By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
During April break, the Dover Town Library (DTL) hosted Parents’ Choice Award winner Motoko to tell Japanese Folktales and teach Origami to little one’s and their families. As everyone began to gather together in the Community Room, Motoko was seen creating origami cranes in a record time of three birds within a five minute time frame.
Before teaching everyone step-by-step how to make origami figures, Motoko started out by gathering everyone in a circle and telling the story of how she herself got into the art of origami. When sharing her story, Motoko made different origami figures to guide the storytelling, like making a rain hat, a sun hat, a boat, and a life jacket.
She explained that while she has been living in the United States for over 40 years, she originally grew up in Japan. One day when it was raining, she told her mom that she was bored and needed something to do. Her mom handed her a piece of paper that Motoko made into a rain hat, and once it had stopped raining, she turned it into a sun hat.
From there, she made an origami boat to sail across the river, but it had ultimately broken apart by hitting two big trees. Once these edges were ripped off, she thanked her life jacket for saving her. All the children in attendance were in awe of how Motoko told her story and made each origami figure from the same piece of paper.
Once the story was over, it was time for everyone to try their hand at origami themselves. Motoko had everyone make three different figures, starting out with easy, then medium, and ending with a harder version. Before starting each instruction, Motoko explained that the most important thing anyone needs when making origami is to have imagination or else it is simply just a piece of paper.
All together, Motoko showed those in attendance how to make a puppy face that doubled as a cat, a bunny that could also be a cobra or a fish, and finally a panda bear. She additionally passed out pencils so that everyone could draw faces on their animals to further bring them alive. Once each origami animal was complete, Motoko encouraged everyone to use their creations to tell a story.
It can be said with ease that all those participating within this event had an amazing time thanks to Motoko. Not only did she tell folktales and teach origami, but she also incorporated children's songs and educational aspects as well. Her hope is that everyone who attended will continue to work on their origami skills and create some beautiful pieces of art on their own.
