Jill Foltz, one of our Round II judges for Middle Grade Fiction this year, blogs at The O.W.L.: Outrageously Wonderful Literature for the Middle Grades. More precisely, she blogs along with Team OWL, a group of students in her 7th grade English classes. They look at all sorts of books–MG and YA–that are great for 7th graders.
One of those books is not just great for 7th graders but a fun read all around: Cybils MG finalist The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger. Dwight is a really weird, loser-y kind of guy, who communicates with his 6th-grade classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda–and a really bad Yoda impression. Tommy, who narrates the book, is trying to figure out whether Origami Yoda's strangely prophetic abilities are real. Jill says in her review:
For me this was a really quick read – I started it last night. But part of the reason it was quick was because I couldn't put it down! Like Tommy and the students in his class, I had to find it if Origami Yoda was real and if he should be believed.
Click here for the full review.