My Brother Is a Superhero by David Solomons (review)
April Spisak
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Volume 69, Number 1, September
2015, p. 56 (Review)
Published by Johns Hopkins University Press
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bcc.2015.0605
For additional information about this article
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/589540
Accessed 18 Jun 2017 15:37 GMT
56 • The Bulletin
Solomons, David My Brother Is a Superhero. Viking, 2015 [304p]
ISBN 978-0-451-47477-3 $16.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 3-5
It’s the ultimate indignity: being a true comic book aficionado, a superhero buff
through and through, and then finding your brother is the one granted magical
powers while you were in the bathroom. It is almost too much for Luke to bear,
and his older brother Zack is darn lucky that Luke is mostly able to set aside his
jealousy and help him learn to be a true superhero, especially since neither has any
idea what Nemesis, the terrible thing awaiting Earth, even is. It’s a real treat that
this superhero adventure, complete with capes, discussions of good and evil, and a
worthy, if unexpected, villain, is also a thoughtful, kind look at sibling rivalry and
the ways in which it can be both productive and destructive. Luke’s narration is pitch
perfect, providing just the right amount of snark, admiration, and cleverness to keep
readers in the loop without resorting to all of the intellectualizing or overthinking
his older brother applies to everything. A hinted-at sequel will be eagerly anticipated
by readers, who will want to return not only for the whizz-bang superhero stuff but
also for the memorable and carefully developed sibling dynamic. AS
S pinelli , J erry Mama Seeton’s Whistle; illus. by LeUyen Pham. Little,
2015 [34p]
ISBN 978-0-316-12217-7 $17.00
Reviewed from galleys R 5-7 yrs
“It was not a loud whistle. Or a fancy whistle. Just a simple, two-note whistle,”
yet when Mama Seeton whistles it reaches the ears of her four children down the
block, through the neighborhood, and across town, calling them home. After the
children grow up and leave home for adventurous careers, Papa Seeton encourages
his wife to try her whistle once more, and a bit of magic wafts her out-of-practice
tune to her far-flung children, bringing them back for a much-needed visit. Spinelli
sets his tender tribute to familial bonds square in mid-twentieth-century America,
celebrating the era without getting bogged down in sentimentality and instead
noting with gentle candor that the “old days became the new days” and “time
went by, as time does.” Pham’s line and watercolor illustrations nicely support this
clear-eyed look at the bittersweet passage of time; chipper vignettes are amusingly
threaded together with the swelling red line of Mama’s whistle, with the occasional
overhead perspective lacing the summoned together. Charming detail extends
beautifully to the last scene, where the grown Seeton brood whistle for their own
crew, which in modern America means more diverse but no less happy families.
While the empty-nest trope will appeal to adults more than kids, youngsters will
understand both the love and the silliness of a family call that reaches even adult
children instantly, and the book may provide an opportunity for parents to put
older family relationships into context. An author’s note explains the story is based
on a real Mama Seeton with a real family-calling whistle. AA
Spradlin, Michael P. Into the Killing Seas. Scholastic, 2015 [224p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-545-72602-3 $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-545-72603-0 $16.99
Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 4-7
Patrick and his younger brother, Teddy, have been separated from their parents ever