Kidsmomo

A while back, Nancy and I mentioned that we’re judges for the Cybils, which are awards for children’s books, run by adults just as obsessed with kidlit as we are. Well, this week we announced the results, and now I can finally tell you about the winner in my category: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger!

It’s been very hard to keep my mouth shut and not tell everyone in the world about this book, because it is AWESOME! Seriously. Read it, you should. Thank me, you will.

The Origami Yoda in question is a paper finger puppet. When Dwight shows up to school wearing the little guy and dispensing wisdom in a squeaky voice, everyone just assumes it’s a joke because, well, Dwight’s weird and not particularly bright. But then it turns out that Origami Yoda’s advice actually works… at least sometimes. So Tommy decides to investigate; he asks everyone to write up their experiences with Origami Yoda, and he invites his nonbeliever friend, Harvey, to make scientific counterarguments. Tommy puts it all together in a case file and tries to figure out the truth. Why? Well, everybody at school is pretty curious, but Tommy’s got his own motivation: He got some advice from Origami Yoda about a girl he really, really likes…

I was kind of a horrible judge when it came to this book because, well, there’s nothing I disliked about it! When it came time to write my thoughts, I was just like, “Uh, it’s perfect?” The book is funny, but not in a phoney over-the-top wacky way. It’s sweet, but not in a gag-me cutesy way. And it’s even got hilarious little doodle illustrations in the margins! Like I said — perfect!

So what are you waiting for? Go get this book! There is no try!

— Karen

Karen still hasn’t seen Star Wars Episodes I-III and isn’t sure she ever will. Not that she qualifies as a hardcore fan of the original films, but still. Draw the line, she must.

More about Karen »