The Little Bookshop and the Origami Army!
Michael Foreman
Andersen Press
One rainy day when newspaper boy Joey hears from The Little Bookshop’s owner

of the mayor’s plans to demolish the bookshop and replace it with a superstore he immediately takes action calling upon his erstwhile Super Hero ally, Origami Girl; and instantly she is there. She and Joey, with the help of the bookseller, set about transforming pages from favourite children’s titles

into an Origami Army of best-loved children’s characters.
Then, off they all fly towards Parliament forming as they go a huge rainbow of fairytale, myth and legend, before descending and charging right into the Great Hall of Government to discover a room full of sleeping ministers.
The disillusioned troops hastily return to the bookshop only to be confronted by the Mayor, surveyors and a whole lot of destructive machinery. Undaunted, Origami Girl heads off to the obvious place to recruit reinforcements – the Public Library – and soon an enlarged army is ready to do battle. The Mayor’s derisory “They are only made of paper … ” is countered by army members’ responses of “We are made of IDEAS!” together with, “And IMAGINATION… We are made of things you can never destroy!” and more.

But it’s not until the builders begin to recognize the likes of Elmer, Peter Pan, Alice, the Walrus and the Carpenter and The Little Princess that things really start to turn in favour of the bookshop protectors.
Does the Origami Army finally defeat the Mayor and his dastardly plan? Well, I’ll leave that to your imagination and just say that thanks to the builders, there’s a rainbow-hued ending.
Unequivocally a fine testament to the power of books, bookshops, reading and of course, ideas and the imagination: and with Foreman’s masterful watercolours what else could one ask – an army of readers to save all threatened bookshops perhaps? Bring them on, say I.

Use your local bookshop