More-Igami

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.

Karas's 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 Joey's hobby if they try out the clear instructions at the end for making an origami ladybug.

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.

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

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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 2016 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

More-igami is Dori Kleber's picture-book debut, and she tells her story with both gentleness and wit, and plenty of playful repetition for storytime. G. Brian Karas (Muncha, Muncha, Muncha!; Tap Tap Boom Boom) reflects her clean style with winsome, expressive gouche and pencil paintings. In a brilliant design coup, some of the pages have faint fold marks. Children who catch origami fever can fold their own ladybug using the step-by-step instructions in the back, and more and "more-igami" is sure to follow. Masterful.
—Shelf Awareness for Readers