Dodger and Me

It took me back to my youth and when I was reading for fun and enjoyment for the first time. Super duper!

DODGER AND ME is the first book in a new series by Jordan Sonnenblick . In this book we meet Willie Ryan, self-proclaimed wimp. The fact that Willie is definitely a wimp is immediately evident when he becomes the reason his baseball team loses the first game in the championship series. One might think it is bad enough that Willie can neither catch nor hit a ball, but Willie has more wrong with his life. To start, his mother is so overprotective that a simple nosebleed becomes an emergency of epic proportions. If that is not bad enough, his best friend has moved away and asked Lizzie, a British student at his school, to keep an eye on him. Lizzie takes this request very seriously and follows him everywhere, even to the big game where she embarrasses him by cheering him on despite his horrendous playing ability. Tired of always following the rules and getting nowhere, Willie takes a shortcut home. Though he imagines his mother's warnings to stay on the beaten path, Willie cuts through the woods. He comes to a meadow where everything is blue, everything but the McDonald's bag that someone left lying in a stream. Always conscientious, Willie picks up the bag to dispose of it. To his shock, Dodger, a huge blue chimpanzee, appears in front of him. Dodger sets on a course that is supposed to make Willie's life better. Dodger is going to make Willie's mother less domineering, he is going to make Lizzie go away, and he is going to make Willie a baseball star. Unfortunately for Willie, Dodger's version of wish granting is a little more hands-on than the traditional genie's. Thus follows a series of delightful antics that will make readers of all ages laugh. The story shows a clear difference between what we think we want and the reality of that desire in a lighthearted way. Though the plotline is a bit predictable, readers will enjoy seeing how Dodger twists Willie's simple wishes into slapstick solutions. Sonnenblick uses laughter to show original ways to overcome or accept issues that many middle schoolers struggle to overcome on a daily basis: loneliness, athletic prowess, bullying, and the true meaning of friendship. DODGER AND ME is such an enjoyable trip that readers will look forward to reading the next installment in this delightful series. Reviewed by: Theresa L. Stowell

Dodger and Me is the fourth book by Jordan Sonnenblick, and first aimed at elementary aged children. As I really enjoyed his previous three, I wanted to give this one a try. Dodger and Me is centered around Willie, a 10-year-old who can best be described as a wimp or a loser. His mother is highly overprotective, and does not trust him at all. He also has no friends at school, although Lizzie, a girl he tries to avoid, lavishes him with attention. One day, after failing at the plate in his baseball game and causing his team to lose, Willie takes a forbidden shortcut through the woods to get to his house. As he is walking, he sees a fast food bag, and decides to pick it up so it will no longer spoil nature. After doing this, he is surprised by the appearance of a large blue talking chimpanzee wearing surfer shorts. Willie begins speaking to the chimp, whose name is Dodger. Willie brings Dodger home, and he agrees to help Willie solve the three most vexing problems in his life - getting his mom to trust him, getting Lizzie to stop bothering him and becoming a better baseball player. Unfortunately for Willie, as Dodger is doing this, he also creates many new problems. Dodger and Me was an enjoyable book with likable characters. Willie is a boy who wants to do the right thing, and Dodger is very amusing. The situations that Dodger gets Willie into are pretty funny, and kids would enjoy reading the book. I recommended it to my class, especially those who like books like Hank Zipzer. While I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie or Notes from the Midnight Driver, it was written for a different audience and it presents a good message.

I loved this book. Basic plot: loser kid (Willie) sucks at baseball, has an overprotective mother, tries to avoid an annoying girl (Lizzie), and is lonely after his best friend moves away. Enter a possibly imaginary blue chimp named Dodger wearing surfer shorts and an eye patch, who may or may not be a genie, and who may or may not help him overcome his problems. Along the way, and under Dodger's watch, things get way worse for Willie before they can get better. Will Willie improve his baseball skills and help his team win the championship? Will his mother stop fussing over him so much? Will Lizzie ever leave him alone? Will he survive Dodger's plans to improve his life? And more importantly--what will his three wishes be? The thing that really makes this YA novel pop is the writing. Just before reading Dodger and Me, I read another YA book from the same publisher. Good plot, likable lead characters, but the writing was just awful. But I finished it, and moved on to Dodger. What a breath of fresh air! The writing is engaging, funny, and just plain readable. As a writer myself, I think the best compliment I can give this book is that it is one of those books you come across that you wish you had written first. You don't have to be a young adult to enjoy Dodger and Me. Go get it!

Hilarious! An insecure boy, his new friend (a large blue chimp named Dodger), and lots of adventure and baseball. Readers of all ages will appreciate Dodger's surfer accent (very funny to read aloud). If your young reader is too old for Captain Underpants and is reading longer books, this is perfect. It's not easy to find funny books with a great story, and this one delivers. Can't wait for the next one.