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Summary
Summary
What would you do if your best friend was:
1. Still imaginary (and getting into trouble with other "imaginary" creatures, such as leprechauns. That's right, leprechauns!!)?
2. In danger of losing his home, and the only forest in your town, the magical Field of Dreams?
3. Driving you crazy?!?! (But in a best-friend type of way . . . )
Now you have an idea of what Willie Ryan's life is like in the third and final installment of the hilarious Dodger and Me series. Only this time, Dodger's gone and peeved a band of leprechauns; Willie's sister, Amy, is missing; and class bully James Beeks's dad wants to build a housing development in the Field of Dreams. It just might take an oversize blue chimp--who may or may not be imaginary--and his two fifth-grade friends, Willie and Lizzie, to step up as environmental activists and save the woods (and still get their homework done).
Author Notes
JORDAN SONNENBLICK is the author of Dodger and Me (Book 1) and Dodger for President (Book 2), both available in paperback from Square Fish. He is also the author of several acclaimed teen novels, including Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie . He lives with his family in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Reviews (3)
Horn Book Review
Willie and Lizzie, with help from magical blue chimpanzee Dodger, convince their whole town to help save Dodger's special woods. The humor is spotty at times, and newcomers to the Dodger books (this is the third) may struggle to believe the not-so-logical fantasy elements. The relationships among Willie, little sister Amy, and Lizzie are realistically drawn. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
When Willie, his best friend, Lizzie, and his pal Dodger (a hyperactive blue chimpanzee with strange powers) learn that the nearby woods is about to be sold for development, they marshal their resources to save this literally magical place and its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Willie's sister, Amy, is captured by leprechauns. The book is strongest when rooted most firmly in reality and weakest soaring into fantastic realms. Still, fans of the earlier two Dodger and Me books have never lacked the ability to suspend disbelief. They will find this volume, evidently the last in the series, amusing and satisfying.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-This is Sonnenblick's third and final book about fifth-grader Willie and his imaginary friend, Dodger, a blue chimpanzee. In this installment, Willie's dad, a self-help writer, has come up with a brilliant idea for his new book: he'll have each family member follow the advice from one of his previous books and document the results. Willie's assignment is Kid on a Quest: Be Your Own Hero. His opportunity comes when he, his friend Lizzie, and the student council join forces to prevent the woods next door to their school from being destroyed by developers. Of course, the problem is less straightforward than it seems; these are magical woods, containing Dodger's Field of Dreams, and before the quest is over, Willie's sister is kidnapped by leprechauns. But with a little magic and the help of his friends, Willie becomes a hero in his own right. In addition to plenty of humor, this fantasy offers realistic relationships and an environmental message. Give it to old fans and be prepared to help newcomers locate the first two books in the series.-Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
CHAPTER ONE Whoopsie! I'M STANDING AT THE TOP of a cliff. Well, according to the hand-lettered sign at the edge, it's technically a ski slope. But it looks pretty darn cliff-like to me. I have a snowboard attached to my feet, about a hundred pounds of hot, sweaty clothing on my body, and a pair of goggles strapped on over my glasses so I can't really see where the heck I'm going. And there's a hyperactive blue chimp standing next to me. Despite the cold, he's sporting nothing but a pair of bright orange surf shorts and a black eye patch. And he's pretty excited. "Dude," he exclaims, "you OWN this slope! This is going to be so great! Just remember, you've gotta BE the board. That's all you need to knowâ€"just BE the board. Oh, and don't fall and die. Because that would, like, totally ruin the plan." I smile weakly at him. "The plan?" I ask. "You know, bud. The plan. Step One: Totally carve up the top part of this slope. Step Two: Conquer the giant slalom course in the middle of the slope. Step Three... um... I told you about Step Three, right?" "Is that the part where I get carried away on a stretcher?" "No, Willie, that's Step Four. Just kiddin'! Actually, Step Three is the ski jump." "SKI JUMP??? Dodger, you never told me there would be a ski jump! Are you crazy? I've never even tried snowboarding before, and now you expect me to go off of some gigantic ramp?" "Dude, calm down. It's no biggie, okay? Everything's taken care of. See, we, um, .xed your board." "What do you mean, you . xed my board? And who's 'we'?" "The board is just a regular, ordinary snowboard, except the bottom has been painted with someâ€"well, some special stuff. And never mind the 'we' thing." "Special stuff? What kind of special stuff?" Dodger gave me one of his patented one-eyed winks and said, "I came up with the formula myself... mostly. It's the same stuff that's on the bottom of the Magic Carpet of Khartoum. It should give you a little extra lift. At least, I'm pretty sure." Oh, boy. The Magic Carpet of Khartoum is an actual, real-life .ying carpet. And it's not very easy to controlâ€"trust me. So I can only imagine the kind of massive damage I can do when I try to combine .ying with snowboarding. "Dodger," I say, "this is insane! Can you tell me again why I'm doing it?" Dodger puts his hands on his hips and glares at me in exasperation. "Dude, do you want to save your little sister from the leprechauns or don't you?" My life gets really complicated sometimes. This is one of those times. "Of course I want to save Amy! I just don't understand why we can't walk over to their . eld and ask them to give her back." "Because that's exactly what they'll be expecting! Duh, do I have to think of everything around here?" "Okay, I can see why we have to take the leprechauns by surprise. But why do I need to do the slalom course and everything?" " 'Cause, dude, it's cool! You never need a reason to be cool! Now, let's go over this one more time: Do you have your goggles?" "Um, yeah. You're looking at me wearing them, aren't you?" "Dude, you're just supposed to say, 'Check!' " "Why?" "'Cause it sounds awesome! Now, let's try againâ€"we're running out of time! Goggles?" "Check." "Gloves?" "Check." "Map?" "What map?" "Oh, oops. Well, never mind that now. Alrighty, thenâ€"we'd better get moving! Any last questions?" "Yeah! Where's Lizzie?" Lizzie is my best friend. She's also the only other person I know who can see Dodger. He's totally invisible to everyone else. Long story. "Don't worry. She'll be there when it all goes down." "When what all goes down?" Just then something started beeping really, really loudly. I looked around, but the noise seemed to be coming from the side of Dodger's shorts. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked like a cross between a cell phone, a GPS device, and a banana. Sure enough, it was the source of the beeps. It was also blinking bright orange once every few seconds. "Holy cow!" Dodger said. "Team Alpha is already in position! We've got to boogie!" "We?" "Yeah, we! You didn't think I was going to let you have all this fun by yourself, did you?" "But... but... you don't have a snowboard!" "Whoopsie. I knew I was forgetting something." "Wait, so what are we going to do now?" Dodger took maybe ten steps backward up the hill and said, "We are going to . y!" Then he charged toward me, leaped in the air, and landed on the board so his feet were right next to mine and his arms were around my waist. We started zooming down the hill. That was when it occurred to me that I wasn't wearing a helmet. "Cowabunga!" Dodger shouted in my ear. Then he laughed. Excerpted from Dodger for Sale by Jordan Sonnenblick. Copyright © 2010 by Jordan Sonnenblick. Published in 2010 by Feiwel and Friends. All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher. Excerpted from Dodger for Sale by Jordan Sonnenblick All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
