June 1, 2020
Long uses the superhero trope to get kids ready to face their first-day fears. Scotty is a kid with a super imagination...superhero, that is. This little boy apparently sleeps in his super-suit, as that's how his mother finds him on this momentous morning, telling him to get dressed. But as alternate double-page spreads show, Scotty is busy with the business of a superhero, saving the world from rogue robots and anthropomorphized school supplies (and the school itself) gone berserk. Can Scotty face his biggest nemesis and greatest fear? With friends, anything is possible. Though the scenes depicting Scotty and his friends battling the fanged school have comic-book verve, there's not much takeaway for young readers, superhero aspirations or no. Puzzlingly, following their combined assault on the school, a page turn reveals it completely unmarked and intact. Any psychological process real-life Scotty may have gone through to grow comfortable with school is invisible. For kids already filled with worries, a book containing salivating, toothy school supplies with angry eyes and malicious grins may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Scotty and his mother present white; his classmates are diverse. For great tales of imagination taking on school fears, stick with Planet Kindergarten (2016) by Sue Ganz-Schmitt and illustrated by Shane Prigmore or Super Saurus Saves Kindergarten (2017) by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Ned Young. Superhero punch without a superclear message. (Picture book. 4-8)
COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
June 15, 2020
Intent on his caped and masked alter-ego, the deceptively brave boy at the center of this spry cartoon battles the forces of evil in his bedroom, but stalls when directed to don his school clothes—and with good reason: “To win this nail-biting battle against school, an ironed shirt will be useless. Our hero needs a shirt made of iron!” His imagination explodes as he envisions his superhuman persona successfully battling an animated school bus and building, both of which have ferocious, snapping jaws. In battle scenes that alternate with real-life goings-on, Long pulls out all the hyperbolic stops, setting loose ominous, fanged school supplies. When the child finally arrives at school, freshly dressed at last, he discovers that the monsters are no match for him and his band of newfound friends. High-octane, bright pictures, created in pencil and digitally scanned and colorized, may well provide a boost of confidence to wary, school-bound superheroes. Ages 3–6.
July 1, 2020
Grades 1-3 As if rescue missions and rampaging robots in Scotty's own bedroom aren't tough enough to face, a pack full of school supplies, an approaching bus, and the school building itself?all three depicted as raging, toothy monsters in Long's high-energy cartoon scenes?present a whole new level of challenges. YOU'RE A FOOL TO DUEL WITH SCHOOL! the terrifying edifice roars. But then, just when it looks like certain doom, a squad of determined-looking fellow students assembles in the schoolyard to offer new hope. Are you ready for school, heroes? Let's do this! An ensuing dustup replete with emphatic sound effects quickly leaves the monsters squelched. Envisioning his classmates dressed as Wonder Woman and in other familiar-looking costumes, Scotty is left feeling empowered rather than anxious because heroes are always stronger with true friends by their sides. Though openly agenda-driven, this superpowered outing offers both a winning conceit and a plausible strategy for calming first-day jitters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)