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.
Rating: ****
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