Children's Books with Superhero Kids
Kids Get to Enjoy Superpowers in These Fun Chapter Books
May 19, 2009
Comic books and movies aren’t the only place where you can find superheroes. Check out these fun chapter books that take you on some offbeat adventures with superhero kids.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy: The Hero Revealed
In the town of Superopolis, everyone has a superpower and dresses in superhero costumes – except the kid called Ordinary Boy. Ridiculed by most kids, from the seed-spitting Melonhead to class bully Lobster Boy, “O Boy” still dreams of being a hero like the Amazing Indestructo, the town champion – who’s more concerned with selling his merchandise than fighting crime.
When the Amazing Indestructo comes out with a line of trading cards, O Boy and his friends Stench (superstrong and super smelly), Tadpole (prehensile tongue), Plasma Girl (melts into a puddle of goo), and Halogen Boy (glows by drinking apple juice) decide to collect them all. But as they track down the cards, they learn this merchandising scheme is part of a plot by the evil Professor Brain-Drain to steal the town’s brainpower!
How do the cards fit into Professor Brain-Drain’s plan? What is the Amazing Indestructo’s part in all this? And in a town full of extraordinary citizens who don’t have a clue, could the real hero of the day be someone who’s – ordinary?
William Boniface’s new superhero book series offers a wonderfully satirical look not only at superheroes but also commercialism. As kids laugh at the ridiculous superhero names of some of the characters (O Boy’s classmate Puddle Boy is particularly hilarious) adults will enjoy watching O Boy realize how much his town has been brainwashed by the Amazing Indestructo’s merchandising empire.
A great superhero book series that also features excellent art by Stephen Gilpin, The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy continues in The Return of Meteor Boy and The Great Powers Outage. As the series continues, sharp eyed readers will realize that while O Boy’s abilities aren’t as flashy as other superheroes, he does possess an extraordinary power – one that is sadly undervalued by the dimwitted citizens of Superopolis.
My Secret Identity
Fourteen-year-old Andrew Clements always wanted to be like one of the superheroes in his comic book collection. Then one day he stumbled into his neighbor Dr. Jeffcoate’s photon beam. Now, he can float through the air (and even fly by propelling himself with aerosol cans). He’s fast enough to clean his room in three seconds. And he’s invulnerable enough to keep needles from puncturing his skin. Andrew has become – Ultra Man!
Unfortunately, Andrew discovers having superpowers doesn’t immediately lead to a life of adventure. But that all changes when Caroline, the pretty girl next door, gets kidnapped. Can Andrew save Caroline and prove himself worthy of his superpowers?
Based on the television pilot episode for the My Secret Identity Canadian TV show of the late 1980s (which starred a young Jerry O’Connell as Andrew), this novelization actually makes a fun read for elementary school readers and includes several scenes not shown in the television pilot.
Author Jovial Bob Stine does a good job showing Andrew adapting to his superpowers – a funny sequence has Andrew thinking “heavy thoughts” to keep from floating away. Stine also include scenes with Andrew’s friends and family that would be considered excessive in a short television pilot, but help flesh out the characters in the book. Overall, a good choice for light summer reading entertainment.
Also read Stories Starring Kids with Superpowers for more books about superhero kids.
Boniface, William and Stephen Gilpin. The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. 2006. ISBN: 978-0-06-077464-6
Stine, Jovial Bob. My Secret Identity. New York: Scholastic Books. 1989. ISBN: 0-590-42414-9
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