Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Short fast read with some fun and heartwarming stories
Cons: Builds toward
climax too little too late
The Bottom Line:
I think kids will love
And since they are audience
My thoughts are minor
Average This Book Is
I still enjoy books aimed at kids. In fact, sometimes, they are the most
creative books written and they have such fun in them you can’t help but smile
the entire way through. That’s why, when
I heard of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, I had to give it a try. Sadly, this one didn’t quite do it for me.
Dwight is the weirdest kid in sixth grade, and his latest
stunt isn’t helping at all. He’s shown
up at school with an origami finger puppet of Yoda from Star Wars. And, in his best interpretation of Yoda
(which is pretty bad), he’s started offering his friends advice. It’s good advice when they choose to follow
it. But now Tommy has a problem. Yoda is telling him to ask the girl he likes to
a dance. Should he do it?
In reality, this book is a collection of short stories
written by the different characters as Tommy tries to collect evidence to help
him decide if Yoda is trustworthy or not.
The author does a good job of giving the different kids different voices
as they narrate. There’s a rebuttal by a
character who doesn’t believe that Origami Yoda is really dispensing the wisdom
and some drawings in the margins. It’s
certainly different from the novels I normally read.
And I think that was my biggest problem with the book. With each chapter being short and a mostly
self-contained story, I just didn’t feel like we were getting anywhere. The last part of the book does build toward
something, but it wasn’t enough for me.
The characters were fairly well developed given how short
the book is. They were certainly
developed enough for me to care about some of them and for me to smile at the
end of the book.
The book is only 140 pages, so I found it a very quick
read. The target age of upper elementary
school students will probably tear through it almost as fast as I did.
And I’ve got to say I did find many of the stories to be fun
and even heartwarming. Some of the
characters treated each other meanly, but they usually acknowledged that, so
I’m okay with that, although it did make a few of the stories less than
enjoyable.
I really do think this is a case of me not being the target
audience. While I can usually get caught
up in a good story no matter who it is intended for, this one just didn’t grab
me. It was diverting, but that was all.
But the book is doing well, and kids enjoy it. I can see that. The short story format makes them feel like
they are getting through something quickly.
They can relate to the characters and the situations. And the wisdom Yoda gives is pretty funny at
times.
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