Team Harvey or Team Dwight??

Only 4 more months until Darth Paper come out!  Ohhhh..... I can't wait!  I read this on Twitter today: 

 

I clicked on the link so fast that I think I sprained my thumb!   

From Tom:

"Just one drawing to go! Having trouble with Rhondella…. she’s the hardest to draw!

Here’s a picture that may or may not end up in the book. But it works sort of like a teaser trailer, so I thought I’d post it here for you…"

 

Skype Hype!

Wow!  What a day!  The author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Tom Angleberger) visited with us on Skype today! The session was open to all kids who read the book and all aspiring authors.  Tom showed us all how to fold an "Emergency Yoda" with only 5 folds.  I greatly appreciate this, because I am not good at origami!  I did fold 12 of these little babies today, though!  


Besides answering questions about Star Wars, Tom talked to us about writing.  He told us lots of good stuff, let's see if I can sum it up here:
1.  The things that happen to you now are the things you will write about when you grow up.  All of the embarrassing, bad, horrifying things that you go through will inspire you to write your stories.  The great part about this is that you get to "change history".  You can rewrite your experiences so they always come out in your favor. 
2.  If you are having writer's block- or starting a bunch of stories that you just can't finish, hold on to them.  Keep writing your beginnings, because the beginnings are the hardest part.  Come back to the stories you have started, and give each one a chance.  If you have something that really takes off, you will know.  But keep everything- just in case! 
3.  Read.  And don't just read the shiny new releases that everyone else is reading.  "Poke around the library" and find the hidden jewels that are out there.  You will find a jewel and it will "light your brain on fire". 
4.  Having someone edit your work is hard.  If you write a story, it is very personal and when you give it to your editor (or teacher) to edit and the story comes back with tons of red marks on it, you get upset.  But, you have to trust the person editing your story- trust that they want to help you make the story the best it can be.

Thank you to Tom for allowing my students to have this opportunity!  This was our first ever Skype visit, and I thought it went very well! Did I miss anything?  Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of today!  

Will and his Emergency Yoda

He added a dew personal touches!

Got Origami?

NEW! Click here to see Mitchell on Mr. Angleberger's website!  So cool!

 I am telling you that last year I fell in love with this book.  

I wrote a love letter to the author (not a REAL love letter... well...).  Anyway, I wrote him a letter telling him how awesome he is, how his book is awesome and how he is going to inspire so many 10-12 year old boys to read.  I told him that his book was way funnier than the Wimpy Kid books (I did- and I really think it is!).  He wrote back to me!  He even sent me a bunch of stuff in the mail- a great big huge Yoda and some other things!  The book is slowly catching on at Lemme... I thought it would be flying off the shelves.  So today, Mitchell came to library with the coolest origami Yoda!  I was so excited that I took pictures and sent them to Mr. Angleberger.  Here they are!

Have you read this hilarious book yet?  Did you love it?  Tell me your thoughts!  What is your favorite quote?

Update!  I emailed  Tom Angleberger the author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda!  I sent him the pictures of Mitchell and his Yoda, and this is what he replied:

First of all, thanks for sending these pictures and connecting kids with the book! Fantastic!

Secondly, what Mitchell is holding there is the Kawahata Origami Yoda! That is a serious, high-difficulty piece of origami! I've tried it and failed it myself.

So please tell him that I'm very impressed and that I'd like to put his picture up on my Website.
Thanks!!!
-Tom

Tom's site:

http://origamiyoda.wordpress.com/

Directions for making a Kawahata Origami Yoda (or just ask Mitchell to make you one!)
http://www.spitenet.com/origami/Yoda-v.shtml