Origami Yoda series, by Tom Angleberger
In Tom Angleberger’s series, Origami Yoda, the force arrives at McQuarrie Middle School and begins the battle against the dark side of social ineptitude and mandated state testing. If you can’t believe that paper folded into famous Star Wars characters can start a resistance movement against middle school injustices, think again. Read the series and have your mind transformed.
Book 1: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Dwight, a weird middle school boy, wears a paper puppet on his index finger. The puppet is Origami Yoda. That’s strange enough, but even more bizarre is Yoda’s propensity for giving advice. Well, okay, it’s Dwight’s voice that talks for Origami Yoda, but it’s not Dwight thoughts. It can’t be. How can a kid who’s as socially backward as Dwight spout such gems of wisdom? Tommy decides to collect scientific data in the form of people’s experiences with Yoda in hopes of answering these questions: Is Origami Yoda real? Does he possess magical powers of discernment?
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Book 2: Darth Paper Strikes Back
Last school year, Dwight’s Origami Yoda turned McQuarrie Middle School upside down with his accurate predictions and timely advice. And, though Tommy did a great job of proving that Yoda was real, Harvey still scoffed and ridiculed. Now, the very first day of seventh grade, Harvey arrives with Darth Paper, Yoda’s origami arch-enemy. “Don’t underestimate the power of the darkside,” he proclaims. Harvey’s goal? To get rid of Dwight and his “Paperwad Yoda” forever.
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Book 3: The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee
Dwight has been suspended from McQuarrie Middle School until January. Harvey hopes that this will be the end of origami madness, but, then, Sara shows up with the Fortune Wookiee. She says that Dwight made him for his friends at McQuarrie. The Wookiee’s fortune-telling powers are only to be used in an emergency. But, to the middle schoolers of McQuarrie, who are floundering without the sage advice of Origami Yoda, everything is an emergency! Much to Harvey’s dismay, Tom’s case files are reborn, and Dwight’s closest friends begin a campaign to bring Dwight and Origami Yoda back to school.
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Book 4: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett
Dwight and Origami Yoda come back to McQuarrie Middle School just in time. A drop in mandated test scores, has Principal Rabbski instituting FunTime- TIME to FOCUS on the FUNdamentals. Mind numbing videos and worksheets replace elective classes and field trips. Even the typical cafeteria food has been replaced by pseudo-nutritional tastelessness. The students of McQuarrie respond to this crisis in the only way possible. Origami Yoda organizes them into a rebellion.
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Book 5: Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue
After Jabba’s surprise attack, Ms. Rabbski promised that she would talk to the school board about FUNtime, but she didn’t. The halls of McQuarrie Middle School still ring with the inane songs of Professor Funtime and his evil calculator, Gizmo. When Ms. Rabbski’s grand plan to replace FUNtime with XtremeFun is revealed, a new origami rebel named Princess Labelmaker realizes that desperate measures are needed. Following Yoda’s advice, this person steals the case files and delivers them to Ms. Rabbski. What happens next changes everything.
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Book 6: Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus
Because of Ms. Rabbski, the seventh graders are going to Washington, D.C, for their annual field trip. Unfortunately, their origami Jedi rebellion counterparts are not invited! Rabbski declares this field trip to be an “origami free zone.” Disregarding the principal’s edict, Harvey pulls a pickle-faced Emperor Pickletine out of his underwear within the first nanoseconds of the trip. The Emperor (aka Harvey) is determined to ruin the trip with his sour attitude as he tries to get everyone to succumb to the sour side. Fortunately, Dwight brings fruit roll-ups (lots and lots of roll-ups) and folds them into fruitigami Yodas to counteract the Emperor’s dark power.
