The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

March 15, 2010
“Is Origami Yoda real?” is the question that plagues sixth-grader Tommy and drives the plot of this snappy debut. From one perspective, Origami Yoda is a finger puppet that offers cryptic but oddly sage advice to Tommy and his classmates. From another, he is simply the “green paperwad” animated by Tommy's misfit friend, Dwight, who “wear shorts with his socks pulled up above his knees” and stares into space “like a hypnotized chicken.” Compiling a series of funny, first-person accounts of Yoda's wisdom from his friends, Tommy hopes to solve this mystery to determine whether to trust Yoda's advice about asking a certain girl to dance. Angleberger peppers his chapters with spot-on boy banter, humorously crude Captain Underpants–style drawings, and wisecrack asides that comically address the social land mines of middle school. Tommy confronts the ethical dilemma of standing up for the weird kid and the angst of school dances: “My hands were shaking and my stomach was excited like the time my dad accidentally drove into a fire hydrant.” But with enigmatic counsel like “Cheetos for everyone you must buy,” Yoda keeps the mystery alive. Ages 8–12.

Is Origami Yoda real? Who would trust the advice proffered by an origami figure perched on the finger of the class nerd? This is the big question facing Tommy and his middle school friends as Tommy documents the experiences of classmates who have sought guidance from Dwight's Origami Yoda. The cast of multiple narrators heightens the story's humor. The narrator who portrays Tommy has a knack for taking listeners into his confidence. Listeners find themselves in the midst of middle school, experiencing each droll situation firsthand--from school dances to the boys' bathroom. The throaty Yoda issues his pronouncements such as "speed must you have" or "rush in fools do" with amusing combinations of pacing and tone. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

March 1, 2011

Gr 3-6-Sixth grader Tommy and his friends face gym class jitters, embarrassing nicknames, and considerable girl anxiety. They need the wisdom of a Jedi master just to make it through the day. When Tommy's weird classmate Dwight shows up at school with an origami Yoda finger puppet and suggests that Tommy and his friends check in with the Yoda when they have difficult situations to deal with or tough decisions to make. The Yoda's advice is so good that the friends can't imagine that it is coming from oddball Dwight and Tommy decides to investigate. Tom Angleberger's novel (Amulet Books, 2010) is Tommy's casebook. He documents his own interactions with Origami Yoda and asks his friends to contribute theirs as well. This works really well in the audio format. Five actors voice Tommy, Kellen, Quavondo, Sara, and resident skeptic Harvey with varying degrees of believable immaturity. The case is never resolved, and listeners are left to decide for themselves whether Origami Yoda is merely Dwight's dummy or if somehow the finger puppet is actually using the Force.-Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, MD

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.