Funny guys team up to write middle grade novel

"Dear Mr. Franklin, First of all, let me just say that this assignment is stupid. You are dead. Why am I writing a letter to some dead guy I've never even met?"

So begins the premise for the new middle grade novel "Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My …" by funny guys Adam Manabach and Alan Zweibel.

Mansbach wrote "Go the F to Sleep," a 2011 "children's book" for adults, and Zweibel is an award-winning comedy writer for Saturday Night Live and other shows.

They will present their new book at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at Community Christian Church, 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville. Tickets are available with purchase of the book at Anderson's Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville.

Ticket seekers also may contact Anderson's at (630) 355-2665 or andersonsbookshop.com.

The book is about a most unlikely pen pal relationship between 13-year-old Franklin Isaac Saturday, who goes by "Ike," and Benjamin Franklin. Before the fateful extra credit assignment that started it all, Ike's life was pretty normal. He was avoiding the popularity contests of middle school, crushing hard on Claire Wanzandae and trying not roll his eyes at his stepfather, Dirk-the-Jerk's lame jokes.

All that changes when, in a successful effort to make Claire Wanzandae laugh, Ike mails his homework assignment to Ben Franklin - and he writes back. Soon, things go awry.

Ike has an embarrassing moment of epic proportions in front of Claire and decides he needs to find a way to win Claire back. Can Ike get the girl and make his mark in history?

Manabach and Zweibel talk about how they came to write the book at their presentation.

If you go

What: Adam Manabach and Alan Zweibel with their book "Benjamin Franklin: Pain in My …"

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11

Where: Community Christian Church, 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville

Cost: Tickets included with purchase of the book at Anderson's Bookshop

Info: (630) 355-2665 or andersonsbookshop.com