I usually like the Black Lagoon Series. But with this specific title, not so much.

In the traditional Black Lagoon Series Children's Books, our hero Hubie is running for class president. He is running against a girl named Doris. Now, the entire Black Lagoon formula is here. The story is very Punny as you can imagine. Hubie worries for nothing and in the end he becomes class President. (Sorry for the Spoiler).

But here is my issue with this specific book. Lately, we as a society have become very aware and concerned to stomp out sexism. I believe that in order to do this, it has to start here.....as we start conditioning the young mind. I think of my young kids reading this.

When the story has Hubie worried that he would lose the election "to a girl" or that they make the girl try to win the class election by buying votes instead of using her mind, I have a problem with this. Hence, the low rating on this book by comparison to other Black Lagoon books I have reviewed. ( )

This was an okay example of realistic fiction. It mostly fits in this category in that it tells the story of a boy who is running for class president. The readers can really empathize with him as he struggles with his fears of failures and as he begins to run for president. Also, the readers can see the interactions that he has with the other characters. However, the illustrations in this book can be confusing in that they often portray the teachers or other minor characters as monster-like creatures. In addition to that, there is a chapter in which Hubie talks about shaking his teachers' hands, but instead refers to them as claws and paws. These two issues can confuse the genre and that is also a reason why this book only gets two stars.
Media: pen and ink and watercolor ( )

Great for grades k-3. Tells about as school election. Limited pictures. Helps with reading fluency.

This book is likely to be difficult for students, not because of the reading level, but because of the content. It's loaded with adult level jokes about gallup polls, etc. Even though I have a feeling they won't get a good number of the jokes, kids are likely to find this funny, and to enjoy the general outrageousness of this crazy story of an election for class president. ( )

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