Today we are very excited to share an interview with author J. A. Dauber!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: J. A. Dauber
J. A. Dauber is a professor of Jewish literature and American studies at Columbia University, where he has also served as director of its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. He received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Harvard and his doctorate from the University of Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.
About the Book: Press 1 For Invasion
A kid who just wanted a cell phone ends up being responsible for saving the world from an alien invasion in this hilarious, action-packed new middle grade novel that’s perfect for fans of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe and Gordon Korman.
Ten-year-old Matt really wants a phone, but his parents won’t let him have one. When he finds one just lying on the sidewalk, he naturally picks it up and claims it for himself. But when Matt uses his new phone to take pictures, they show the crossing guard in front of his school as a monster. But that can’t be right…can it?
Matt soon learns that: a) his lunch lady is also a monster (actually, an alien); b) an invasion of Earth is due to take place within the next few days; and c) the lunch lady is having cold feet (well, tentacles) about the whole thing and wants his help. Matt and his friend Marcela join forces with her to save the planet.
Battles in their school cafeteria and high above the Earth’s atmosphere place them in very close encounters with alien pets and the business end of a gigantic oven. As the danger mounts, Matt and Marcela must ask themselves what they’re willing to risk to save their friends, their family, and their world.
~Author Chat~
YABC: Which came first, the concept, landscape, characters, or something else?
It was an image, or, really, a sequence of images, like a short movie: a kid finding a phone on the street, picking it up, looking at a bunch of people through the camera, and going, “person, person, person, goggle-eyed alien monster, person – wait, what??” and then putting down the phone, looking around, and not seeing the alien at all, just people. That felt like it had something to it, and then I just had to figure out the story behind it.
YABC: What research did you to do to write Press 1 For Invasion?
Not very much, to be honest – in my day job as a university professor, I do a lot of research, so it was fun to go as far in the opposite direction as possible! At one point, there’s a discussion of Benedict Arnold, though (I promise, it makes perfect sense in context), and I had to go back and remind myself of exactly why he betrayed the American revolutionaries to the British, but that was about it.
YABC: How do you keep your ‘voice’ true to the age category you are writing within?
I said in the previous answer that I didn’t do much research, and I guess that’s true in the traditional sense, but I have three children, ranging from 12 to 6, and besides being entirely awesome, they also serve as a good reminder of what words kids would say and what they wouldn’t. Some of the most interesting writing moments for me are when you know the perfect word to express exactly what you want to get across – a word that comes to mind, just as an example, is “insidious” – but you know your characters would never use it, even if they happened to know it, so you have to use something less precise.
YABC: If you were able to meet them, would you be friends with your main character?
Since I’m the age of his parents, I probably wouldn’t be friends friends, but I kind of hope my kids might be….and I’d be proud if my kids shared the kind of resourcefulness and bravery Matt and Marcela show in the face of some pretty serious dangers they face and choices they have to make. (Although I hope they never have to face the prospect of an alien invasion!)
YABC: What can readers expect to find in your book?
Action! Adventure! Amusement! Alien pets! Antigravity! And those are just the A’s! There’s plenty more fun and excitement involving the other 25 letters of the alphabet, too!
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you would like your reader to remember from Press 1 For Invasion?
I think that it’s probably a toss-up between “The things that make us individual are the things we should cherish the most” and “Don’t pick up a phone lying on the street without considering the possibility that it might belong to an extraterrestrial.”
YABC: What word do you have trouble overusing?
In life? “Awesome.” In writing? Probably the phrase “to be honest.”
YABC: What do you do when you procrastinate?
Watch short comedy videos on YouTube, to be honest. They’re awesome.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m not entirely sure that Matt and Marcela are finished with their adventures. I’m also working on a time-travel novel that I’m quite excited about, but no details to share yet.
YABC: Is there anything that you would like to add?
There’s an old Monty Python line to the effect that if you have half as much fun watching their sketches as they had making them, then they had twice as much fun as you. I don’t know how the math will work out here, but I had a tremendous amount of fun writing this adventure, all the twists and turns, all the action set pieces and the jokes and the emotional bits, and I hope all the readers will have at least as much fun with PRESS 1 as I did!
Title: Press 1 For Invasion
Author: J. A. Dauber
ISBN-13: 9781665974776
ISBN-10: 166597477X
On-sale date: September 9, 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Imprint: Aladdin
Ages: 8-12
Grades: 3-7
~ Giveaway Details ~
Three (3) winners will receive a copy of Press 1 For Invasion (J. A. Dauber) ~US Only (No P.O. Boxes)!
I love the premise and must read this imaginative book!