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TEN STEPS TO FLYING LIKE A SUPERHERO

Name: TEN STEPS TO FLYING LIKE A SUPERHERO
Author: Deb Pilutti
ISBN: 978-1-62779-650-7

by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 17, 2020

There’s an apple neatly hidden in this superhero candy treat.

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A toy superhero tries to fly with help from his human child sidekick.

Lava Boy, a White child, and Captain Magma, a superhero toy who presents as a White male, work together to save the day all the time. Captain Magma has many powers: superstrength, lava vision, and friendliness so strong it wins over evil villains. But he can’t help but wish he could fly. Once, a bird picked him up and flew with him; he dreams of repeating the experience, but to no avail. And he secretly fears Lava Boy might replace him for a better superhero, like Meteor Shower, a Black female superhero who flies. Captain Magma enlists Lava Boy to help him learn to fly, with a 10-step plan involving craft supplies, feathers, a high launching spot, and, of course, trying again if you fail. After Meteor Shower rescues Captain Magma, Lava Boy and Meteor Shower’s human sidekick, Star Girl (who is also Black), run off together, clad in their superhero costumes and clutching their respective toys. While some of the later plot turns feel a bit arbitrary, this simple, easy-to-read tale explores childcentric issues of relationships, trust, and learning with a humorous touch. Bright illustrations in primary colors with green backgrounds, fun lettering, and occasional speech bubbles evoke the comic-book superhero tradition. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 67.5% of actual size.)

There’s an apple neatly hidden in this superhero candy treat. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-62779-650-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DINOSAUR IN THE GARDEN
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

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

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THE SECRETS OF NINJA SCHOOL
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE RED SLEIGH

by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Elizaveta Tretyakova ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2020

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.

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A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.

Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)