Dodger for President (Dodger and Me) [Hardcover]

Jordan Sonnenblick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2009 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Dodger and Me (Book 2)

What would you do if your best friend was:

1. Still imaginary (and still an oversize blue chimp with major junk-food issues)?

2. Nominating you to run for class president – against the most popular kid in your grade?

3. In charge of your campaign posters…all blue, of course, including your face!?

4. Planning a magical secret weapon to help you win (not fair and square, right?)?

5. Driving you crazy?!?!

Now you have an idea of what Willie Ryan’s life is like as his adventures with Dodger continue. The last thing Willie wants to do is run for class president, but both his running mate, Lizzie, and Dodger won’t let him quit – and have their own ideas of how to run a campaign, especially against James Beeks, Mr. Popularity. In this second installment of the Dodger and Me series, the humor runs high, the friendships run deep, and Dodger continues to run on French fries and good intentions.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–6—This sequel to Dodger and Me (Feiwel and Friends, 2008) continues the adventures of Willie Ryan and his invisible friend, Dodger, a blue chimp with magical powers. While attending school disguised as Willie (with the help of a magic potion), Dodger agrees to run for fifth-grade class president with Willie's friend Lizzie as running mate. Willie thinks the election is a lost cause, since their opponents are "popular kid" James and "scary tough kid" Craig, but his friends encourage him to stick with it. His little sister Amy (whose suspicious nature is sometimes annoying and sometimes surprisingly helpful) rounds out the cast. Told in the first-person colloquial, leavened with ironic silliness and mild gross-out humor, the narrative will be familiar to readers of James Proimos and Jeff Kinney. There's also a bit of depth, especially when the less sympathetic characters show more complexity than most grade-school villains. But some of the humor is a bit forced and kids who have not read the earlier book will definitely be in the dark about Dodger and his magic. Purchase where the first title has a following.—Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Picking up where Dodger and Me (2008) left off, Sonnenblick continues the story of friends Willie and Lizzie and the magical blue chimp, Dodger, that only they can see. The formula is much the same—dorky kid helped out by invisible ally—but here it’s applied to a school election that has Willie and Lizzie facing off against a superpopular jock and his tough-guy sidekick. And again, Dodger spends most of the book bouncing off the walls, espousing zany schemes that mostly serve to hamstring the kids’ campaign. While the broad humor generally reaches for lower-hanging fruit, the outlandish tone should please Dodger’s fans. Grades 4-6. --Ian Chipman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312377940
• ISBN-13: 978-0312377946
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,255,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Here's my bio from the paperback version of _Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie_:

"Jordan Sonnenblick attended amazing schools in New York City. Then he went to an incredible Ivy League university and studied very, very hard there. However, due to his careful and well-planned course selection strategies, he emerged in 1991 with a fancy-looking diploma and a breathtaking lack of real-world skills or employability.

Thank goodness for Teach for America, a program which takes new college graduates, puts them through 'teacher boot camp', and places them in teaching positions at schools in teacher shortage areas around the country. Through TFA, Mr. Sonnenblick found his place in the grown-up world, teaching adolescents about the wonders and joys, the truth and beauty, of literature.

Mr. Sonnenblick always wanted to be a writer, too, so one day in 2003 he started in on the book that became Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie. This book was inspired by several aspects of the author's real life: like Steven, the main character in the novel, he really plays the drums, he really went through an incredibly awkward year when he was 13, and he really was completely spastic around girls until right around his 21st birthday. The made-up parts of the book are all reflections of the author's basic philosophy, which is that the world is a tough place, so you'd better be kind and laugh a lot.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie was published by Scholastic Press in 2005 to great acclaim, and was named to several Best of 2005 lists, including the ALA's Teens' Top Ten.

In October 2006, Scholastic will release Mr. Sonnenblick's second novel, Notes from the Midnight Driver, which is about drunk driving, lawn gnomes, divorced parents, a unique old man, and a beautiful girl with deadly hobbies.

Mr. Sonnenblick lives in Bethlehem, PA with the most supportive wife and lovable children he could ever imagine. Plus a lot of drums and guitars in the basement."

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 21, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dodger for President (Dodger and Me) (Hardcover)

DODGER FOR PRESIDENT is the entertaining sequel to DODGER AND ME.

Willie, Lizzie, Dodger, and Willie's new and improved parents continue their antics in this chapter of the story. The problems start when Dodger goes to school disguised as Willie while Willie is on a trip with his father. When Willie comes home, he finds out that Dodger has caused all kinds of problems, not the least of which is getting him nominated for class president.

Willie, of course, immediately decides that he cannot compete in this election. He changes his mind, however, because James, one of the most popular boys in class and his competition, makes a nasty comment about Lizzie. After confirming his nomination, the game begins.

Campaign posters appearing for James and his running mate make both Willie and Lizzie look like complete geeks, so Dodger strikes back with his own set of posters - but Dodger's camera, like Dodger, is blue. It only takes blue pictures. Fortunately, Lizzie is smart enough to turn this to their advantage. The hilarity continues as Dodger pulls in brother Rodger to help write speeches, gives Willie an X-shaped bruise in the middle of his forehead, and provides much sage advice to the candidates.

Meanwhile, Willie's little sister, Amy, has become a Sherlock Holmes clone. Her constant interruptions as she searches for clues about nothing in particular provide a humorous side plot.

As the competition progresses, the idea that friends are more important than image is reinforced. Willie also learns that popularity does not mean that either James or Craig has everything they want or need. The value of his own loving, stable family is reinforced as he overhears the boys talking about why they need to win.

Like the first book in the series, DODGER FOR PRESIDENT is definitely worth reading!

Reviewed by: Theresa L. Stowell