PRINCESS LABELMAKER TO THE RESCUE by Tom Angleberger

The origami rebels are back after their small triumph in Jabba the Puppett. Now they are waiting for Principal Rabski to follow through on her promise to do something. Princess Labelmaker shares a case file with Principal Rabski. Will it convice her to help end the torturous "Fun Time" test prep? Or will it just give her the evidence she needs to bust the members of the Rebel Alliance?

What a great continuation of this fun series! Timely, too, in the world of Common Core Standards and standardized testing and boycotts and rebellions.  Some of the case files are a little "random" and don't tie as tightly to the overall story as others, but they are enjoyable on their own as character development and fun school stories. There is a nice resolution of the Fun Time issue - but is it temporary? There are hints at more adventures yet to come. Book 6 is showing an August or September release, depending on what internet source you check - and that may be the final chapter in the series. You can read more about the series at the author's site here.

There is one chapter that may lead to some family discussions as kids read this book - a kid in the group is teased by some outsiders because he wears a pink shirt for picture day. The other kids call him "gay" and his friends wrestle with how to respond and wonder if they should care if he is gay. I loved how the friends responded to this situation, and I think there are some great discussion points for families and school settings about bullying that can come from the reading of this chapter.

4 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 4.9

THE SURPRISE ATTACK OF JABBA THE PUPPETT by Tom Angleberger

The kids have lost their electives in favor of "Fun Time," a set of horrible, childish videos that are supposed to raise standardized test results. The kids are miserable. But Dwight is back, along with Origami Yoda. Maybe Yoda will have some wise ideas to help them fight against the not-so-fun Fun Time.

This is my favorite book in the whole series! More kids getting involved in fighting Fun Time means more origami Star Wars characters. And that means more Star Wars jokes in the book. Also, the "surprise attack of Jabba the Puppett" was fantastic! I am so excited to get this into the hands of my students! I recommend this for kids in 3rd or 4th grade and up, especially for fans of the series.

5 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 4.9

CHAPTER BOOK: The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee by Tom Angleberger

Dwight is at Tippett Academy and life at McQuarrie Middle School just isn't the same without him - or without Origami Yoda to give advice to kids. But then Sara arrives with a Fortune Wookiee (and Han Foldo to translate), so kids with questions have somewhere to go again for advice. But when Tommy gets word that Dwight is changing at Tippett - and not for the better - he's got reason to create a whole new case file.

Great set up throughout this book for a coming battle with Principal Rabbski that is sure to be epic. That means there will be more Origami Yoda books to come and that makes me very happy - and makes my students ecstatic! This story has some great Star Wars references, good "problems" and solutions. The "voice" of Han Solo is fantastically done - you can just hear the snark and sarcasm.

4 out of 5 stars

No AR rating at this time

Recommended for: Fans of the other books in the series, kids 3rd grade and up. Teachers might enjoy these for classroom read-alouds. Lessons and discussion could be built around writing (what could students keep a case file about?), problem solving (how would you have advised this student? Is the Fortune Wookie's advice good?), voice (each character's portion is written in a different font, which is a fun visual for voice, but students could easily talk about how Tommy's "voice" is different than Harvey's, etc.)

BONUS BLOG: Sequel news

Found a couple news pieces on sequels coming - one is about a sequel to the quirky The Strange Case of Origami Yoda called Darth Paper Strikes Back which is due out next summer.

The next is a link about the next set of books about the Cahill Family, whose story started in The 39 Clues series.  The 39 Clues, Book 11: Vespers Rising is due out in April. I didn't dig too far into the website since we are only on book 4 of the original series - I don't want to come across any spoilers. Our goal is to be done with the first series in time to read Vespers when it comes out!