February Giveaway: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

I had so much fun with the HOAC giveaway we had at the end of the year, I've decided I would just do some giveaways on my own.  I thought that the best way I could show my support for some of the books that my son and I just love and think should be better recognized is to buy another copy and give it away to one of the readers of my blog.  I hope it will send a little income towards some wonderful writers and raise some awareness of their books.

So in honor of Valentine's Day, my February giveaway will be the humorous, yet thoughtful, book by Tom Angleberger, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.  I've written about this book before, and included it in my Newbery 2011 Top 5 List.  But here is my Valentine's Day description of the book:

If you are in 6th grade, and just starting to tip your toes in the murky waters of relationships with the opposite sex, would you take dating advice from....Yoda?  And not real Yoda, but a Yoda finger puppet made out of paper through origami?  A finger puppet that sits on the finger of Dwight, the weirdest kid in school?  

But as more and more of Origami Yoda's predictions come true, Dwight's classmates start to wonder what the deal is.  They work together, writing down their separate experiences in a shared notebook, trying to figure out what is going on.  Could Origami Yoda possible be the real deal?  Is the Force actually with him?  Or could they, maybe, have underestimated the unusual students who voices Yoda's predictions?

This book is a funny and easy read, and it is easy for students who are around the middle school age range to relate to the characters.  It's a great book for boys--who love solving mysteries and Star Wars--as well as for girls--since it deals with relationships and even--GASP--emotions.  It has a satisfying ending, a great message, AND--instructions for making your own Origami Yoda.  What 10-14 year old can't find something in that combination to love?

So, for a chance to win this FABULOUS book, you just have to enter your name in the comments section below.  If you can, I would love it if you would also recommend a book relating to love (for Valentine's Day) that is appropriate for this age group.  It doesn't have to be romantic love (or really, like--mostly, people aren't truly falling in love until the YA novels, but tend to have crushes and such in the early adolescent books)...it can be familial love, platonic love of a friend, love of a pet or animal, whatever.  But only your name is required.

Because my goal is to get more people to hear of these lovely books that I think are under-acknowledged, I would also love for you to send out this information through your networks.  So anyone who announces this giveaway through their blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed, email loop, or other social network will get an additional five (5) entries under their name.  You can just email me at ccross@mindspring.com to let me know that you are helping to spread the work, and I will give your name five more chances (but you need to sign up through the comments as well).

The winning entry will be selected by the random number generator at Random.com on--when else?--Monday, February 14.  Be sure to check back then to find out if you won!

But even if you don't win--look for this book at your local library, or go buy your own copy.  It's a fun, uplifting book for this age group.