If the newest Spiderman movie
sparked your imagination, try any or all of these champion picture books for
their characteristic intrepid courage, classical ideals, and notable adventures. While perhaps not all of celebrity
status, these daring, determined and spirited individuals demonstrate sturdy
personalities and plucky tenacity.
Any or all are worthy role models for young people in need or hope of a
suitable hero or heroine. Touché!
Zero the Hero by Joan Holub
illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Henry Holt, $16.99, Ages 6-11
Zero
thinks of himself as a superhero, but his friends the other numbers? Not so much. Zero is out for the count – he simply isn’t included in
counting numbers. He seems to have
value only with other numbers (as in 10, 20, etc).
He’s
especially worthless when it comes to addition, subtraction or
even division. But he shines when
it comes to multiplication -- until he realizes “A real superhero wouldn’t
multiply his friends into nothingness.”
And as he considers whether he is in fact a villain instead of a hero,
he loses confidence and rolls away.
Lichtenheld’s
clever cartoon characters are differentiated using ink, colored pencils and
watercolors to identify and distinguish each personality. And Holub’s straightforward
storytelling text is augmented both by her agile use of language, and witty
comments spoken by individual numbers in dialog balloons.
After
Zero leaves, the other numbers note his absence as they play games; adding
themselves together, rounding up or down, even comparing themselves to
letters. They don’t realize they
are being surrounded by Roman soldiers/numerals until they are forced into a
gladiator ring, doubling as a clock.
When
Zero hears his friends calling for help (note the whimsical use of numbers to
spell out the word), he hurries to the rescue, outwitting the Roman numerals by
demonstrating his skill with multiplication. This ingenious picture book is a math gem with an inventive
resolution.
Ladybug Girl at the Beach
by David Soman and Jacky Davis
Dial, $16.99, Ages 4-6
Husband
and wife team Davis and Soman are spot on with this book from their well-known
series about a girl who loves her ladybug costume and wears it often! Lulu (alias Ladybug Girl, the brave)
loves the beach -- however, as her older brother points out -- she’s never been
before.
Initially
impatient “to go swimming in the waves,” when Lulu races to the water’s edge
and is confronted with huge loud breakers and seemingly endless ocean, she
reacts with a young child’s usual response -- choosing to build sand castles,
fly a kite, and plead for ice cream.
Later, watching others play in the water at the sea’s edge, Lulu and her
dog, Bingo, decide to get their feet wet, and are nearly knocked over, although
no one around seems to notice a problem.
Pen
and ink watercolor illustrations, with subtle, yet artful use of both brights
and pastels, convey a crowded sunlit beach on a breezy summer day, even to the
rosy sky at day’s end. Of special
note is the double page spread in the early part of the story: the enormity of
the pounding sea dwarfs the girl and her basset hound companion, successfully
setting the stage, and resulting in Lulu’s need for her Ladybug Girl courage,
to rescue her errant purple pail when the tide comes in much later, as she and
Bingo are exploring, digging for pirate treasure.
Knee-deep
in the ocean, having conquered her fears (a watchful Mama standing in the
background), Ladybug Girl’s splashing play in the water with faithful Bingo
completes the day, lending authenticity to the closing comments with her
brother, and making for a satisfying final scene.
The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy
by Jacky Davis
illustrated
by David Soman
Dial, $16.99, Ages
3-5
Sam
(Ladybug Girl’s sidekick and friend) makes remarkable use of his sizeable imagination
during his adventures as Bumblebee Boy – first with Greenbeard the Pirate,
later with Fire Dragon, and again with “Giganto, the Giant Saber-Toothed Lion.”
However, Owen, his younger
brother, who wants to play “soup hero, too!” repeatedly interrupts. Sam knows he’s not supposed to be mean,
but Owen “doesn’t get it; Bumblebee Boy wants to fly alone!”
Once
again, Davis and Soman (Ladybug Girl’s co-creators) combine their considerable
talents with the use of repetitive language (Bum Ba Bum BUM!) and signature ink
and watercolor illustrations. Owen’s
use of his own imagination to foil the “bank robbers” Bumblebee Boy is chasing,
and then Sam’s recognition that he is unable to defeat imagined aliens without
help, shapes the dilemma.
The
polarity between Bumblebee Boy in energetic full color, contrasting double page
spreads, and the white space-filled pages of literal reality as Owen brings Sam
back to the living room of daily life dramatizes the distinction, fuels Sam’s
hope to play separately, and ultimately makes the harmonious finale even more
convincing.
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