Superheroes and not so superheroes come together for hijinks, secrets, maybe some friendships and one rad bath (and I don’t mean cool) in The Stupendous Switcheroo: New Powers Every 24 Hours by Mary Winn Heider.
This is a fun book for reluctant and readers alike. Both illustrations (by Chad Sell who seems to be known for cartoon like imagery (or at least by me, but his is the author/illustrator to the Cardboard Kingdom graphic novel series) that are colorful, round, and bubbly, silly and familiar all at once. They are kid friendly and allow the tone of the story to come through) and text, make this a novel and graphics novel combo. Everything allows the funny but gives you the adventure (we have a missing mom, some bad guys/villains who might not be so villainous, their super-villain (or not) kids, and the maybe/maybe not hero) but gives you time to make your own conclusions from what is presented. You see what is happening, and as we follow the Stupendous Switcheroo himself, we must ask, “Who is good? Who is bad? And who wants to use the teleporter?”
The superhero story takes on the contemporary idea that just because you are labeled a hero, or a villain, does not automatically make you one. And when our main character/narrator wakes up with his own superpowers (a new one each day) he learns that sometimes having empathy or talking to cats is the greatest superpower of them all (though flying and super strength are right up there).
