ALA Booklist (Sun May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

In this testament to the adage "practice makes perfect," young Joey, who loves folding, wants to become a master at origami. After learning about the Japanese art form at school, he practices on pieces of paper at home, using items such as his homework and his sister's sheet music. He becomes increasingly frustrated with his crooked and crumpled results, and when he starts folding his mother's dollar bills, he is told to stop. He is disheartened until the owner of a neighborhood restaurant invites him to try folding napkins. With a place to practice, he finally becomes a true master d even manages to find a kindred spirit. 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.

Horn Book

Joey is entranced when Mrs. Takimoto demonstrates origami to his class and begins practicing on everything he can find ("'This folding has to stop,' said Mom"). Despondent, Joey goes to his favorite restaurant, Muy Mexicana, and discovers folding cloth napkins. Gentle humor keeps the story from being preachy; Karas's gouache and pencil illustrations show a cheery multicultural neighborhood. Origami instructions appended.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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)

School Library Journal (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

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