Funny Part of the Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet
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...then came The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett.
Suddenly it was The Strange Case of Origami Yoda all over again, a gripping, emotionally evocative story that had my heart pounding at certain moments, incensed by Principal Rabbski's dismissive treatment of the rebellion orchestrated by Dwight (er, sorry, I mean Captain Dwight). There are tense exchanges during those meetings in the principal's office as Captain Dwight and his independent-minded friends rally against draconian measures that penalize their seventh-grade class for academic shortfalls they had nothing to do with. Real issues of educational tyranny are raised, adults wielding unchecked authority to micromanage the lives of kids, who aren't allowed to object because they're kids. The balance of power is so skewed that kids can't get a fair hearing even when they're a hundred percent right. They're expected to happily go along with whatever system the adults in charge decide on, no matter how cockamamie, but Captain Dwight and company have reached the limit of their tolerance. One way or another, they're going to turn things around.
Captain Dwight's exile to another school for the fall semester is over, and his friends at McQuarrie Middle School are glad he's back. Getting along without the preternaturally wise advice of Captain Dwight's Origami Yoda finger puppet has been hard, but the paper Jedi master is once again ready to dole out solutions for their problems. A big issue is affecting every kid at McQuarrie this spring, one that even Origami Yoda will find difficult to fix. Because last year's seventh- and eighth-graders failed the standardized state academic tests, the FunTime learning system has been adopted, a bizarre audiovisual curriculum obviously designed for kids a lot younger than middle school. Tommy, Kellen, Sara, Harvey, and the rest can't stand FunTime's lame songs and lamer animation sequences, but having to sit through a whole class period of it every day isn't the worst part. No, that would be the cancelation of all elective classes—music, art, drama, etc.—and extracurricular programs—including sports and clubs—if and until the school tests up to state standards a few months from now. The seventh-graders are being punished not for subpar work of their own (they met the test standards last year as sixth-graders), but for lackluster performances by the kids in the grades ahead of them. No art or electives means a semester with nothing to lighten their long, boring days of study, and will set some of them back when it comes to building portfolios for high school and beyond. But the school's mind is made up, and Principal Rabbski enforces the decision with no tolerance for dissent. What can be done about it?
The time has come, the Dwight (oops, I mean Captain Dwight) says, to talk of many things. Chief among those things is Origami Yoda's proposed rebellion against the FunTime Menace (Now that is classic). If enough students purposely score zero on their standardized tests, the school won't get the desired results from their spartan system of all work and no play. Threatening to sabotage the test will take grit, but Rabbski has to back down if the rebels present a united front. Right? Well...not so right. Rabbski's no amateur, and she easily quashes Captain Dwight's insurrection. Right? Well...don't count out Origami Yoda. Rabbski can administer harsh consequences for students who fail the exams, but what if they don't fail? What if instead they intentionally barely pass, still lowering the school's average? Rabbski can't hold them back from graduating if they pass the test, but the administration would have a lot to answer for if their students failed to meet minimum academic requirements for a second straight year. The hard part is convincing enough students to attempt the ploy, about sixty each from sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.
A showdown is brewing between the austere adults and kids who want a little fun mixed in with their hours of daily schoolwork. Captain Dwight (via Origami Yoda) assigns each of his friends a Star Wars character to make a finger puppet of and behave like during the rebellion. Each Star Wars hero contributes its own indispensable quality for the group and the kid who represents the character. Just as Captain Dwight is inexplicably more insightful when he's speaking as Origami Yoda, the other kids feel wiser as their counterparts from a galaxy far, far away. Much they have to learn about running an efficient insurgency, such as being disciplined with their demands so the principal will take them seriously, but also not quailing when Rabbski unleashes her terrible wrath. These are only kids, who don't believe they should be treated unfairly just because grownups have the authority to do whatever they want. Captain Dwight and company aren't geniuses; they're authentic seventh-graders prone to wilting under the heat an authority figure like Rabbski can put on them, and their chances aren't great as they try to convince the principal of her wrongheaded approach to tween education. A minor victory in this war is a miracle indeed, but who's really directing the offensive when Rabbski's impenetrable resolve begins to weaken? Do the McQuarrie kids have help from an agent of change beyond the Force?
It's impossible to convey in this review the electricity of those powwows in Rabbski's office after Captain Dwight and the gang reveal their plan for defying the FunTime Menace. Rabbski is a shrewd operator who's outraged at the attempt to undermine her authority, and she's prepared to strike back with the full potency of the empire against kids who won't comply with orders. FunTime didn't originate with Rabbski, but like many grownups, she thinks of kids as nothing but students, not people who need free time, recreation, and variety in their daily routine if they're to be happy. Kids have lives outside and apart from academia, and that should be respected. Captain Dwight's freedom fighters are convinced of this and ready to confront authority to guard the sanctity of their elective education and after-school activities, heated as the situation may get. You'll find yourself gritting your teeth and holding the book in a white-knuckle grip as Origami Yoda and his rebels attempt to articulate calm, intelligent arguments to Rabbski, who's thin on patience before the kids say a word to her. The emotionally charged atmosphere permeates the story's second half, setting up a reward which feels that much more exhilarating when something unexpectedly changes. Can a few dozen middle-schoolers fed up listening to a singing calculator every day alter the course of their own education? It would take some major intervention by the Force, but the McQuarrie kids are counting on it if learning is ever again to be something they look forward to in the waning days of their childhood.
Tom Angleberger is a pro at getting readers to feel deeply when he puts his mind to it, and this book is the equal of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda in that respect. The only difference is the type of feelings engendered by the two stories. Kids who feel perpetually downtrodden by adults who think they know best will find a clan of kindred spirits in these pages, and anyone frustrated by institutional lack of understanding vis-Ã -vis balanced education in schools will also feel they've been given a voice. If education doesn't impart a love of learning then it's useless, just time lost earning a degree to get a job so you can wile away the rest of your life working for money that can't translate into happiness. It's the joy of discovery and togetherness that makes life enjoyable, not accumulation of monetary wealth. Captain Dwight and his friends' intuitive comprehension of that is why it's easy to take their side and cheer them on in this book. I think I'll give The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett the full three stars, and I recommend it for anyone who loves The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. I can hardly wait to see what happens next.
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Dwight Tharp, back at McQuarrie Middle School from Tibbet Academy, and his good friend Tommy Lomax play Origami Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobi to lead what they're calling the Origami Rebel Alliance. Principal Rabbski has dropped drama, art, chorus, music, and some sports to make room for Fun Time™ — a stultifying video program to drill the seventh-graders in math, complete with a rapping Professor Fun Time and a cartoon dancing, rapping calculator sure to appall and bore middle-schoolers in equal measure. Fun Time™ (dubbed the Fun Time™ Menace by Origami Yoda) provides an excellent satire on Study Island, Edgenuity and host of similar highly expensive and mind-numbing programs to drill students in the vain hopes of boosting test scores on high-stakes tests. Excruciating programs like this are commonplace across the nation, even though such test results don't predict how good a school is, much less how well a student will do in college. (High school grades are a much better predictor of college success and graduation than scores on the SAT or ACT, much less high-stakes state tests.)
Can Dwight and his scrappy group of friends take on the Fun Time™ Menace and
Lastly, once again, I was lucky enough to follow the Origami Rebellion Alliance on audiobook, with the same wonderful cast of narrators as the three previous novels.
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And since our first exposure to Dwight and the gang, we've eagerly awaited each book, reading them together and separately; but always discussing the jokes and talking about the dilemmas.
The SURPRISE ATTACK OF JABBA THE PUPPETT, however, is the first book that has left me pondering what score to give. It's not that there aren't absol
I love this series. The first book I found very touching and funny/sweet. So much fun, in fact, that I couldn't wait to share it with my son, who was 9 at the time.And since our first exposure to Dwight and the gang, we've eagerly awaited each book, reading them together and separately; but always discussing the jokes and talking about the dilemmas.
The SURPRISE ATTACK OF JABBA THE PUPPETT, however, is the first book that has left me pondering what score to give. It's not that there aren't absolutely brilliant moments with good observations, and many chuckle-out-loud moments; those are still present. But the the warmth and wonder of the first books just isn't the same. It's as if the characters are too often there to deliver clever lines, and not there to be themselves.
And worse, I thought the story dragged a bit and was too long. Especially toooooooooooo long when you consider that it's only Part I.
I hope Part II can save the rift I feel growing between me and the paper origami crew.
**3.5 STARS** Better than most books.
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Me: it took me 4 hours to get here.
tom: wow . *sighns books*. get on the stage.
me: wow! okay.
later in the car ride home......
my dad: I got a email from tom.
me: what doesit say!!!!!!!!!!
dad reading: for making up for all the time you spent in that jeep. nick will be in Jabba the puppet. note: the email did say that but just in a other way. rest of school + summer later. after I read book.
me: im nick the inturupting cheeto!
Good Book. I Liked This Book Because It Had More Interesting Themes Than The Other Origami Yoda Books. I Enjoyed How The Middle School's Learning Program Called Funtime Was Evil To The Students. I Enjoyed This Book! Would Recommend For Middle School Students And Sci Fi Fans.
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Enter Tom Angleberger's Origami Yoda series. The man is a genius: middle grade kids, a mystery, Star Wars, and origami? There's something in there for everyone. Oh, and they're hysterical.
In book four of the Origami Yoda series, THE SURPRISE ATTACK OF JABBA THE PUPPET, Tommy, Mike, Dwight and the gang are back,
I'm the mother of two boys: 10 and 9 years old. One is an avid reader and one isn't, but I read as part of their bedtime ritual and search far and wide to find books all of us will enjoy.Enter Tom Angleberger's Origami Yoda series. The man is a genius: middle grade kids, a mystery, Star Wars, and origami? There's something in there for everyone. Oh, and they're hysterical.
In book four of the Origami Yoda series, THE SURPRISE ATTACK OF JABBA THE PUPPET, Tommy, Mike, Dwight and the gang are back, and this time even Harvey is on their side: they are in open rebellion against Principal Rabbski's new FunTime™ learning program designed to boost the school's test scores. With electives cancelled in favor of dumbed-down videos, the kids think the only thing FunTime boosts is their boredom. They seek out Origami Yoda's insight to solve the problem. His answer? This is more than even Origami Yoda can handle and announces that the only way to get school back to normal is if everyone pitches in.
Principal Rabbski is as cunning as Boba Fett, sly as Han Solo, and ruthless as Darth Vader, and is determined to make the kids of McQuarrie Middle School behave...or else. Origami Yoda has been right before, but will he be right about takes-no-prisoners Principal Rabbski?
Since it's book four we've spent the last three books getting to know Tommy, Mike, Dwight and the others pretty well. Angleberger does a good job differentiating them, and they feel like real kids dealing with real-life problems in creative ways. My boys' particular favorite is the eccentric Dwight, who at first seems to be the mastermind behind all the chaos, but the rational serenity of his finger puppet Yoda makes you wonder...
In previous books the mystery surrounded the validity of Origami Yoda's powers of prognostication. But since that's been firmly established, now the kids have an even bigger problem to solve, and simply being kids limits them, their schooling being decided by adults. I wonder a little about Angleberer's topic (government mandated testing and the resultant curriculum), and being a parent myself of middle school kids understand the frustration of the kids and how teachers' hands are tied. He skirts sounding agenda-driven just barely by the way he uses FunTime and the over-the-top way the kids react to its obviously ridiculous design. But I love the way the kids work together in a way to solve their problems and how using the origami puppets make the kids think in new ways.
The actual design of the book is great, with each chapter a different viewpoint--this really helps us get to know the kids and the way they think. The doodles in the margins are hilarious (my boys love pointing them out), and Tommy and Harvey's comments at the end of each chapter help with continuity. And you can't help but appreciate Harvey's snark. The best thing, though? The instructions for origami Star Wars puppets at the end of each book. Currently I have an army of origami Ewoks all over my house.
The only bad thing is that this book is to be continued! The previous books were self-contained stories so I was a little disappointed to get to the end only to have to wait for the next installment and I hope the solution. For now I will have to be satisfied with Jabba's surprise attack at the end. Yes, I squealed.
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While I love this premise, I thought it suffered a bit from a sort of middle-book slump. The rest of the books have made sense as individual installments even as they led into the next. But this plot felt a little less polished, as if books number 4 and 5 should actually just be combined. Really it didn't bother me that much and I don't think kids will care either, hence the four star rating. It's still hilarious and the plots keep getting more and more relevant. There wasn't as much character development in this one, but I have a feeling there will be more in book 5. Just one more reason it feels like these two could be combined somehow. Oh well, I'm still loving this series.
I especially love the little insights we get into Dwight's mind, showing us just how savvy and observant he really is. Like this exchange between Cassie and Captain Sherlock Dwight, when he says:
Look in front of you, over my shoulder. Observe. What do you see?
**If you're wondering whether kids need to have a preexisting love of Star Wars in order to enjoy these books, don't worry. They'll find more humor in them if they like the movies, but if they only know about them from pop culture references they'll still be able to enjoy it..
***There's also a little Easter egg in this book for those who've read Angleberger's Fake Mustache
**For basic reading comprehension questions for this book, check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store.**
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How can the students fight the FunTime menace and restore their favorite classes?
This semester, Dwight and his gang of followers face their worst enemy yet: the FunTime menace. At the behest of the out-of-touch school board, FunTime has been introduced at McQuarrie to raise standardized test scores. "PREP time" is installed in place of all the school's electives, where students watch mind-numbing videos of Professor FunTime and his singing calculator, instead of exploring music, art, and drama.How can the students fight the FunTime menace and restore their favorite classes? Origami Yoda has the answer: form a Rebel Alliance. Dozens of kids take up the cause (along with their own Star Wars-themed finger puppets), and the next case file begins.
Angleberger's previous books in this series are delightfully humorous when focusing on the minor problems of middle-school life, and they only get better as they delve into more serious issues. The The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett leaps beyond every day embarrassments and addresses a national issue in education: the systematic elimination of extra-curricular activities and creative studies in favor of promoting a science-, math-, and language arts-exclusive education, with little opposition from the general public. This book, in combination with book 5, shares this important message: students and parents need to participate in decisions that affect education.
I've greatly enjoyed this series so far. However, I did feel a bit overwhelmed by the multiple characters and their corresponding Star Wars puppets. While a multi-voice format is a great way to measure how each character affect's the evolution and emotional growth of the entire group, too much is too much. Up until Surprise Attack, I felt that a reader didn't need to be too familiar with Star Wars to get the humor. But since this book has tens of kids and as many Star Wars characters, someone without much knowledge will definitely miss the more obscure references.
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The cynic in me thinks this is more an attempt to stake out a certain place in the broader debates over Com
One of my favorite middle grade reads is Frindle. A story about a kid who bucks authority by calling a pen a "frindle," I always thought that the book (and most of Andrew Clements's school stories) were way more anti-authority than teachers would accept. Alas, Frindle is almost 20 years old, but The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett has come at exactly the right time to carry that torch.The cynic in me thinks this is more an attempt to stake out a certain place in the broader debates over Common Core and standardized testing than to continue the story of Dwight and Origami Yoda, but I'm willing to forgive it because it's so well-done and so much fun. Given that the school didn't do so hot on their standardized tests, the principal has chosen to more or less eliminate electives in favor of test prep, complete with extremely hokey and poorly done videos and worksheets. The kids want their electives back, so it becomes a seesaw back and forth as the kids threaten to tank the tests, or to not improve, and the story is a war of attrition throughout without a clear conclusion.
There's a lot to like here, from putting the controversies around standardized testing in the forefront of the plot of a book a lot of kids will read, to the continually unique names of the origami Star Wars characters. The faster-than-usual pace combined with the message allows me to overlook some of the flaws and the fact that agenda-driven fictional books (especially for kids) often leave me uncomfortable.
Overall, a great addition to the series. Definitely looking forward to the next volume as well.
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Hilarious on the surface, but underneath it has v
"Yes! Join him you must. Only together can you withstand this enemy. An origami alliance you need." The students of McQuarrie Middle School are about to meet the Dark Side and it is FunTime. FunTime is a canned test prep program that is replacing their electives, including art, drama, chorus, and even JV sports. Why? Because their standardized test scores have fallen. Spurred on by Origami Yoda, the students form an alliance to fight this change.Hilarious on the surface, but underneath it has very important messages: students (and parents) need to participate in the decisions that effect education; teachers and principals aren't the real enemy; and real change can only happen when the government understands that measuring educational success with standardized tests scores is counterproductive for our students, not to mention an inaccurate measure of what's important for the students to know. I truly hope the sequel has Origami Yoda testifying before Congress to end this inane "educational reform" that revolves around standardized tests and the corporations that get rich because of them. Maybe they'll listen to Yoda :)
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I read it ten months ago, but I didn't write a review, so then I didn't remember anything, which forced me to read the book again just to catch up with what's going on before I read Princess Labelmaker, but by the time I got around to it, the next book had to go back to the library. So, kids, THIS is why you should keep track of your reading.
Not that I mind a re-read for the quality of the writing. Angleberger strikes a good tone in these. No, this particular volume in the series
October 2, 2013I read it ten months ago, but I didn't write a review, so then I didn't remember anything, which forced me to read the book again just to catch up with what's going on before I read Princess Labelmaker, but by the time I got around to it, the next book had to go back to the library. So, kids, THIS is why you should keep track of your reading.
Not that I mind a re-read for the quality of the writing. Angleberger strikes a good tone in these. No, this particular volume in the series fills me with RAGE because it's about how the school has canceled all extracurriculars and electives in order to make time for all the students to go through a particularly inane set of materials to prep them for the high-stakes test. And this is a subject that makes me stabby.
I do like that the author is addressing a systemic problem facing current students. The books were delightful when addressing the minor embarrassments of daily life, better when addressing more serious issues, and even better now, I think. I'm looking forward to moving on with the series, and hopeful that the books offer some creative civil disobedience.
Library copy.
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This book did not impress me the way the other books in this series have. I also believe that this book was just generally sloppy writing.
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The common enemy of the standardized test and Fun Time programming united even Harvey to the cause.
For fans of the initial books, this book continues the McQuarrie students' battle agai
I never read the full series when it first came out, but now that my son has discovered it I'm going straight through, and I'm discovering...while there are still things to enjoy, there are also things that have *not* aged well and bear mentioning. It's a shame with this one, because this has been one of my favorites in the series so far. There's really only one moment here that caught me up---but it's a doozy.For fans of the initial books, this book continues the McQuarrie students' battle against the soulless test prep company FunTime and the misery it has wreaked on electives, sports, and actual meaningful learning. This time, they're organized and forming a genuine Origami Alliance but Rabbski has an attack planned that could prove their doom.
Honestly, I really enjoy the turn the series takes after the initial Dwight drama (which has some real problematic moments and unfortunately speaks some sad truth about how neurodivergent kids can sometimes fall through the cracks and be poorly supported in schools). The FunTime Menace plotline is pretty empowering, encouraging kids to speak out and stand up for each other and their rights (plus there's a lot underneath that about the flawed testing system and how schools are funded and all kinds of things). It gets super ridiculous with all the new origami characters, but I'm there for the ride, overall.
However. There is a chapter in here (from Sara, of all people, which seems unkind and out of character for her) where she talks about "that girl Megan who now goes by Fred" who after that point Sara consistently misgenders (and almost to a deliberately obstinate level repeatedly calls "Megan") for the rest of the short "holocron" account. It's a really baffling choice. The editors really needed someone from the queer community to give this book (and possibly the next and I'll explain that in that review) a reading. Including a non-binary or possibly transgender character--great, but they have no voice here. We hear about them only through Sara who in misgendering/misnaming basically erases them in the same moment they're identified. It doesn't help that Fred also ends up inadvertently narcing on Sara in the same chapter, so they kind of end up being a low-key villain for just a moment.
It's not just representation matters, HOW people are represented matters. When communities are underrepresented in children's literature every instance counts for a lot. The message that someone's identity doesn't have to be acknowledged if it doesn't feel important or meaningful to you is not a message I'm okay with repeating. I made a teachable moment out of it in the reading but seriously, Angleberger...that was disappointing.
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The question is even asked (by Tommy) of whether Dwight and Origami Yoda were beaten by Harvey and his Darth Paper. What happened when Dwight left made him wonder even more, he left his Origami Chewbacca to help
After Harvey's betrayal, Dwight is back at McQuarrie High School, but Tommy is confused so he started a new case file to note it all down. Tommy raises many questions about Dwight being expelled from school. Did he and his Origami Yoda use the force to help them out, or was it all a ruse?The question is even asked (by Tommy) of whether Dwight and Origami Yoda were beaten by Harvey and his Darth Paper. What happened when Dwight left made him wonder even more, he left his Origami Chewbacca to help them out, but still distrusts Dwight.
It's the first day of the Spring semester and Principle Rabbski is busy with a whole load of changes. As we know from Rabbski before, these are changes them really won't like. At assembly, the principle tells the class about FunTime. Professor FunTime has a singing calculator and is sure to alienate his class rather than endear them to him.
The DVD of the professor in action is enough to bore the class to death, but the purpose of FunTime is he is supposed to help them focus on the FUN damentals of prepping for their big test. And if Professor FunTime isn't enough to send the children into FunTime hell, then his calculator, Gizmo surely will, especially when he's in Mr Howell's class.
Their only saving grace is that Dwight is back with his Origami Yoda and he would know what to do in such a dire event as this as the FunTime menace starts to go bad. Rather than one origami puppet of Yoda doing the trick, Origami Yoda advises they must fold many to take on the might of the FunTime menace, but Harvey isn't convinced - no wonder, he's the one who has gone to the dark side. Dwight assumes captaincy, and writes down all his classmates who are with him; Tommy, Kellen, Lance, Mike, Amy, Sara and Quavondo. With Harvey and Rhondella refusing, they realise they might be lost to the light forever.
There are several chapters worth reading here, Queen Origamidala and the Break-Dancing Dictionary involved Dwight and Murky making Padme where they find the FunTime menace and make it work backwards just for fun. Tommy's letter to Rabbski had the class get together under Tommy to bring the FunTime menace to an end. Their decision is to fail their tests deliberately, but Rabbski has another plan in mind calling them for a meeting to tell them if they don't fall in line, she will make them stay back a year!
What I wanted to do once I had read the story, was get straight to the origami with How to Fold the Puppett (with instructions by Kellen). The puppett they are referring to in this case is Jabba the Hutt and he takes a bit more careful folding work than most of the ones I have done from other Origami Yoda books.
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Change swept the halls of McQuarie Middlde School. Dwight is back after spending The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee at Tippet Academy. But he returns as the FunTime test prep system begins. He and the other kids form an Origami Rebel Alliance. In the end, they win a decisive victory, but the war still rages, brilliantly setting the stage for the 5th book, Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue!
...more Loved how the Mr. Howell showed up. Of course, he should never admit anything to children.
Not only did the educational program change mid-year so did the food program. These things just do not occur. It shows an unfamiliari
As predicted, the last book was the lead-in to this story. Totally impossible, but fun nonetheless. The children are really showing maturity in their rebellion. I will say that tanking tests scores isn't a good idea, and it looks like the story is moving away from that angle.Loved how the Mr. Howell showed up. Of course, he should never admit anything to children.
Not only did the educational program change mid-year so did the food program. These things just do not occur. It shows an unfamiliarity with how schools work.
Looks like Dwight is setting up Tommy to be the leader of the next book. Dwight really impresses me in this series.
The parents are not upset. That's good. Perhaps they will lead assistance to the rebellion.
Looking forward to seeing where this story goes. Good stuff.
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