Everything Star Wars--May the 4th Be With You!

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                                            Learn the Code with Star Wars! Code.org

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Grab your light saber and join us for the fun! Join in on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Tech Alert: Star Wars Lightsaber Escape

New tech now trending! Google Chrome Lightsaber Escape turns your phone into a lightsaber. Play with your desktop (tablets are not supported) and use your phone as a lightsaber. You have to see this to believe it! From techcrunch, watch the video. The Lightsaber Escape is the last story on this brief tech update.

Image from Lucasfilms

                    Happy gaming and May the Force Be With You! The Force Awakens!

May the Force Be With You! Star Wars Reads Day

May the force be with you! Get free puzzles, activities, and swag from the nice folks at DK!

Star Wars Reads Day October 10! Get your students involved!

In Honor of Star Wars Reads Day: Origami Yoda Giveaway: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett Standee

In celebration of Star Wars Reads Day, October 5, 2013

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett

I have 10 FREE Jabba the Puppett standees up for grabs! Your library will rock with a giant standee featuring the entire Origami Yoda series!

For your chance to win, simply post a comment and be sure to include your first name, city, state and email address.

Deadline for posts is September 23 at noon MST. Winners will be chosen randomly by Randomizer. Please check your email on September 23 in the afternoon. Winners have only 24 hours to respond to my email. If there is no response, the standee will go to the next post on the list. The giant standees will ship from New York courtesy of Laura and Amulet. Thank you, Laura; thank you, Amulet!

Winners should receive their standee by October 5 to celebrate Star Wars Reads Day!

Good luck and start posting, and as always, May the Folds Be With You!

Pamela

Series Pick: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett (An Origami Yoda book)

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett (An Origami Yoda book)
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet
2013
208 pages with origami instructions

Clever, cute, whimsical, and winsome, The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett proves that Tom Angleberger knows what kids like! The Star Wars/origami mash-up has been a huge hit with the middle grade crowds, and Angleberger's antics appeal to this demographic.

The kids at at McQuarrie Middle School are eagerly awaiting the return of Dwight and wondering if he has given up Origami Yoda. Tommy is concerned with what "Fun-Time" is and why Principal Rabbski is so excited about the coming changes. The kids don't have to wait long to find out that all their fun electives have been cancelled due to low test scores. Now, the kids will be watching dull videos of Professor FunTime and Gizmo the Calculator dancing around and singing their FunTime song. The kids will do hours of worksheets until their brains turn to mush. Tommy and friends are horrified! They turn to Dwight and Origami Yoda for guidance.

Yoda (speaking through Dwight) tells them they must launch a campaign against the evil empire...the kids decide to tell Principal Rabbski that they won't pass their tests unless...the electives are reinstated. Tommy comments that going along with Funtime is, "...like helping the Empire build their Death Star." Kellen wonders what would happen if all the kids took the state test using #1 lead pencils instead of #2? "Would it blow up their computer or something?"

Every kid who has ever taken a standardized test or had a "FunTime" type of program drilled into their brains day in, day out will see the humor of this book. Every teacher who has worried and lost sleep over her/his students' scores and performance will laugh through their tears as they read Jabba the Puppett.

When the parents meet with the principal, the Empire is defeated. Tommy, Dwight, Kellen and the rest have followers among the faculty they never even knew existed.

Highly, highly recommended for everyone! Origami instructions included. Fans of the series will love this latest installment.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Super Book Giveaway: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books
2013

For origami folding and more

I have FIVE free copies of the newest in the Origama Yoda series. Kids LOVE Tom's books, and you will, too!

Simply post a comment and be sure to include your first name, city, state, and email address. Deadline for posts is Tuesday, September 3 at noon MST. Winners will be chosen randomly by Randomizer on that date. Please check your email after noon MST. Winners will have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Amulet and Laura. Thanks, Amulet! Thanks, Laura!

Good luck, start posting, and May the Folds Be With You!

Pamela

Fun Pick: Art2-D2's Guide To Folding and Doodling

Art2-D2's Guide to Folding and Doodling
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books
2013
163 pages with origami sheets for folding

Tommy and friends Keelen, Sara, Caroline, Cassie and Lance are back, and this time with an interactive activity book! Fans of Angelberger's Origami Yoda series will want to get their hands on a copy. The kids' quips and drawings are cute and funny and this book is  bound to find even more thrilled new fans.

The kids each teach beginning doodlers how to draw, how to fold Origami Yoda characters, how to draw faces, and even how to talk like Yoda!

The directions and illustrations will help beginners learn easy folds and breaks down drawing figures and faces to a fun science. Angleberger is spot-on with his "kidspeak" and the snarkiness and fun digs the characters engage in will delight young readers. The book is packed with more than 75 actitities and a 16 page color insert with 10 pages of perforated origami paper. "May the doodles be with you!"

If you know an aspiring artist or someone who loves origami, this is a must-have!

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves the series and who loves Star Wars and/or origami and drawing. Recommended grades 4-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensationfor this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Fun Pick: The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (book 3, Origami Yoda)
By Tom Angleberger
Amulet
2012
190 pages with illustrations
Hilarious, goofy and churlish, downright disrespectful, and insanely entertaining, The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee picks up as the kids continue another school year at McQuarrie Middle School without their beloved Dwight. Dwight was suspended last year and is now attending Tippett Academy and word is out that he’s BEHAVING. Dwight…behaving??? The kids all miss Origami Yoda and wish Dwight was back at school.

The origami kids are making a new case file and meet daily in the library. Principal Rabbski thinks origami is a big waste of time and “a major disruption of the learning environment.” Harvey disagrees and Mrs. Calhoun—the world’s greatest librarian---backs him. The librarian gets major props from the entire group of origami Star Wars fans. The students each comment in the new case file and then they sometimes comment on everyone else’s comments. It is truly hysterical. Tom Angleberger must be channeling his inner 7th grade nerd because whatever he’s doing, it’s clearly working.

Mike whines about having to attend church and dress up every time. His mother says it’s disrespectful to wear jeans in the “Lord’s house.” Tom says, “Personally, I think it’s disrespectful to be itchy in the Lord’s House.” Later, he says WTS? for What the spaghetti? at the church’s spaghetti dinner.

Sara makes a cootie catcher (her new origami puppet) that she swears tells fortunes and students begin to ask the Fortune Wookiee for answers. Another student, Murky, has invented his own vocabulary but is so hard to understand that the other boys write a Murkish Dictionary with words like “plastic dinosaurs,” “bolt,” and “Jell-o” --all Murky’s adjectives for when something is awesome. Harvey comments that all Murky says is awesome, but the other boys disagree—he doesn’t even use the word awesome—he has invented a whole new language for awesome.

Tommy visits Dwight and tries to persuade him to come back to McQuarrie. He asks him to take Yoda down from the wall. Dwight realizes that maybe he misses Origami Yoda after all.

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves Star Wars and origami. Fans of the series will have to read this one. This will be a big hit for middle grades and up. Grades 4-up.

Don't forget that there are 5 copies of this book FREE. Win your copy today! Post a comment after this review or on the giveaway (scroll down). Deadline for posts is August 15 at noon MST. Please include your first name, city, state and email. Winners are chosen randomly by Randomizer and will be notified by email. Thanks, and start posting!

FTC Required Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.