Fold Me a Poem: A Luminous Picture Book About Origami Creatures and Spirited Poetry for Kids

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

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.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Animals, Origami, Nonfiction, Childrens, Art

56 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Kristine O'Connell George is one of the principal voices in contemporary children's poetry. Since her first highly-acclaimed book, The Great Frog Race was published in 1997, Kristine O'Connell George's poetry has generated excitement and earned honors and praise. Awards for her books include the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, International Reading Association / Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, the Golden Kite, Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Awards, Claudia Lewis Poetry Awards, ALA notables, NCTE notables, School Library Journal Best Books, Hornbook Fanfare, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, and IRA-CBC Children's Choice.

Reviews

[(NS) Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade/Interest Level: K-4

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.

The beautifully realistic illustrations of this picture book truly interact with the poetic text. One cannot function without the other, as the illustrations draw out the clever humor embedded in each poem. The author writes in a variety of forms, including haiku, nonsense, narrative and free verse. Her use of rhythm, insight, and imagery is particularly strong. I would use this book as a way to introduce non-rhyming poetry to young children. Like the author, the children could create origami as inspiration, and then write poems describing their animals' adventures.

[Asa Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains over thirty poems, each about a different origami creation. Most of the poems in this book are about animals and are very short, using different metre. The author of this book had to learn to create each and every origami model in this book before it was illustrated. Just a few of the animals the poems refer to are dogs, lions, giraffes, moths, and peacocks.

I think this book provides students with examples of rhythm and syllabic parameters in poetry. This book would be helpful for students starting to use these elements in their poetry. I think this book would be great for beginning readers. Students will be able to use the pictures to help them read and vice versa. This book could also spark students interest in origami, which can help them develop dexterity and learn to follow precise directions. This is a fun book to read and would be great in a variety of classrooms.

[Janet Squires]

George's thirty-two origami-themed poems celebrate the limitless scope of imagination as she follows a young boy's adventures in paper-folding.

The author sets the tone with the first poem, Origami:
"Square sheet of paper--
folded, suddenly wakes up.
Good morning, Rooster."

The verses are short, descriptive and expressed in the boy's voice - Folding a snake? / Need advice? / Be precissssssse." or that of his creations as is the case when Rabbit complains he can't hear because his ear his too bent.

There are no directions for paper-folding, however, the illustrator provides an interesting note on her experience in learning origami and offers a helpful list of resources for those readers who would like to try their hand at this ancient art.

I can imagine this book as a wonderful introduction and inspiration for a student art project of creating an origami animal and penning a related poem.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The theme of this story is imagination, the mind's capacity to generate images of objects, states, or actions. The story follows a boy and his cat through an entire day from sunrise to sunset as the reader sees the origami animals magically come to life. The author and the illustrator introduce poetry in the form of haiku, a Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, with origami, the Japanese art or process of folding paper into shapes. This is a unique combination. The illustrations were done in Lascaux acrylics on watercolor paper. Each piece of origami is beautifully brought to life by the illustrator. I was not familiar with haiku before reading this book. It is so easy for young children to understand. For example: “Square sheet of paper | folded, suddenly wakes up. | Good morning Rooster.” (5-7-5 syllables).

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. The Minnesota Book Award, New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, Nominated for the Wyoming, and Buckaroo Book Award.
2. PreK - 5th Grade
3. This book is a creative set of poems. There is a little boy who creates poems about each origami piece that he makes. Then later on at night the origami pieces dance while he is sleeping in his dreams.
4. This is a unique book about poems. Each poem is very short so it keeps the attention of young children. This book could also be used to advocate for children with Autism.
5. I would love to use this book in a lesson about poems. This reminded me of the lesson that we did in class where I wrote a poem about a binder clip. I think that I would do something similar in my future classroom with students favorite objects or toys.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an origami enthusiast, I really enjoyed this book and have some new animals to try making. I'm always afraid to use my fancy shiny metallic paper, but perhaps now is the time to use it. I liked how the origami creations moved around and interacted like real animals, and strongly empathize with the challenge of owning a cat fascinated by paper.

[Britney Forbes]

This book takes you on an adventure of one little boy's love for origami. It shows him creating all different types of animals and different folds that are amazing. I think this is a great book to show of unique talents. Often times children only play sports when they are younger and arts and music get left on the back burner so i think this story shines the light on how unique talents are just as cool.

[Kaitlyn Kluesner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book full of poems is about a young boy who creates origami figures and writes a poem about them. I thought this story was very cute and fun to read. All the poems were very short but also creative. This shows children that poems can literally be about anything.

[Nora Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but I did not love it. It was fun and I think that it would be very fun for children to read! I liked the idea with the creativity that a child can create origami animals and have them come to life. I think that this would be a fun book to read to children!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book has wonderful illustrations and creative poems about a boy creating origami animals. It's clever and unique, even though it will mainly appeal to people who already have experience with this craft.

[Melissa Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry- This book has a series of short poems that talk aboutdepicting a day in a life of a child who enjoys origami.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
poetry

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fold Me a Poem is a story that depicts a boy's day by using poetry tho describes the origami that he is creating at each moment of the day. I thought it was overall a mediocre story. I thought the story line was very choppy and made it difficult to follow. I think children, especially young readers, may have difficulty with this book because it's choppiness makes it somewhat hard to comprehend. One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed, thought, was the illustrations. The pictures were well drawn and were very important in telling the story on each page. For example, one page said, "Of course you're real, Hippopotamus. Don't you see your wide shadow?" The illustration for this poem was the boy holding a flashlight behind the hippopotamus origami and a large shadow in front of the hippo. Without the illustrations, these words would be virtually meaningless to the reader. Therefore, I think the illustrations were very important in this book and I enjoyed how much they brought meaning to the story.
I have very little experience with origami, so I found this story slightly difficult to relate to myself but, as I was reading it, I was reminded of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. I observed in third grade classroom where the students were reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and they were fascinated by the paper cranes that Sadako was making. Based on this knowledge, I think that Fold Me a Poem could be incorporated into a classroom by having students create some sort of origami and then write a short poem about their origami. This would allow students to be actively engaged in what they read and to practice both arts that were focused on in the story: poetry and origami.

[Csye · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Fold Me a Poem was written by Kristine O’Connell George. This is a book about a little boy with a great creativity and also an imagination that he explores with paper. He creates different animals made form paper called origamis. He makes a roster that wakes up made from a square piece of paper. Then he crumples and folds brown paper to create a buffalo, that he imagines pawing and pulling at the table cloth. He makes a camel from orange paper that leans against a salt shaker that he imagines to be a sand dune. The boy creates a robin that he pretends to fly. As the story goes on he creates more and more creatures that run, chase, yearns, and dance. All using paper and his imagination he also explains how to create the creatures along the way.
The plot of the story is based on information on how to create and origami. , Also different origami that can be created. The book also include the Arthurs research on origami’s
The age range for this book would be nursery to intermediate. The book was made up of few words that would be easy for young readers. It also had many pictures that would capture their attention.
The artistic elements of this book were colorful and full of life. The pictures were colorful with deep lines and shape to make the pictures stand out. The pictures also had great texture to make the elements in the house look life like, also the boy’s clothes and the paper. The style of art had a realistic feel to it but also a cartoon look.
I would recommend this book because it helps children to explore creativity and also teaches ways to create origami. The book also captured my attention with the pictures that came to life.
I would give this book a five star.

[Sarah Hannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction - This is a very unique poem collection that I really enjoy because it relates poetry to a neat concept of origami. I like the beautiful illustrations that show which shape/animal the boy creating is making. The poet really was creative and made a connection between the art of folding paper and turning some words carefully chosen into a poem and bringing an origami animal scene to life.

Purposes -
Curriculum:
-Poetry unit and art unit and animal unit
-The teacher can read aloud the poems to get into a free-verse style that also tells a story.
-This could also be used to discuss the power of art because poetry and origami are both forms of art.
-Students can practice making simple origami designs and animals after reading this.
Enjoyment/Enrichment:
-This tells a story of a boy who wakes and makes a rooster at breakfast and folds origami animals throughout the day until he goes to bed with his creations which he believes are moving around because he has an imagination.
-Kids really like using their imaginations so if everyone in the class creates something, the students can share everything they've created and try to relate them to one another.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Fold Me a Poem, but I especially enjoyed the illustrations. Lauren Stringer did a great job using paint to create the pictures on the pages. In particular I really liked the illustrations of both the Buffalo and the Monkey. The attention to detail to Stringer went into on the monkey was incredible. She made sure that when you looked at the illustration all you saw was a sitting monkey and it looked like someone had folded it that way. On one of the last pages in the book, the "Finishing" page, Stringer puts almost all of her origami illustrations onto one page. She has the monkey riding on the donkey, flowers, grass, trees, the main character is finishing his leopard that he has just made, a frog, penguins, and cows. If you don't look closely at the illustrations on this page then you're only going to focus on the leopard being painted but there is so much more going on. I really enjoyed this book and actually went on Amazon and bought it after I read it. I highly recommend using this book in your classrooms.

[Aimee Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fold Me a Poem

Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O’Connell George and illustrated by Lauren Stringer is very interesting poem book about animals and how they look and where they live. The first poem is called Origami, this poem is about how origami is made and how you can make anything with a square piece of paper. My favorite poem from this book is called Camel. Camel is a short poem that says what went wrong? Lean against this sand dune while I double-check the directions. The picture with this poem makes it all the better.

The picture with my favorite poem in this book has an origami camel missing a leg leaning against a salt shaker. Each page is an individual poem with its own picture. The back of the book has a picture of an origami Cheetah running. And the front cover of the book is the little boy folding paper into every animal with the author’s name and illustrator’s name. The end pages are origami pages and the page flaps have the author’s information and a poem as well.

[Connie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the book was pretty good; I was not wowed or impressed but I think it’s a fun book for younger children and they’d get a kick out of reading about the animals. I wasn’t a fan of how it was written, I know it’s a poem but I felt like it was choppy. I did, however, like the repetition of alliteration. When the young boy is talking about one of the animals he says “crease the shaggy head, shape the shaggy flanks” or in another page he says “Peacocks be pleased. . . perfect pleats.” I think this reiterates the sounds of certain letters. I enjoyed the illustrations; especially the vivid colors and I liked how the colors were appropriate for each animal. I did like the uniqueness of the book and the imagination of it. Many children can relate to “making” friends or having imaginary friends. Overall, I thought it was okay but I think there are better poetry books out there.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this poetry book was quite unique. I have always loved making origami and when I started reading this book it captured me. Through reading this book it has made me want to learn more about origami and other things to create that I have yet to create. This book would be great to use while learning about different cultures. With the cultures I would get into a lesson about how there are different cultures and how the Asian culture is known for origami. I would talk about origami and show students how to make things and then even use this book to show students how you can create things out of paper that truly look like animals. I would also use these two sites to help students learn more about origami and learning how to create things. http://www.KristineGeorge.com and http://www.LaurenStringer.com

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 2 out of 5]

It might be unfair that I'm reviewing and rating this, being that I'm not a fan of poetry and all. But Julia's really been getting interested in origami and when she saw this I thought she'd faint. I think she thought it was a how-to book.
In my opinions the poems suck. All of them. I maybe could pull out two that didn't suck but I couldn't actually call them good either. (Please keep in mind that I'm not a poetry lover and that I know next to nothing about it.)
The illustrations are another matter. If I were rating the book on that alone I'd give it 4 stars. The illustrator did an amazing job in that she made a book that sucked for me actually fun to "read". I don't know I've ever experienced that before.
I'll have to find a how-to book for Julia because she really is interested in learning and the pictures here just make someone more intrigued.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Each short verse in Fold Me a Poem features a different origami animal. The illustrations show the origami animals engaged in various activities. The book doesn't have a traditional plot and the verses do not feature humor. The book could be enhanced by creating stronger characters for the origami animals or providing details and instructions about how to fold more simple origami animals. Overall, the book may not be engaging at face value for many readers. It could be shared as a read aloud with young children between birth and five to promote phonemic awareness. Parents and teachers could consider providing children with information from other sources about folding origami animals to increase engagement with the text.

[Tracey Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject for this particular collection is origami. The organization is simple and follows the premise of a child’s day of folding and playing with origami paper; starting with a rooster when waking up and a star when going to sleep. There are no finding aids included. The book is practically a picture book with the wealth and detail in the drawings, and they are what allow you to see the final creations that the boy is folding and also help allow you to understand that the poems are telling the story of the boy’s day. He starts with folding a rooster, and you can tell by the illustration only that he is in his pajamas. Through the illustrations you earn that he gets dressed and goes about his day, then takes a bath and goes to bed.

[Vj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book. Poems and illustrations work well together to gently recreate a boy's day of imaginative play. He creates numerous origami animals, imagines various activities and settings with them, and falls asleep with one in his hand. Just wished the book had directions in the back showing how to create all these creatures. Does have website addresses for the poet and illustrator, and there is at least one origami project on the illustrator's site. Kristine O'Connell George also did Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems, which I loved. Lauren Stringer also illustrated Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story, which received rave reviews.

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

While poetry is not my usually preferred reading material, I LOVED this beautifully illustrated and imagined story of an origami-filled day. Each brief poem (in a variety of poetry styles)introduces us to a different animal in a colorful, lively, and wonderfully creative menagerie. Be sure to read the note from the illustrator at the end.

This lovely story provides a fun way to discuss poetry and origami.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations bring the origami creations in this book to life, beginning with the end papers, which look like origami paper. The short poems accompanying each illustration add imagination to the folded creations. Each page features a different origami shape – from dogs to frogs to peacocks. The origami creations are not simple folds, but rather utilize more advanced origami techniques.

[Salsabrarian]

A boy folds various origami animals and descriptive haikus and short free-form poems accompany each one. Also depicted is the creativity the child uses to create the animals and play with them, such as the hole-punch snow or the picture of all his animals with accordion-fold fans taped to their backs. Includes imperfect origami such as the camel or the dowdy-looking moth and demonstrates to the reader that sometimes origami doesn't come out perfect and it's OK.

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a bunch of Lauren Springer lately and this one is my favorite so far. The poems are neat, but the pictures make the book! I love that Lauren included her story about learning to do origami so she could accurately illustrate this book. She also lists further resources for learning origami so readers can improve their skills themselves!

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully crafted book of origami related haikus sequenced with creative artwork that demonstrates the possibilities of the craft while telling the story of a young boy who becomes enamored with creating a fantasy world full of folded paper animals. Absolutely one of the best concept books I have read in a while :)

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy creates folded origami animals and sets scenes with them, the accompanying text describes the scene in spare free verse. I was so intrigued by this idea, and wanted to love it, but for me it falls somewhat flat. I had too-high expectations.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations really take this to a higher level. O'Connell George's poems are fun but with the illustrations they are visually brought to life. I might have liked seeing a few directions for how to fold some of the animals rather than just references at the end.