Superhero Instruction Manual

Kristy Dempsey is a poet, writer, and librarian who is living her dreams in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Her previous picture books include Me with You, A Dance Like Starlight and Surfer Chick, which received starred reviews as well as a National Parenting Publications Award.
Visit Kristy online at KristyDempsey.com
Follow her on Twitter @kristydempsey

Mark Fearing's animated shorts have been seen on a variety of TV stations and film festivals. He has illustrated several books for children, including The Book that Eats People, Tim Federle's Tommy Can't Stop and Margaret McNamara'sThe Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot, and he considers himself barely an adult. He currently works across mediums and love to tell stories with words and pictures.
Visit him online at MarkFearing.com
Follow him on Twitter @MarkFearing

PreS-Gr 2-Not everyone is lucky enough to be born with superpowers or get bitten by a radioactive spider and develop abilities overnight. Fear not! Just use the Superhero Instruction Manual and you can be a superhero in seven easy steps. While the first six steps (pick a name, pick a sidekick, craft a super disguise, secure a secret hideout, choose a superpower, and store up super energy) might be really easy, step number seven (save the world) isn't as doable as the manual says. It turns out that sometimes even superheroes need help. Colorful illustrations and a playful layout make this book a fun experience. The illustrations are a good mix of cartoonish styles typically found in picture books. There's also a homage to actual comic books. Where it falls flat is the text. While the idea is appealing to children who love superheroes, the tips are a little bland and lack the necessary oomph to make them really super. The ending, too, is a little uninspired. After the main character ignores his little sister in favor of his dog and messes up his attempt at saving the world, she proves that she is super by setting everything right. VERDICT While this message is lovely, the theme of sibling relationships has been done better in other picture books. A supplemental purchase.-Paige Garrison, Augusta Richmond County Library System, GAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.