Vote for Hubie! The Class Election from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

We're having a class election. Mrs. Green says everyone has to run for something. Maybe I can just let my nose run!

Hubie can't see himself being vice president; nobody likes his ad-vice. Being secretary is too much work taking notes. And running for treasurer doesn't add up because his math is below average. There is only one office left, so Hubie declares himself a candidate for president! He even comes up with a rhyming slogan:

DON'T BE A BOOBIE. VOTE FOR HUBIE!

Then DORIS declares she's running for president, too. She says she wants to be the first woman president. Hubie realizes he'll be ostracized by all the boys if he's beaten by a girl.

What if I lose to a GIRL? No one would eat at my lunch table! I'd eat alone for the rest of my life!

And Hubie's opponent is not above a bit of bribery:

Doris buys everyone ice cream bars at lunch! I am DESSERTED!

Doris is not above some campaign dirty tricks either. A poster for her shows up in the boys' bathroom. Now Hubie is forced to sneak into the girls' bathroom and put up one of his posters.

If I get caught, it could ruin my political career! I can see it now. I'm running for president of the U.S. I'm ahead in the polls. Then the story of how I snuck into the girls' bathroom is leaked. I could be washed up in politics. My campaign would stall. My career goes down the drain. I will never be flushed with victory!

As they say "Elections have consequences," and Hubie's brush with greatness is the subject of Mike Thaler's The Class Election from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures, No. 3) (Scholastic Press). Thaler's fun with the pun is just right for middle elementary readers--especially with sixteen short chapters filled with comic artist Jared Lee's scratchy lined, over-the-top cartoons of the schoolroom scene. This lighthearted parody of all things political is just the comic relief for this election season. Pair this one with Thaler and Lee's seasonal spoof, The Halloween Party From The Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures 5) (Black Lagoon Adventures series).