What do you think?
Rate this book
Jacob Wonderbar #2
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe
In this second installment of Nathan Bransford's zany series, Jacob Wonderbar gets a message that he has been nominated for President of the Universe. His best friends Sarah Daisy and Dexter agree to be his campaign managers, and they head back to space to declare Jacob's candidacy. But politics are dirty, especially in space. The trouble begins before Jacob's campaign has even started and stakes are higher than he It turns out that the Valkrians (a space faction that loves blowing stuff up) wants to destroy Planet Earth, and the President of the Universe is the only person who can stop them.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Bransford
7 books174 followersNathan Bransford is the author of How to Write a Novel (October, 2013), Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow (Dial, May 2011), Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe (Dial, April 2012) and Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp (Dial, February 2013). He was formerly a literary agent with Curtis Brown Ltd. and is now the director of community and social media at Freelancers Union. He lives in Brooklyn.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 10, 2012
3.5 STARS
I loved the first book in the Wonderbar series (Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow) and began to devour the sequel as quickly as Jacob devoured those corndogs! The premise is intriguing —the King of the Universe asks Jacob to run against the king’s own son in the first-ever election for President of the Universe. As the king’s son is none other than the notorious space pirate Mick Cracken, it doesn’t seem like Jacob will have too much trouble defeating him—until Jacob learns that many of the Astrals (those living on other planets) don’t much like Earth-dwellers and that some of them even want Earth destroyed before the Earth-dwellers decide to spread their many wars galaxy-wide. Soon, Jacob’s desire to be elected moves beyond personal pride and a wish that maybe, just maybe, his absentee father will finally contact him if he is President of the Universe, to having to save all of humanity and his own home planet!
Somewhere along the way, my enthusiasm for Jacob’s second adventure waned just a bit. Several of the chapters felt too rushed, too choppy, especially when Jacob, Dexter and Sarah Daisy were all in different places. While I know it’s important to keep a steady pace and not drag things out, especially when writing for children, I think a few more transitions and explanations would have enhanced the story. I feel that all of the plot points had merit, but some just weren’t executed that well. I also wanted a bit more character development; for example, we are told a character has “really changed” but I didn’t feel like I saw enough change through his/her actions.
Still, some chapters were absolutely brilliant (mostly those involving satire of the election process and the media!) I wonder if some of the wit would go over kid’s heads. Then again, it is a great way to get kids thinking about the election process—from the good (people having the right to choose their leader) to the bad (sometimes one of your choices might just happen to be a bit of a criminal) to the ugly (the lies and slander from opponents and also the media favoritism).
An example of one of my favorite quotes:
"Slogans aren't *lying* ... You take one of your weaknesses and say the exact opposite, but in a way that's not technically lying. ... If you were head of an Earther company that accidentally turned a river purple, you'd say 'Protecting the Environment One River at a Time!' That line is genius because the one river you were protecting at the time wasn't the one you turned purple." – Mick Cracken.
and another:
“The less you *want* to be a leader, the better leader shall you be.” -- King of the Universe
And the whole segment with Sarah Daisy’s A-word gaffe is just outstanding! It really shows how the media can runaway with one little misstep (even if the person never meant any harm) and that the media has such tremendous power and influence. Again, as an adult I thought this was brilliant. As a kid, I’m not sure I would have “got” all of it—but this would be a great read-aloud and discussion starter for families, especially with 2012 being a presidential election year, the timing couldn’t be better.
So, while all in all I felt this was a more flawed book than the first in the Wonderbar series (and that cliffhanger ending kinda irked me; the last chapter felt a bit like bait to get us to read the third book) I definitely so plan to read the third book (didn't even need that last chapter to entice me). I hope it has all the intellectual depth and wit of this book with the stronger storytelling of the first.
I loved the first book in the Wonderbar series (Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow) and began to devour the sequel as quickly as Jacob devoured those corndogs! The premise is intriguing —the King of the Universe asks Jacob to run against the king’s own son in the first-ever election for President of the Universe. As the king’s son is none other than the notorious space pirate Mick Cracken, it doesn’t seem like Jacob will have too much trouble defeating him—until Jacob learns that many of the Astrals (those living on other planets) don’t much like Earth-dwellers and that some of them even want Earth destroyed before the Earth-dwellers decide to spread their many wars galaxy-wide. Soon, Jacob’s desire to be elected moves beyond personal pride and a wish that maybe, just maybe, his absentee father will finally contact him if he is President of the Universe, to having to save all of humanity and his own home planet!
Somewhere along the way, my enthusiasm for Jacob’s second adventure waned just a bit. Several of the chapters felt too rushed, too choppy, especially when Jacob, Dexter and Sarah Daisy were all in different places. While I know it’s important to keep a steady pace and not drag things out, especially when writing for children, I think a few more transitions and explanations would have enhanced the story. I feel that all of the plot points had merit, but some just weren’t executed that well. I also wanted a bit more character development; for example, we are told a character has “really changed” but I didn’t feel like I saw enough change through his/her actions.
Still, some chapters were absolutely brilliant (mostly those involving satire of the election process and the media!) I wonder if some of the wit would go over kid’s heads. Then again, it is a great way to get kids thinking about the election process—from the good (people having the right to choose their leader) to the bad (sometimes one of your choices might just happen to be a bit of a criminal) to the ugly (the lies and slander from opponents and also the media favoritism).
An example of one of my favorite quotes:
"Slogans aren't *lying* ... You take one of your weaknesses and say the exact opposite, but in a way that's not technically lying. ... If you were head of an Earther company that accidentally turned a river purple, you'd say 'Protecting the Environment One River at a Time!' That line is genius because the one river you were protecting at the time wasn't the one you turned purple." – Mick Cracken.
and another:
“The less you *want* to be a leader, the better leader shall you be.” -- King of the Universe
And the whole segment with Sarah Daisy’s A-word gaffe is just outstanding! It really shows how the media can runaway with one little misstep (even if the person never meant any harm) and that the media has such tremendous power and influence. Again, as an adult I thought this was brilliant. As a kid, I’m not sure I would have “got” all of it—but this would be a great read-aloud and discussion starter for families, especially with 2012 being a presidential election year, the timing couldn’t be better.
So, while all in all I felt this was a more flawed book than the first in the Wonderbar series (and that cliffhanger ending kinda irked me; the last chapter felt a bit like bait to get us to read the third book) I definitely so plan to read the third book (didn't even need that last chapter to entice me). I hope it has all the intellectual depth and wit of this book with the stronger storytelling of the first.
August 22, 2019
A fun romp. The conceit of a presidential race is hard to sustain but otherwise an excellent read. Characters are very good and the plot is absurd.
August 13, 2024
Muy buen libro, entre este libro y Nat Geo le debo mi pasión a la astronomía
December 22, 2021
Weak.
I didn't like the storyline but I also didn't like the name calling. I don't think it helps to teach kids how to be better people at all. There's even a name calling/ insult throwing contest in this book. It's well written and follows a storyline but it's just not nice.
The part I liked was:
P243
... But sometimes bad things happen, Jake, and you can spend your time worrying about them or you can just try and make sure the next day is better than the last one.
I didn't like the storyline but I also didn't like the name calling. I don't think it helps to teach kids how to be better people at all. There's even a name calling/ insult throwing contest in this book. It's well written and follows a storyline but it's just not nice.
The part I liked was:
P243
... But sometimes bad things happen, Jake, and you can spend your time worrying about them or you can just try and make sure the next day is better than the last one.
June 13, 2012
This is the second book in the "Jacob Wonderbar" series. I read the first book, "Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow" last year and LOVED it!!! (The title alone is awesome!). So, I was anxiously awaiting installment number two and excited to learn more about the characters and get the answers that were left hanging from the first book.
So, let me kind of break down my review into two parts.
PART ONE - The Campaign
I was laughing so much for so many of Bransford's insights into politics, politicians, media and voters. He's able to poke fun without being offensive, and while I think a lot of the political humor will tickle an adult's funny bone more than a kid's, I do think it would offer a delightful introduction to the world of politics, etc., and a jumping off point to get kids to learn the ins and outs, the goods and bads, of politics, government and campaigns. So, for these parts I was delighted by the story!
PART TWO - The story and characters
There was nothing wrong with the story, and nothing wrong with the characters. But overall I felt that things didn't progress as much as I'd like. The campaign plot came and went but I didn't really feel it left our main cast of characters any different because of it. And, a testament to the first book, I just wanted more. More insight with the characters, more of their thoughts and feelings, and more reasons to their actions. I remember thinking that the first book could have been a little longer, that I wouldn't have minded a little more to each chapter, but I understood it's a middle-grade book and that the style was meant to clip along at a quick pace. But, I feel that the same pace was attempted here but was just *too* clipped. I was confused sometimes as to which character had learned what and why they'd moved from place to place. So, double-edged-sword: I wanted more.
All this said, I do think Bransford has a great writing style and I will most definitely be getting the THIRD book in this series, "Jacob Wonderbar and the Intersellar Time Warp" when it's released.
So, let me kind of break down my review into two parts.
PART ONE - The Campaign
I was laughing so much for so many of Bransford's insights into politics, politicians, media and voters. He's able to poke fun without being offensive, and while I think a lot of the political humor will tickle an adult's funny bone more than a kid's, I do think it would offer a delightful introduction to the world of politics, etc., and a jumping off point to get kids to learn the ins and outs, the goods and bads, of politics, government and campaigns. So, for these parts I was delighted by the story!
PART TWO - The story and characters
There was nothing wrong with the story, and nothing wrong with the characters. But overall I felt that things didn't progress as much as I'd like. The campaign plot came and went but I didn't really feel it left our main cast of characters any different because of it. And, a testament to the first book, I just wanted more. More insight with the characters, more of their thoughts and feelings, and more reasons to their actions. I remember thinking that the first book could have been a little longer, that I wouldn't have minded a little more to each chapter, but I understood it's a middle-grade book and that the style was meant to clip along at a quick pace. But, I feel that the same pace was attempted here but was just *too* clipped. I was confused sometimes as to which character had learned what and why they'd moved from place to place. So, double-edged-sword: I wanted more.
All this said, I do think Bransford has a great writing style and I will most definitely be getting the THIRD book in this series, "Jacob Wonderbar and the Intersellar Time Warp" when it's released.
April 3, 2012
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe picks right up where the first book, Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow left off. It's another rollicking, action-packed adventure with a cast of silly characters that will keep the pages turning. There is a hint of education about politics and the democratic process as rogue prince Mick Cracken, who stands to inherit the king's throne, has come up with idea of having an elected President of the Universe so that the planetary residents (called Astrals) can have some choice in who their leader is, instead of having the monarchy forced upon them. The stakes are high for Jacob because the Astrals have a preconceived notion that Earth is a constantly warring planet, and the new president is likely going to have to decide if Earth should be destroyed. Jacob and his pals are faced with trying to change this stereotype, and indeed learn a lesson about the power of ugly...(see full review here: http://www.storysnoops.com/detail.php...)
May 16, 2012
The second book in the Jacob Wonderbar trilogy brings back most of the characters from book one. Readers who enjoyed the first book will definitely like this second installment. It's full of clean, silly fun. There are lessons to be learned, too, but they are subtle and shown through the characters, you are not beaten over the head with morality tales. Although you may be beaten over the head with a banana, but what else would you expect from a Space Monkey?
My favorite parts were the campaign challenge on the planet where they had to tell the truth, and Mick's clever ways of skirting the truth. The author did a great job of satirizing political speech in that section. I also liked it when Jacob rediscovered his true self in the corndog-eating contest.
The end is a cliff-hanger, and this book fits squarely as the middle story in a trilogy. I am curious to see what profound revelations await in the third installment.
My favorite parts were the campaign challenge on the planet where they had to tell the truth, and Mick's clever ways of skirting the truth. The author did a great job of satirizing political speech in that section. I also liked it when Jacob rediscovered his true self in the corndog-eating contest.
The end is a cliff-hanger, and this book fits squarely as the middle story in a trilogy. I am curious to see what profound revelations await in the third installment.
May 9, 2012
12 yr old nephew and 9 yr old niece read this, respectively on a Nook and a Kobo, and loved it. Both read the previous book in the series.
April 9, 2016
ITS VERY DRAMATIC!!! ITS VERY DRAMATIC.
September 15, 2012
Such a fun book. The humor was just as great the second time around, and it was so timely given that this is an election year. Can't wait for book number three!
May 19, 2013
It wasn't fair that the king chose Mick instead of Jacob because he won the most votes.
December 7, 2014
Milo kept wanting more Wonderbar, so I read this one to the kids. It felt like it rambled a lot without any coherent direction. Meh.
April 25, 2012
Such a great read! My kiddos loved this book as much as the first one. Well done NB.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews