Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow - A Review

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So, a certain book came into my possession. A space book. A cosmic space book. A cosmic space kapow book. A wonderful wonderbar book.

It starts, as all good books start, with a corndog. And, of course, a spaceship. A talking spaceship. Jacob and his best friends, Sarah and Dexter, make the trade of a lifetime and blast off into space.

Accidents, of the hilarious kind, ensue. Dastardly villains appear - Space pirates... and substitute teachers. I mean, what could be more villainous? (And I say that having been one. A substitute teacher, that is. My spaceship's broken.)

The book, as anyone who might know the author would guess, is funny. Charmingly funny. Kids will love this. And quite a few adults channeling that inner child, too. Or channeling that inner substitute teacher. One or the other.

But, more than that, it's a good book. A story of friendship, of three kids having an adventure... and finding their way in the world (or the universe - slightly broken as it might be). Three kids who, if they hadn't blasted off for space, might have found a home (a few years later and a little older) at Hogwarts Academy. A story of three friends whose pasts shape who they are, and shape who they might be. A poignant story of a boy and a missing father, a story of what a child might do to fill a lonely void. And the friendships they find along the way.

Coming in May, 2011, from Dial Books for Young Readers.

So long, and thanks for all the laughs...