Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus by Tom Angleberger

Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus by Tom Angleberger - 224 pages
Origami Yoda Book 6

The seventh graders at McQuarrie Middle School have embarked on their long awaited field trip to Washington, DC.  Cell phones and origami puppets have been banned by the principal but you can't truly stop a determined teen so of course hijinks ensue with a lengthy battle between the forces of light and dark via puppets made from what is at hand.  A surprise twist at the end brings back the spectre of this series' version of the Empire, standardized testing. 

Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue! by Tom Angleberger

Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue! by Tom Angleberger - 184 pages
An Origami Yoda Book

The students of McQuarrie Middle School are continuing in their rebellion against the evils of the standardized test prep program FunTime with surprising assistance from the administration aka the Empire.  This series is great fun for both kids and adults with a love of Star Wars.  The references are everywhere and the hand drawn illustrations are often laugh out loud funny. 

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet by Tom Angelberger

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet by Tom Angelberger - 208 pages
An Origami Yoda Book

The kids from the previous Origami Yoda books now face their deadliest enemy, the Funtime Education System.  Funtime is a satirical take on the trend of "teaching to the test" so schools stay accredited by scoring well on standardized tests.  The kids ask Yoda for advice and are told to form a Rebel Alliance to disrupt the testing process so things can go back to normal.  The story is told from a variety of perspectives and has accompanying drawings.  This isn't the best of the series but any fan of Star Wars will still have fun reading it.