ALA Booklist (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2008)

He knows he's not supposed to take the shortcut through the woods. But after letting down his baseball team once again, Willie (a.k.a. Wimpy) disobeys his overprotective mother's warnings and veers off down the forbidden path. There he finds, emerging genie-like from a magic lamp, a large blue chimpanzee named Dodger, who vows to be his new best friend. As Willie begins to use the three wishes he is granted, he grows more wary and more aware of what really matters to him. Like many a hero given the traditional wishes, Willie doesn't always make good choices, but he picks up some useful skills and even a bit of wisdom along the way. Mercifully, as narrator, he doesn't feel the need to spell out the lessons learned. The humor will draw kids specially Dodger's off-the-wall dialogue and the outlandish predicaments that result when he decides to help. The story grows increasingly engaging as Willie starts moving toward what he really wants.

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Hampered by an overprotective mother, an annoyingly friendly classmate, and a spectacular lack of athletic ability, Willie is bemused but hopeful when a blue genie chimpanzee named Dodger appears, promising to improve Willie's life. Dodger's a better friend than genie, though, and chaos ensues. The inspired lunacy of the premise gets bogged down in mundane life lessons.

Kirkus Reviews

Sonnenblick's first for younger audiences features an ironic, sarcastic, self-deprecating narrator similar to his young-adult narrators. Ten-year-old Willie Ryan would love to be a fabulous baseball player, but as the reason his team loses their penultimate game, he is anything but. To make matters worse, since his best friend Tim moved away, Lizzie, a British girl from school, has been following him around like a lost puppy. And if any further evidence were needed that his life is a mess, his six-year-old sister Amy is evil and his mother is a safety fanatic. Willie needs help. Unfortunately, help comes in the form of a blue chimp-shaped genie—er, "bottled American"—named Dodger. Dodger's "help" lands Willie in hotter and hotter water...finally requiring the condescending intervention of The Great Lasorda, Dodger's supervisor. Willie's progression from no self-confidence to slightly self-sacrificing saves this effort from being total fluff. Over the top, short on logic and often quite silly, this quick read will please fans of such televised cotton candy as The Fairly OddParents . (Fiction. 8-12)

School Library Journal (Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Gr 4-7 In this sweet but predictable novel, Willie Ryan is a boy with three problems: he's terrible at baseball and keeps letting his team down, his mother is overprotective, and a girl named Lizzie won't leave him alone. A detour through the woods leads him to a genielike blue chimpanzee called Dodger, who is at first visible only to the fifth grader. Dodger's attempts to solve Willie's problems lead to disaster. Some of the situations are funny, as when the boy's love for banana yogurt leads to chaos in the cafeteria, and Dodger's surfer-inspired vocabulary and wild ideas for improving Willie's life make for some lighter moments. However, some of the humor seems strained, and most of the characters, especially Willie's parents, are not well developed. Lizzie is also a bit of a mystery, as is her matter-of-fact reaction when Dodger appears to her. It's no surprise when Willie realizes that he's grown attached to Dodger despite the chimp's ineptitude, that he doesn't really want his mother to become a different person, and that he likes Lizzie after all. Baseball fans will enjoy this novel, while other readers will likely find the story amusing but shallow. Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library

Voice of Youth Advocates

Willie's new best friend, Dodger, has a Three-Part Plan to improve Willie's life. First Dodger is going to make Lizzie, who attends all of Willie's Little League games and cheers nonstop regardless of whether Willie is actually hitting the ball, leave him alone. Next Dodger promises that Willie's overprotective mother will begin to trust him more so they can get to the third part. It all sounds great except for one thing: Dodger is a large blue chimpanzee with the annoying habit of making a huge mess of everything in Willie's life. As a result, Willie is injured, accused of cheating on a test, and more or less grounded for life. Willie is sure he will be confined to his room and friendless forever until Dodger's genie boss, the Great Lasorda, swoops in and promises to fix Dodger's mess. "Be careful what you wish for" is the theme of this fast-paced, clever novel that abounds with pop culture and sports references. Willie is one-hundred-percent underdog, geeky and uncoordinated, but he is also a goodhearted, likeable character who wishes for things with which most readers can identify. The snappy dialogue showcases Willie's frustrations as well as his kindness and his desire to fit in with his peers. Lizzie changes from being a thorn in Willie's side to a sassy sidekick and a true friend. Younger readers looking for a fun, not-too-serious read will enjoy it.-Carlisle Kraft Webber.