Fold Me a Poem [Hardcover]

Kristine O'Connell George (Author), Lauren Stringer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Join a young boy as he creates a world filled with origami creatures of all shapes and sizes out of an array of brightly colored paper. From roosters waking up and buffalo pawing the tablecloth to cheetahs racing lions and moths that yearn for butterfly colors, here is a glimpse into the vibrant imagination of a child.

Award-winning author Kristine O'Connell George's thirty-two spirited poems combine seamlessly with celebrated artist Lauren Stringer's luminous illustrations to create a poetry collection that is truly like no other.

Features an illustrator's note and an extensive listing of origami-related books and websites.

(20050328)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2–George's 32 brief poems focus on a boy as he folds a series of origami animals and imagines their thoughts and possible activities. Some of the selections exhibit a creative spark, while others tend to take their meaning from the illustrations, which are the real strength of the presentation. The vividly colored acrylics depict the boy actively engaged in play with his creations, and the details that Stringer provides infuse the verses with both energy and humor. Her illustrator's note offers insight into her own efforts to master the art of origami. No patterns or instructions are included, although a useful bibliography is appended to guide those wishing to learn the craft themselves.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. From morning until night, a boy spends his day folding squares of colored paper into animals. The opening poem, "Origami," follows the five-seven-five-syllable haiku form while defining the magic of the paper-folding art: "Square sheet of paper-- / folded, suddenly wakes up. / Good morning, Rooster." While many of the other poems have the terseness of haiku, they follow their own syllabic patterns. Each appears on a single page or a double-page spread along with a large-scale painting of the boy making his animals, playing with them, observing them, or, in one case, repairing them after a cat attack. In "Hungry" he comes to a realization: "All afternoon / the paper cows / have been eyeing / the green paper. Oh. / Grass!" Warm in colors and often large in scale, Stringer's acrylic paintings capture the world of the boy's imaginative play as well as the intricately folded paper figures that inspire and inhabit it. Unusual, handsome, and good for reading aloud. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; First Edition edition (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152025014
• ISBN-13: 978-0152025014
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Entertaining, April 17, 2005

By 

Education Oasis "Education Oasis" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fold Me a Poem (Hardcover)

Fold Me a Poem is a wonderful example of a book being more than the sum of its parts. Inside the covers of this stunning creation, the poems and illustrations meld to create a picture book that is both inspiring and entertaining.

Each of George's short poems is exquisitely illustrated with an acrylic painting depicting a young boy among his origami creations. In "Spring," for example, we read:

At last
my tulips
arrive
wearing
paper crowns.

And thus we see-surrounding the large, black print-patterned and boldly colorful origami tulips.

While a few of the poems are about possibilities, the majority concern themselves with animals. A double-page spread shows a large yellow table festooned with rabbits at one end and foxes at the other. In between the boy has placed blocks (for the rabbits' protection). On another page, the pink ostrich receives no such protection and is attacked by the boy's cat. "Glue? Staple? Tape? Band-Aid?" The boy tries to decide how best to make repairs.

Midway through the book we find the large, green dragon on a rampage-having knocked down the other animals-and must be reigned in. Later on, we see a herd of colorful cows hungrily "eyeing the green paper. Oh. Grass!"

As the young boy prepares for bed, he hangs his own origami star against the darkening sky. Soon he hears "rustling/ soft/ papery/ whisper-thumps ./ Is someone dancing?" It appears so: the penguin and the ostrich (now sporting band-aids) move toward one another.

The book includes a list of suggested books on making origami.

Classroom Uses: We took this book into two classrooms. The first was a second-grade special-education classroom. When we finished reading the book, the students, of course, wanted to make their own origami creations. We had prepared paper so the students could create origami dogs. You will find the instructions in a wonderful downloadable teacher's guide here on the illustrator's website. The students then wrote haiku poems about their animals.

On another occassion we brought the book into a seventh-grade language arts classroom. The students were in the middle of a script writing unit. Again, taking a lesson from the teacher's guide, we had the students write a script using the origami animals they had created as characters.

Highly recommeded. Suitable for district-wide purchase.

Our only suggestions is that you have plenty of origami paper and a set of instructions ready when you read this.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delight, October 20, 2006

By 

K. Lennon (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fold Me a Poem (Hardcover)

This books is a delight for anyone who has experimented with Origami and knows its frustractions and rewards. Basic orgigami subjects are captured through the combination engaging poems and illustrations (each enhancing the enjoyment of the other). This book made our family smile over and over again! My favorite captures a moment of oragami uncertainty...

Camel

What went wrong?
Lean against
this sand dune
while I double-check
the directions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Books About Origami, July 6, 2007

By 

C. Paska "children's book lover" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fold Me a Poem (Hardcover)

I love origami and I love children's books. This story combines both and inspires one to start folding the animals. I recommend this book for children about three years old ( although folding is beyond the capabilities of this age group).