A tale of imagination and courage comes out in full throttle when a bookstore is getting closed down by the mayor to make a super-centre.

To help make a stand characters from favourite children’s books come to life from the pages. ( )

Joey the newspaper boy and his occasional super-hero savior, Origami Girl, return in this second picture-book devoted to their adventures. When Joey's favorite bookshop is threatened with closure because the mayor wants to build a superstore on its location, he calls on Origami Girl for help, and that paper heroine in turns rouses an army of origami figures, taken from children's favorite stories. When appealing to Parliament doesn't work, the origami army confronts the builders directly, aided by the builders' own children, eager to see their favorite story characters in paper form...

Having enjoyed Newspaper Boy and Origami Girl!, I picked up The Little Bookshop and the Origami Army! expecting to like it, and I was not disappointed. As a long-time bookseller, I always appreciate stories featuring bookshops, particularly ones that emphasize what an important community resource they can be. As always with Michael Foreman's books, I found the watercolor artwork here appealing, and I particularly enjoyed seeing some famous storybook characters come to life. Recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed the first book about Joey and Origami Girl, as well as to anyone looking for children's stories about bookshops, superheroes, and/or young people getting involved in their community. ( )