AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds
GENRE
Picture book
REVIEW
All starts off well for friends Max and the porcine Pinky, as they prepare to play superheroes by practicing their moves and choosing outfits. But once the costumes are on, "Mighty Max" develops an equally mighty ego, leaving the less desirable superhero tasks to Pinky, his "stubby sidekick". Pinky finally speaks up to voice his protest, leading to a rift between the two. However, Max soon finds himself in a difficult situation in which he could sure use Pinky's help. Eaton's line-drawn and brightly-colored illustrations capture the book's energy and humor well, although some facial expressions could be a bit more revealing. Comic-style speech bubbles often belie the statements in the text, adding to the story's humor. A good message about treating others as one's equal, embedded in a delightful story whose nuances make it most appropriate for three and four year olds. A bit of adult explanation about the story's comic tension will be very helpful to young children.
LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
A read-aloud of this and books such as Caralyn Buehner's Superdog: The Heart of a Hero and Udo Weigelt's Super Guinea Pig to the Rescue could be combined with a superhero dress-up activity.
No comments:
Post a Comment