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Super Heroes: Feeling Strong Through Hero Identification |
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| This book was the best! You won't be able to put it down—and you won't want to. Worth every penny! |
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| A great read. Don't let this book pass you by. Recommended! |
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| A good book. Worth checking out. |
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| Passes the time...if you can stay engrossed. I didn't enjoy it much, but it may appeal to some people. |
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| This book didn't work for me. But that doesn't mean it won't work for you. |
That Don't Preach
Super Heroes:
Feeling Strong Through Hero Identification
Dex: The Heart of a Hero
by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner
HarperTrophy/HarperCollins (paperback) (May 2007)
ISBN-10: 0064438457, ISBN-13: 978-0064438452
Ages: 4-8 and up
My rating:
Dex was a little dog. His legs were little, his tail was little, his body was little. He looked like a plump sausage sitting on four little meatballs.
Being the size that he was, Dex was often overlooked. The other dogs grew tired of waiting for Dex to catch up when they played chase, and after a while they forgot to invite him at all. No one really seemed to notice him, except when Cleevis, the tomcat, demonstrated how he could stand right over Dex and not even ruffle his fur.
Yes, everything about Dex was little--except for his dreams. He wanted to be a HERO. He could just see it.
THE MIGHTY DEX FLEW UP INTO THE DARK AND STARRY NIGHT....
--Dex: The Heart of a Hero, by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner, p. 2-3.
Dexter is a short, plump dog who is ignored or bullied by the other dogs (and one cat) in his neighborhood. Dexter dreams of being a hero--and then one day he decides that he's going to make it happen. He studies superhero comics and movies, and then works hard getting himself into shape. Once his suit arrives, he goes out and starts helping others, saving a mouse from a sewer, tackling a purse snatcher, and more. But the bullies still snicker at Dexter--until Dexter has to save one of them. Dex: The Heart of a Hero
Caralyn Buehner (Snowmen at Night; Escape of Marvin the Ape) knows her superheroes. Dex has all the makings of a classic superhero--at firsts he's an outsider, bullied, ignored. But he's brave, smart, and tenacious. He trains himself, works out, studies, and doesn't let go of his dream. Through his own choices and actions, Dex changes his circumstances and becomes a hero. Buehner adds the perfect touch to the story, with little boxes beneath the main story text and the illustrations, summing up Dexter's actions in a superhero comic book way: "The mighty Dex pressed on, through wind and rain and storm and fatigue...."
Buehner immediately gains reader empathy by telling us how Dexter is overlooked and ignored--an outsider--because of his size. And then we're told Dexter's dream, and we start rooting for him to achieve it, especially when we see how hard he works for it. Many readers, especially young readers who don't have much control over their lives, will identify with Dexter's strong dream to become a hero in his own life, instead of being bullied or ignored.
Read the whole review here!
Superhero
by Marc Tauss
Scholastic (September 2005)
ISBN-10: 0439627346, ISBN-13: 978-0439627344
My rating:
Maleek loved comic books. It was fun to catch up on his fellow superheroes' adventures.
Maleek kept HIS superhero costume in a top secret location.
It concealed his identity when he went out to do his top secret work.
In his laboratory, Maleek invented lots of amazing gadgets. He even built his robot assistant, Marvyn.
--Superhero by Marc Tauss, p. 1-7.
Maleek is not just a boy who enjoys comics--he is an actual superhero. When the city's parks and playgrounds disappear overnight, Maleek has to figure out a solution. He goes back in time, gets some plant extracts, and makes a concoction that makes flowers and plant growth spill out over the city. Tauss' text starts out well; I was immediately interested in a child who not only loves superheroes in comic books but is a superhero himself. However, the text does not gain tension or momentum, and is not quite well written enough to grab me. Still, it's wonderful to see both a child superhero, and a Black child as the superhero (there need to be more of both). Many children dream of being a super hero, and this book can help them identify with that, and dream. . . .
Read the whole review here!
Superhero ABC
by Bob McLeod
HarperCollins (January 2006)
ISBN-10: 0060745142, ISBN-13: 978-0060745141
My rating:
BUBBLE-MAN
BLOWS BIG BUBBLES
AT BULLIES
(HE'S BALD!/HE WEARS BOOTS!)
CAPTAIN CLOUD
CALMLY CATCHES CROOKS
(HE'S SO COOL!/HE HAS A CAPE!)
--Superhero ABCBob McLeod, p. 3-4.
Superhero ABC is a fun, non-violent, and clever ABC book that is infused with super-heroism, perfect for any superhero fan or a young one leaning their ABCs. Superhero ABC is so much more than an ABC book--it brings humor, imagination, the fun of comics, and many imaginative superheroes, making it an enjoyable read for superhero fans as well as beginning readers. . . .
Read the whole review here!
Max
by Bob Graham
Candlewick (reprint) (August 2002)
ISBN-10: 0763618578, ISBN-13: 978-0763618575
My rating:
In a house the color of the sun and the shape of a lightning bolt, a baby woke up in his crib. Not just any baby. He was a superbaby--son of superheroes Captain Lightning and Madame Thunderbolt. Imagine him behind those yellow walls, his fingers curling and his feet kicking. His name was... Max. His parents--legendary catchers of thieves and bullies--loved Max dearly. "You can walk already," said Max's dad, "and you can talk already, and I think that you'll soon be . . .
"flying like a bird!"
"He'll be a superhero, just like us!" said his grandma. "But first he'll need to fly!" said his granddad. Although they bounced him and bumped him, and threw him like a feather on the wind . . .
Max did not fly. He just floated gently back to earth.
--MaxBob Graham, p. 1-6.
What's a young superhero to do when he can't fly like all the other superheroes in his family? Max faces just this problem, often hearing his family wonder and worry why he hasn't flown yet. But one day, Max solves the problem for himself when he leaps into the air to save a baby bird falling from its nest. Max is a fantastic superhero picture book--it has a rich, well-written, enjoyable story; superhero fantasy; human interest; and fun, humourous illustrations. Max shows a human side to superheroes; it's about Max and his superhero family in their day-to-day life, which is not often seen in comics.
Graham's story has depth--it has emotion, a problem for the hero to overcome, and human connection. It also has the spice of superhero fantasy, and this adds a delightful flavor to the book, sure to appeal to superhero fans and to readers who like heroic characters. There is a focus on family and acceptance, and this brings a heartwarming, uplifting feeling to the story, as does Max's success. . . .
Read the whole review here!
Another Perfect Day
by Ross MacDonald
Roaring Brook Press (reprint) (September 2005)
ISBN-10: 1596430796, ISBN-13: 9781596430792
My rating:
The morning sun came streaming through Jack's bedroom window.
He got up and looked out . . . Aaaaahh! Another perfect day! . . . got dressed . . .
ate breakfast . . . brushed his teeth . . . exercised . . . and went out.
--Another Perfect DayRoss MacDonald, p. 1-7.
Everything is going perfectly for Jack, our muscular hero, who, dressed in a conservative business suit, does superhuman acts such as leaping from building to building, catching a runaway train, wrestling with an alligator, and then goes to his fun day job, being an ice cream taste tester--until suddenly it isn't a perfect day any more. Our hero suddenly finds himself dressed in a pink tutu, a baby bonnet, and red clown boots, and baby rattle in his hand. Things just keep on getting worse, with his rocket turning into a bicycle, and the police and a crowd running after him. Even after he realizes he's caught in a dream he can't escape until Jack, as a boy, helps him wake up. This super-hero tale is a fun, engaging flight of fancy, as well as a subtle way of reminding readers that they can break out of a bad dream if they need to.
The brief, deceptively simple, carefully-chosen text feels is the perfect length for the book, with nothing extraneous and nothing bogging the story down. The text uses a straight-man approach that allows the illustrations to tell the story with great humor, and to tell a different story than the text itself, and this works well. The text and illustrations build on the other; neither work as well on their own. . . .
Read the whole review here!
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