A Digital Book Review of Tom Angleberger's Jabba the Puppett

We used Animoto to create this Review

The problem of being a professor mom is that I tend to turn every endeavor with my son into a project. Emery is reluctant to turn this blog into a site that simply reviews books, films, and games, but I couldn’t help myself. After hearing him laugh and giggle his way through Tom Angleberger’s The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett: An Origami Yoda Book, I just had to read it. I laughed and giggled my way through it too. And, then after my grad assistant showed my students the on-line video creation tool Animoto in class on Thursday that she uses to create book trailers for her students, I knew I wanted to try it. So, what better way then to create a trailer with Emery about a book we just read—after all, he had already folded the puppets . . . although some had perished in a previous battle . . .

Jabba the Puppett picks up where the previous book ended, with the principal’s announcement that McQuarrie Middle School, because of low standardized tests scores, would drop all extracurricular activities and replace them with the FunTime educational program—a complete learning experience with videos and worksheets. The students from the previous books reconvene with the help of their, at times, somewhat reluctant leader Yoda/ Captain Dwight to fight the evil forces of the administration and get back their beloved courses. It’s a funny, quick read told by a rotating series of narrators, each with his or her own puppet.

I find it interesting that this is the second book Emery’s read this year that encourages students to thwart the organized testing and grading system that causes much anxiety and relegating of students. He hasn’t organized his own rebellion yet—probably too much work to calculate just how many questions he can miss to pass a test . . . 

Emery's comment: I would have preferred Star Wars music.