The Book Whisperer

Donalyn Miller
211 p

Donalyn Miller's straightforward and easy to digest vision of a classroom reading program was encouraging and inspiring.  She believes that there is no student that she can not turn into a reader.  Her philosophy can be summed up in just a few words, provide appropriate books and let the students read what they want to read.  There...done. Why it took 211 pages to say that I'm not quite sure. I did not have to be convinced to embrace her philosophy.

In order to make her vision come to life the teacher must be a virtual two-legged wikipedia of children's literature.  Providing the students with engaging and appropriate books for each individual child takes a wide ranging classroom library and an indepth knowledge of the books found there.

I was an easy convert just waiting for someone to tell me it was ok to let go of reading groups.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
by Tom Angleberger
152 p

A fun story, this is.  It's not everyday that a finger puppet starts doling out advice to 6th graders.  What's even more suprising is that the students start listening to it.  This is a clever story written in the voices of a series of students who take Yoda's advice.  Is Yoda real?  Is Dwight giving out the advice himself?  Who knows?  As the story moves forward more students begin to believe.  Maybe the force really can be found in a folded origami Yoda.

The story has the feel of a student's notebook. Tommy is gathering case evidence to prove the existence of Origami Yoda.   Each chapter is about a different student's experience with Dwight's puppet.  It includes illustrations, has words circled and highlighted, uses different fonts for different voices, and even has friends writing in Tommy's notebook in their own handwriting. 

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is light hearted and fast. Read it, look at the eveidence and decide for yourself.  Is Origami Yoda real?  And for that matter, what does it mean to BE real?