Review by Booklist Review
In this testament to the adage practice makes perfect, young Joey, who loves folding, wants to become a master at origami. After learning about the Japanese art form at school, he practices on pieces of paper at home, using items such as his homework and his sister's sheet music. He becomes increasingly frustrated with his crooked and crumpled results, and when he starts folding his mother's dollar bills, he is told to stop. He is disheartened until the owner of a neighborhood restaurant invites him to try folding napkins. With a place to practice, he finally becomes a true master and even manages to find a kindred spirit. Karas' gouache-and-pencil illustrations clearly convey Joey's fascination with folding, and the frustration he feels at not being able to practice. The cast is wonderfully multicultural: African American Joey learns about origami from a Japanese American parent, and is given a place to practice by a Mexican American restaurant owner. With engaging text, charming illustrations, and bonus instructions for an origami ladybug, this is a winner.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
From collecting snow globes to inventing palindromes, unusual passions and interests abound among humans young and old. The hero of Kleber's debut, a brown-skinned boy named Joey, is obsessed with all things folded. When readers first see him, he's staring dreamily at a neatly folded taco; he also loves maps and the accordion, and he even sleeps in a folding bed (one that doesn't like to stay unfolded, not that Joey appears to mind). After a Japanese student's mother introduces origami to Joey's class, he dives headlong into practicing, using whatever he can get his hands on-homework, his sister's sheet music, and money from his mother's purse. With the family fed up, Joey heads to his favorite Mexican restaurant, where the table napkins give him an idea. Smart design decisions-including a square trim size, origami-patterned end pages, and subtle fold marks that divide Karas's (A Poem in Your Pocket) images into vignettes-create a graceful visual underpinning to the theme, and an origami project is included for readers. It's a quiet but effective reminder of the value of practice. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Joey loves anything that folds (road maps, accordions, foldaway beds). When Sarah Takimoto's mother gives his class an origami demonstration, he finds his passion. ("Joey's eyes popped. His jaw dropped. Mrs. Takimoto called it origami.") Origami does not come easily for Joey, but he heeds the counsel of Mrs. Takimoto: "If you want to be an origami master, you'll need practice and patience." Heartfelt and amusing illustrations done in gouache and pencil on paper show Joey's many efforts to make a crane from homework, sheet music, newspapers, and even paper money littered throughout the house, until his mother can take no more. Fortunately, at the Mexican restaurant next door, he finds solace in the fajitas, encouragement from Mr. Lopez, and an enormous supply of napkins on which to practice his folds. He manages the elusive paper crane just in time to impress a girl walking in, and he begins to teach her the finer points of practice and patience. Backgrounds use color and geometric lines to mimic paper folds that cleverly break up sequences of spot art and bring out the idea of origami throughout. For readers with Joey's enthusiasm for folding, the story ends with easy-to-follow instructions for making an origami ladybug. VERDICT Warm characters, gentle humor, and sweet illustrations convey the challenges of learning new skills without making them feel insurmountable. A title for all collections.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA c Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Young Joey, who loves things that fold (maps, accordions, tacos), is entranced when his friends mother, Mrs. Takimoto, demonstrates origami to his class. "I can show you the foldsbut the only way to become a true origami master is with much practice and great patience," she tells him. Joeys family also needs a lot of patience, as he quickly runs out of notebook paper and begins practicing on everything he can find, from his homework to his sisters violin sheet music to the money in his mothers purse ("This folding has to stop, said Mom"). Despondent, Joey goes next door to his favorite restaurant, Muy Mexicana, for a cheer-up fajita and there discovers that folding cloth napkins "makes the table look fancy." The gentle humor in Klebers text helps keep the story from being preachy. Karass gouache and pencil illustrations show a cheery multicultural neighborhood and an entertaining array of origami attempts made out of many types of paper. Young readers can also share in Joeys hobby if they try out the clear instructions at the end for making an origami ladybug. susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Joey loves things that fold, like maps, his accordion, and even his foldaway bed, so when he sees a classmate's mother folding an origami crane, he's captivated. Mrs. Takimoto explains that she can teach Joey the folds, but the only way to become an origami master is with "practice and patience." He takes the instruction seriously and practices with every piece of paper he can find, including his sister's sheet music and his mother's dollar bills, before being asked to stop. His neighbor friend Mr. Lopez sees Joey's dedication and lets him fold the napkins in his restaurant in progressively more complicated shapes until the little boy finally masters the crane. On seeing the crane, a little girl is captivated. Joey offers to teach her but warns that it takes "practiceand lots of patience!" Kleber uses simple language but gives young readers great credit for understanding multiple concepts conveyed at once, and the story is all the better for it. Karas' soulful illustrations depict Joey with brown skin and cropped, textured hair, with other characters drawn to show other ethnicities. His art shows his hand, the textured pencil, and pastel strokes evident on the page, which gives the book a gentle, handmade feel. It's an excellent companion to Kleber's story, which encourages patience, practice, and sharing creativity and finishes with a simple origami lesson for readers to try. A gem. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
