  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 10/01/2009 Gr 3-5 –When a genie named Bob pops out of a meteorite after crashing through the window of Mrs. Walters’s fifth-grade classroom, he grants the students a collective wish as reward for his release. There’s just one hitch–they have only an hour to decide what that wish will be (Bob is cranky after being cooped up for thirteen million light years). What follows is a lively, thought-provoking, and hilarious discussion of the merits and drawbacks of each of their wishes as they attempt to arrive at a decision democratically. Snarky Bob interrupts their provocative and often-heated banter with audacious quips, including digs at Santa Claus, with whom he allegedly grew up. Gutman packs plenty of history, science, and ethics lessons in this fun, well-paced fantasy that happens to take place at Christmas, but will be enjoyed at any time of year. This book is laugh-out-loud funny from page one.–Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library - Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 12/01/2009 Rising out of a meteorite that lands in Chase’s fifth-grade classroom, a genie offers the class a Christmas wish if they can all agree on one in 40 minutes. They suggest everything from a wall-sized TV to peace on earth, but they can’t settle on one choice. The suspense mounts as Chase’s classmates’ wishes—drawn one by one from a bowl—become more and more preposterous, the arguments against them become louder, and the clock ticks. Structurally easier to follow than Gutman’s The Homework Machine (2006), the first-person narrative here moves chronologically and inexorably to a surprising climax. Supposedly “kind of into science stuff,” Chase makes a basic mistake about the winter solstice on the third page that savvy middle-grade readers will catch, but that shouldn’t lessen their enjoyment of the story. Two lessons are clearly stated: think now about your goals and dreams, and be careful what you wish for. Readers may be laughing too hard to notice. Illustrations not seen. - Copyright 2009 Booklist. Loading...
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