Evolution of the The Strange Case of Origami Yoda cover

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . .

Tom Angleberger sent me a small Origami Yoda

He sent chubby ones, some with faces and others without. Tom made dozens of different Origami Yodas. Searching for just the right one for the cover.

Below is a video showing how Tom makes his Origami Yoda.

As Tom searched for just the right Yoda. I began to think of how the cover might be laid out. Below is a 1st attempt sketch using the Star Wars font.

Only this seemed to obvious a direction. Yoda needed a face but how do you get a face from folded paper? The force was strong with Jedi Master Angleberger on this problem. A few weeks later Tom sent me this ( see below ) new and improved Yoda. Now with a light saber and crinkled brow!



Now that we had just the right Yoda. All that was left was to find the correct back drop. Since the story is set in a school the enviroment seem like a no brainer. We through around different ideas for the back drop. Crinkled paper? Lockers? Bulletin board? Final we settled on a chalk board. Which would also give the appearance of looking like space.

My thumbnail sketch ideaHow do you treat the text? Now that we settled on a chalkboard for the backdrop the font and how the text would be rendered must blend into the environment seamlessly. To prevent the text seeming like it was just laid on top of the design. Since Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. There seemed like only one solution to this problem

Solution: Thought Bubble and a font that looks like it was drawn on a chalkboard.

Next step: Designer Melissa Arnst worked up a thought bubble designs and photographed
a chalk board to get that school time atmosphere.

A font is chosen. Only the design is still not sitting well with me. The colors are to dull and the title doesn't command the space it is in. It's still missing some character.

Solution: Illustrator Jason Rosenstock. Jason using his vast illustration abilities, renders the type to perfection, tweaks the color saturation and drew little chalk drawings as well as a couple x-wings and planets.

And there you have it a perfect Origami Yoda cover! May the force be with you.

The book surrounded by 1,000 Origami Yodas
Italian Edition

About the book

In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel.

About the author

Applying for a job as a newspaper artist, Tom Angleberger was mistakenly assigned to cover local government meetings. Fifteen years and countless town council meetings later, he is still writing instead of drawing, currently as a columnist for the Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Virginia. He began work on his first book while in middle school. Tom is married to author-illustrator Cece Bell. They live in Christianburg, Virginia.