mandalorian-themed

stuff at Disney parks in California and Florida soon.

"This is truly a global (event)," McLaughlin said.

The Baby Yoda products will start being sold in March. Some, such as Lego products on Amazon,

will not be available until August.

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Quiz

1 Read the paragraph from the article.

That child, by the way, is officially just "the Child." The character has not yet been named on "TheMandalorian." Fans have begun calling him Baby Yoda. The Child looks a lot like Yoda, thelegendary "Star Wars" Jedi master. After the show first aired in November, the Child went viralthrough memes and GIFs, especially one that showed him sipping soup.

How does this paragraph support the main idea of the article?

(A) by describing what Baby Yoda looks like

(B) by stating what the official name of the Baby Yoda TV character is

(C) by explaining a reason why the Baby Yoda character is popular

(D) by suggesting the Baby Yoda TV character needs a name

2 Read the paragraph from the article.

The Baby Yoda products will start being sold in March. Some, such as Lego products onAmazon, will not be available until August.

Which statement summarizes the paragraph?

(A) All Baby Yoda products except for Lego products will start being sold in March.

(B) Baby Yoda products will start being sold in March, with some not being available until August.

(C) Baby Yoda products are only being sold on Amazon in March and again in August.

(D) Most Baby Yoda products will be sold in March, but Lego products might not be available until August.

3 What caused the absence of Baby Yoda toys during the 2019 holiday season?

(A) Baby Yoda toys had been sold out before the holidays began.

(B) Few people were asking for Baby Yoda toys during the holidays.

(C) A TV show had requested a delay in the production of Baby Yoda toys.

(D) Disney had removed Baby Yoda toys that they determined were fake.

4 What effect did the decision to keep the Baby Yoda character a secret until the end of the first episode of "The Mandalorian" TVshow have?

(A) The decision resulted in millions of people buying Baby Yoda toys immediately after the episode.

(B) The decision greatly upset some people who disliked the Baby Yoda character being on the show.

(C) The decision pleasantly surprised the people who were responsible for making Baby Yoda toys.

(D) The decision pleased some people who had not expected to see the Baby Yoda character on the show.