TEN RULES OF BEING A SUPERHERO

Name: TEN RULES OF BEING A SUPERHERO
Author: Deb Pilutti
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9759-7

by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2014

This book is starchier than a superhero story ought to be, but almost everyone will agree with rule 10: “[S]aving the day is...

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There are 10 rules of being a superhero, but the second is the most important: “Saving the day is messy.”

By the end of this book, Captain Magma has been lifted into the sky by a bird, dropped in a nest and carted around in a wheelbarrow full of dirt. Captain Magma is only a few inches tall, and he’s made of plastic, so he has to be carried around by his young sidekick, Lava Boy, who runs around the playroom in an adorable red cape and mask. The illustrations of the playroom are the highlight of the book. Pilutti has painted every toy a child could want: robots and monkeys and a green troll with hair like a firecracker. The room is so cluttered with colorful toys that readers may not know where to rest their eyes. Unfortunately, this means that large portions of the book involve sweeping and keeping the house tidy. Readers may wonder if some of the rules were created by an adult to send a wholesome message to kids. Take rule seven: “Superheroes must rest so that they can recharge….” Children may prefer the rules that involve tasty snacks; Captain Magma’s battle cry is “Cookies for all!”

This book is starchier than a superhero story ought to be, but almost everyone will agree with rule 10: “[S]aving the day is more fun with a friend.” (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-8050-9759-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
TEN STEPS TO FLYING LIKE A SUPERHERO
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

- BOOK REVIEW
OLD ROCK (IS NOT BORING)
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SECRETS OF NINJA SCHOOL
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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RUBY FINDS A WORRY

From the Big Bright Feelings series

by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019

A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...

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Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.

Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.

A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)