ZOEY ZOOMBECK, SUPERHERO

Can a girl who’s afraid of her own birthday presents become a superhero?

Zoey Zoombeck looks askance at the yo-yo her brother, Aaron, gives her: “That seems unsafe.” And what if she tumbles off the bike from her two dads? Then Aunt Miriam’s package arrives: a purple superhero cape and a matching one for Afikomen, her cat. The pair don their gifts, and the next day, Zoey is a changed child. In Zoey’s imagination, the duo save kids from a train wreck, stop a rock avalanche from falling on a family, and rescue an older woman from a stampede of animals. Zoey becomes brave enough to ride her new bike, but later that day her cape goes missing. Abba (Hebrew for Father) sends her out to find Afikomen. She sees him…up a tree. How will she get him down? Without her cape, Zoey is afraid, but her love for her pet helps her persevere. This simply told story is imbued with an overlay of Jewish meaning; Zoey’s cat is named after the matzoh eaten at the Passover meal’s end, while backmatter explains the concept of ometz lev, Hebrew for “strength of the heart.” Zoey’s transformation and her wild fantasies should be useful in families with fearful children of their own. In Colombo’s bright, energetic illustrations, Zoey and Aaron are tan-skinned; their parents are slightly paler. Backmatter includes instructions for making a cape.

Just the thing to turn scaredy-cats into caped crusaders.