I picked this book up twice to consider reading it. The first time was the day we officially checked it into our collection. Why? Yoda, of course. I figured it must be somewhat Star Wars related and I am a huge, (understatement,) Star Wars fan. But I had my list of must reads, and on inspection, I decided this was only loosely connected to Star Wars. I promptly forgot about it. The second time I picked it up was when we officially checked Darth Paper Strikes Back, the sequel, into our collection. I revisited the original. I read the first the chapter and, utterly uncharacteristically, read the last chapter. Gasp! Once again I decided that I could live without having actually read it. Now it is a “must read” having been nominated to the 2013 Rebecca Caudill list. Always trust your instincts. Numerous individuals, both adults and kids, have come out of the woodwork to back this choice enthusiastically.
If it is not about Star Wars, what is it about? Middle school. 6th grade boys and 6th grade girls. Junior High dances. Who likes who? Who is the bigger social misfit? How to save face when you make a mistake. And many of the other social life questions that 6th graders begin to concern themselves with rather than the academic questions and answers that they are supposed to be studying.
And where does Yoda fit in? Well, Dwight, the biggest loser as sentenced by the 6th grade class, has created an origami finger puppet, impressively, from his very own design, that looks like Yoda. Dwight has asked that his fellow students direct their questions to Origami Yoda. And Yoda answers them with Dwight’s version, decidedly the worst imitation, of Yoda-ese. Answer he will. Listen you will. Believe you shall.
The “strange case” that the novel sets out to prove is whether or not Origami Yoda is real, magical, psychic. Is Dwight truly speaking for Origami Yoda? Is Dwight so wise? Does Dwight have ESP? Or is Origami Yoda completely responsible for the positive results that many of the believers have been satisfied with. Is it all coincidence? Tommy, our compiler and primary narrator, believes wholeheartedly. He trusts enough to rest his public triumph or humiliation in Origami Yoda’s hands. But Tommy is a smart cookie. Not only does he allow his sometimes best friend, Harvey, who thinks “Paperwad” Yoda is a paper waste, to add his own negative commentary; but he also asks for his fellow classmates, both guys and gals, to write their own experiences with Origami Yoda to add to the case file.
This short, quick-read novel culminates with the greatest showdown a galaxy not so far away has ever experienced. Original Origami Yoda as poorly voiced by Dwight meets new and improved Origami Yoda voiced by the impressive-sounding Harvey who has downloaded his origami instructions from the internet. Tommy asks his close-to-the-heart question of both of the Yodas and receives completely opposite answers – the one he wants to believe from Dwight and the one he dreads to be true from Harvey. And the only way to prove which Origami Yoda is better is to test which answer is true. Yes, ask a girl to dance!
Reluctant readers, boys and girls alike, should enjoy this story. And a love of Star Wars is not required. Probably not recommended to the younger set of voracious readers who could certainly devour it in a heartbeat, but would be totally grossed out by all the boy-girl pairings! Ew. Gross!
No comments:
Post a Comment