June 1, 2011

Ringing praise for Jacob Wonderbar

Like many of my friends, I've been lurking around Nathan Bransford's blog since he started it, way back when tweeting was something only birds did.  A couple of weeks ago, he launched his novel, Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow, and I was fortunate enough to attend the launch party and get a signed copy of the book.

(For the record, Nathan, those stickers I won for getting the closest wrong answer on that space question? I gave them to the little kid that was hanging around the children's reading area.)

I asked Nathan to inscribe it to my son, Sam, whose 12th birthday was only two days later.  Sam seemed to think it kinda cool to get a book signed by the author (had he not gotten a pile of cash from grandmas, too, he might not have thought it such a hot birthday present).  Anyway, yesterday he started reading the book.

Today he finished it.

I asked him what he thought, and he said he liked it.  A lot.  Sam just turned 12 and is very, very well read for a 5th grader.  He "reads up" frequently but also loves the typical 5th grade stuff like Wimpy Kid.  So a  quirky middle grade space adventure was right up his alley.

I asked if he'd write a short note to Nathan sharing his thoughts.  You know, a sentence or two.  This is what he came up with:


If you can't read his handwriting (I told him I'd type it up, so he never expected anyone to see the scrawl), here's what it says:
Dear Nathan,
I loved your book Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow.  I like the goofy planets and the silly people on them.  I especially liked the Numonia planet. If the people knew about Earth, why would they be so impressed by a dwarf tree with 2 yellowing leaves on it? Anyway, I loved your book and can't wait for your next book to come out.  Thank you. 
From, Sam
Now, stop bothering me so I can go read this book.  I only got to chapter 2 before Sam snagged it.

3 comments:

Sylvia said...

Neat! I'll be interested in what you thought of it, too.

Laurel said...

That is adorable! Pirate loves the Wimpy Kid books, too, and I've been thinking that Jacob Wonderbar looked like a good one for him.

Nathan Bransford said...

Ha - amazing!

And Sam, some people love where they came from and are very attached to it, even if the most exciting thing on the planet is a tiny tree. Thank you for reading it!