Just a puppet I am not: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger (lexile: 760; AR book level: 4.7;  141 pp)

Origami Yoda — is he REAL, or just a green paperwad?

That’s the crucial question facing 6th-grader Tommy, whose very LIFE depends on it.  OK, not his life, but at least whether he will risk public humiliation by asking Sara to dance at Fun Night on Friday.

You see, Tommy’s friend Dwight, the quintessential* 6th grade loser, has created his very own origami Yoda finger puppet.  And while Dwight is clueless, socially awkward, and always in trouble, Origami Yoda is WISE, even able to predict the future!  Kids direct their questions to Yoda, and Dwight, in Yoda-esque voice, answers.  Among other things, he predicts a pop quiz, solves a mystery, and saves Kellen from embarrassment with his sage advice (“All of pants you must wet”  — you’ll have to read to find out how THAT applies!)

Most kids believe in Origami Yoda’s powers, but skeptical Harvey doesn’t.  So Tommy sets out to compile the “Origami Yoda Case Files”: students record what Origami Yoda did for them, and Harvey gets to comment (with Kellen adding drawings in the margins).  In the end it comes down to a showdown between TWO competing Origami Yodas — which one will Tommy believe?

Origami Yoda is clever and fun, and I’m sure most middle-schoolers will identify with the awkwardness and just plain weirdness of middle-school society.  Of course, it includes instructions for making your very own Origami Yoda.  And it’s also one of the nominees for the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Award in Illinois.

And if you like The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, you’ll also want to read the sequel, Darth Paper Strikes Back.

* “quintessential”: A really sweet word that will impress the socks off your teacher.  It means “the best or perfect example of something.”

Adventure Under the Sea: Dark Life

My last post featured an adventure trilogy set in the air — here’s the first book in a new undersea adventure series.

Dark Life, by Kat Falls (lexile: 690; AR book level: 4.8; 297 pp)

“I peered into the deep-sea canyon, hoping to spot a toppled skyscraper.  Maybe even the Statue of Liberty.  But there was no sign of the old East Coast, just a sheer drop into darkness.”

The world has changed — global warming and rising sea levels have caused the east coast of the U.S. to slide into the ocean.  The remaining “Topsiders” are crowded into “stack cities,” but a few brave pioneers have established undersea colonies, their aquaculture providing food for everyone above and below the water.

The narrator of the story is 15-year-old Ty, the first child born to the pioneers of undersea Benthic Territory.  The ocean is the only life he’s known, and he hopes one day to own his own underwater farm.  However, the ocean colonies are being threatened by a band of seemingly invincible pirates, as well as the oppressive Commonwealth government on the land above.  Into the tale arrives Gemma, a Topsider orphan girl who’s come to the deep hunting for her brother, who may have some connection to the pirates.  From the opening pages you’ll find action, danger, and adventure.  And there are hints that the pirates, Gemma, the government, and even Ty are guarding secrets.  Are the rumors true that  children raised undersea possess strange abilities?

The story is fast-paced, with suspense, mystery and just a bit of romance.  And the technology the author has envisioned for living under the sea is brilliant and fascinating as well.  Dark Life is on the nominee list for the 2013 Rebecca Caudill award, so lots of kids across Illinois will be reading it in the next year.  As soon as I can get to it, I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Rip Tide.

Adventure in the Sky: Airborn

Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel (lexile: 760; AR book level: 5.1; 368 pp)

Fifteen-year-old Matt Cruse is indeed “airborn” — in more ways than one.  He is the cabin boy aboard the luxury airship Aurora, ferrying wealthy passengers around the world.  In this alternative history set in the early 1900s, airplanes have never been invented, and instead the great airships rule the skies.  And Matt was born aboard such an airship.  It’s the only life he’s ever known, the place he feels the most alive.

One day while scanning the skies from the crow’s nest, Matt spies a battered balloon.  He rescues its sole inhabitant, a dying man whose last words describe incredible, beautiful flying creatures he’s discovered.  Matt dismisses these as hallucinations, until a year later when the Aurora takes aboard the wealthy Miss Kate de Vries, granddaughter of the dead balloonist.  She has her grandfather’s notes and diary, and is determined to prove him right.

Their voyage is interrupted, though, when pirates attack the airship.  Damaged, it is stranded on an uncharted island — which may be the home of the very creatures Kate is seeking, as well as the pirates’ hidden lair.

Some adventure fans may feel that Airborn starts a little slow, but the author does a good job of describing the background of the world in which it takes place and life aboard the airship.  For those who like peril & danger, daring rescues, and heroic action, there is plenty (as well as budding romance).

Matt and Kate’s adventures continue in the next two volumes in the series:

Skybreaker (lexile:750; AR book level: 5.0; 369 pp)

Matt Cruse, now 16, is a student at the Paris Airship Academy, hoping to achieve his dream of one day becoming an airship captain.  In this new adventure, he and Kate are on an aerial treasure hunt aboard a new high-altitude vessel called Skybreaker.  They’re seeking the airship Hyperion, lost 40 years previously, a derelict floating at a chillingly high altitude and reputedly filled with a fortune in gold.  What they end up finding is both more valuable and more dangerous than they could have imagined.

Starclimber (lexile: 700; AR book level: 4.9; 400 pp)

In this final title in the series, Matt and Kate are asked to join the crew of the first vessel to actually climb above the atmosphere into outer space.  What starts as a simple maiden publicity voyage turns dangerous when strange creatures and mechanical breakdowns threaten their ability to return to Earth.

Fantasy Light: Beast Quest

Swords!  Dragons!  Wizards!  I have long loved fantasy adventures, in which the humble hero is called to undertake the quest, rescue the kingdom, and save the world.  Little wonder my favoritest* book series of all time is J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic, The Lord of the Rings.

Younger guys who’d like to experience the adventure of a quest without tackling the 1200 pages of Tolkien’s masterpiece will like this Beast Quest series — battle the beasts and save the kingdom, all in under 80 pages.

     *Yes, ‘favoritest’ — more favorite than my other favorites.

Ferno the Fire Dragon (Beast Quest series, #1), by Adam Blade (lexile: NA; AR book level: 4.5; 78 pp)

Trouble is brewing in 12-year-old Tom’s village — crops burnt, the river drying up, horses attacked, and no one knows why.  So Tom volunteers to go to the king for help.  But on arriving at the palace he learns that the whole kingdom of Avantia is in peril.  The evil wizard Malvel has enslaved six magical beasts that normally protect the kingdom, forcing them to destroy the land instead.  Tom takes on the quest to find and free each of the six beasts from its enchantment.  Along the way he’ll get help from many people, including the good wizard Aduro and his friend Elenna and her pet wolf, Silver.

Looking through a lot of reviews, I’ve found a common theme: parents who say these books are not very deep or exciting, and boys who think they’re AWESOME.  And that’s a good summation.  They’re short, fast-paced, and straight-forward.  Each introduces another scary beast that Tom and Elenna must confront.  And (with the exception of one minor character) no one dies in the first 8 books (all I’ve read).

Like the Magic Tree House books, Beast Quest is an ongoing series with lots of titles, each the same length, with very predictable (and therefore easier-to-read) plot elements.  Each set of 6 books is a quest with a unified theme.  There are 54 titles so far, but only the first 24 are usually found in libraries in the U.S.  (The rest are available in the U.K., where the series originated.) So far at our library we have:

1. Ferno the Fire Dragon
2. Sepron the Sea Serpent
3. Cypher the Mountain Giant
4. Tagus the Night Horse
5. Tartok the Ice Beast
6. Epos the Winged Flame
7. Zepha the Monster Squid
8. Claw the Giant Ape

You can see all the titles in our library system here, and the series list through #36 can be found here.

Things that go VROOM! Picture books

Lots of little guys (and hey, us bigger guys, too) love things that GO — cars, trains, planes, trucks, diggers.  There are plenty of vehicle-themed picture books, but these are exceptionally creative and fun.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, by Sherri Duskey Rinker (lexile: 820; AR book level: 3.8; 32 pp)

If your little one would rather go to sleep clutching a dump truck than a stuffed rabbit, this bedtime story is ideal.  One by one, the hard-working machines of a construction site — crane, cement mixer, dump truck, bulldozer, excavator — finish their jobs and settle down for the night.  Each character is drawn with expressive faces and little endearing details — the crane cradling his teddy bear, the cement mixer under a polka-dot blanket.  The perfectly-metered rhymes wind down to a quiet ending under a starlit sky, as machines and children alike are told “Good work today!  Now … shh … goodnight.”  A brand new gem by a first time children’s book author.   (And there’s a fun video book trailer here.)

The Three Little Rigs, by David Gordon (lexile: NA; AR book level: NA; 32 pp)

How about the classic story of the Three Little Pigs, retold as three trucks?  With  bright, colorful illustrations and bouncing rhyme, the three little rigs set out into the wide industrial world to build their respective garages: one of wood, one of bricks, and one of steel.  But watch out — the big mean wrecking ball comes along with other ideas.  Machine lovers will enjoy all the expressively-drawn equipment, from the cement mixer to the pulley, nail gun and air compressor.  But be forewarned: as does the wolf in the original tale, the wrecking ball and his cronies, Mean Magnet and Cruel Cutter, meet a sorry fate.

And another vehicular version of a classic tale by Gordon:

Hansel and Diesel (lexile: NA; AR book level: 4.1; 32 pp)  Two little trucks find a fancy gas station in the midst of the junkyard — but watch out for the Wicked Winch!  (Note: the Wicked Winch meets her doom in her own vehicle shredder!)

I’m Dirty! by Kate McMullan (lexile: NA; AR book level: 1.4; 40 pp)

Little guys who like construction equipment and dirt will love this sassy, exuberant backhoe loader who loves his dirty job.  After bragging about all his equipment (“steel arms, hydraulic rams, and a specialized, maximized, GIANT-SIZED loader bucket”), he heads off to work.  Counting items from 10 down to 1, he clears an empty lot, and then puts it all in the dumpster.  (“Hope ya like NOISE.  Clank! Rattle! Bang! Clunk!”)  There’s dirtier work ahead, and he ends up happily covered in mud.  The text and pictures are energetic and the backhoe an appealing character.  And if you’re looking for educational value (besides the countdown), how about the value of hard work, done with pride?

And fans of the hard-working backhoe may also like McMullan’s similar:

I Stink! (lexile: NA; AR book level: 1.6; 40 pp)  Every night while the city sleeps, this brash garbage truck prowls the streets, stuffing and smashing an alphabet soup of trash, from Apple cores to Zipped-up Ziti with Zucchini.

I’m Mighty! (lexile: 380; AR book level: 1.5; 40 pp)  The little tugboat may be small, but he has the mighty responsibility of bringing the biggest ships into the harbor.

If Willy Wonka Ran a Hotel: Floors

Floors, by Patrick Carman (lexile: 870; AR book level: 5.7; 272 pp)

It’s the rare and lucky boy who gets to stay at the amazingly crazy Whippet Hotel.  Built by the eccentric, fabulously wealthy Merganzer Whippet, each of the 9 floors (or are there more?) has a different theme, with signature rooms full of clever gadgets.  Want to play the Pinball Room (yes, built just like a giant game)?  Or how about the Robot Room?  The Railroad Room?  And what about the Double Helix, that will take you from the lobby to the roof in 5 seconds?

Ten-year-old Leo Fillmore is that lucky boy.  His father is the maintenance man, and together he and Leo keep everything running and the guests — and six very important ducks — happy.  But Merganzer Whippet has vanished and things are inexplicably starting to fall apart at the hotel.   Is it accidental, or is someone plotting to take over the Whippet?

Then on the 100th day since Mr Whippet’s disappearance, Leo finds a puzzling box addressed to him, apparently from Merganzer himself.  Inside are cryptic clues that will lead him on a mysterious hunt throughout the hotel, to places he never knew existed.  At stake are his future, his father’s, and that of the hotel he loves.

As some reviews will tell you, this book is not deep.  But the characters are crazy, the hotel crazier, and the unfolding mystery fun to read, with a very surprising ending (to me, at least).  There are obvious parallels to Roald Dahl, so if you like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, chances are you’ll like Floors.  AND it’s the first book in a trilogy –  I can’t wait for the next one!

For more about the book, including author interviews, you can also check the Floors website.

My Cousin, the Alien

I’ve been a science-fiction fan ever since I read Rusty’s Space Ship way back in elementary school (borrowed from the Decatur Public Library, in fact).  My favorite sci-fi stories involve ordinary kids who are somehow invited into an adventure with weird aliens, spaceships, and interplanetary travel that they didn’t know existed.  Here is a great, fast-paced, middle-grade series that fits that formula nicely and is fun to read.

My Cousin, the Alien, by Pamela Service (lexile:  720; AR book level: 4.7; 160 pp)

Zack is a perfectly normal kid — with a maybe crazy cousin, Ethan, who thinks he’s an alien.  It all goes to back to when they were younger and rescued a cat from a Doberman — and the cat spoke to them.  Or at least that’s what Ethan remembers; Zack swears they were just pretending.  Since then Ethan’s been telling everyone he’s an alien prince, adopted by an Earth family to keep him in hiding from sinister forces on his home planet.

But what if he’s right?

The adventure begins when Zack and Ethan’s families go on vacation together.  Suddenly, it seems these two strange-looking, fat, bald guys are following them everywhere.  When the bald guys attack while their families are on a cave tour, Zack and Ethan have to use their wits to escape from the underground and flee into the wilderness.  And lurking in the background is the white-haired lady — is she really just an old lady, or something more?

The story is fast-paced and fun, with a great surprising ending (which I won’t spoil).  It continues (with plenty of aliens and adventure) in the next five books, all the way to a very satisfying conclusion.

• Camp Alien (lexile: 740; AR book level: 4.9; 160 pp)
• Alien Expedition (lexile: 780; AR book level: 5.2; 160 pp)
• Alien Encounter (lexile: 570; AR book level: 4.2; 152 pp)
• Alien Contact (lexile: 740; AR book level: 5.0; 160 pp)
• Alien Envoy (lexile: 730; AR book level: 5.0; 176 pp)

(And if you like these, you might also like Pamela Service’s Stinker from Space series, which I reviewed here in a previous post.)