Attack of the Alien Horde (Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape #1) by Robert Venditti, Dusty Higgins (Illustrations)

This superhero book has a strong character arc, layered themes, and hero's journey to create a humorous and entertaining read that mixes comic illustrations with narrative text. The technique strengthens the story and will help readers because every time Miles turns into a superhero the text becomes a comic strip with speech bubbles. It works particularly well with the story and is funnier because of the visual of a small middle school boy turning into a six foot five, muscular caped crusader. Seventh grade was the ultimate in awkward periods for me and I would have loved this book with its alter-ego protagonist who deals with middle school peer pressure and identity that is grounded in strong morals.

Miles Taylor is the new kid in school and he is bullied by the star football player and his flunkeys. If it isn't coke dumped on him, it's food getting stolen, or verbal abuse. He takes it as best he can and even tries to fight it but always ends up on the losing side. Worse, Josie sees it all - the girl he has a crush on at school. Top that off his parents have gotten divorced as his mom ran off with another man. She calls once a week and Miles feels angry and frustrated. The divorce has meant his dad, an electrician, has had to move into a small apartment and they don't have enough money to pay the bills. The reader never learns the mom's career or even if she had one, but I assume so since Miles and his dad are so short on cash.

The strong character arc and definition of what makes a hero is what kept me engrossed in the story. Miles is pretty clueless and downright stupid at times which makes him the antithesis of the conventional superhero. When he goes with his dad on a job and ends up with a magical cape in his hands from the previous superhero, it is obvious that its going to be hard to save the world when you have to be in school all day long. Miles hooks up with genius and superhero aficionado, Henry Matte, who helps him discover and manipulate the powers of the cape (and use his brain power more efficiently).

The two figure out that in order to use the cape, thoughts must be on others and not oneself or the promotion of oneself. The cape will not work if the user has any thoughts on pride, domination, or using it for personal gain. Miles learns to deal with power humbly. He also learns that to be a hero he must be willing to die even though the odds are so against him. He must act because to do nothing is unacceptable. At the climax Miles realizes that he might not be the smartest, or best looking, or athletic, or exceptional, but he is good and he can use that to better the world. When he fights the Gaarls and the odds look bad, it is an outside force that rescues him. This is like the hero's journey in the "Lord of the Rings." It involves a character dealing with the corruption of power and going on quest or journey that will most like fail and being rescued by others.

The play on words and cartoonish villains are a hoot. The Unnd's not only stand for the prefix "un", or not, their name is used in all the words such as unhappy- they are un(nd)happy, un(nd)friendly, un(nd)inviting, un(nd)amusing. It reminds me of "ikke" in Norwegian which means "not" - an influence on Midwesterners use of the phrase, "ick!"when Scandinavian immigrants moved there. And while the villain, Commander Lord Calamity, is a tyrant that kills a servant that displeases him in a cruel way, he bows to his mother who calls him "Oggie" and makes his favorite rancid soup. Calamity is evil incarnate and quite silly. When he sees Earth for the first time he feels moved by its beauty but he has no inkling what the concept means. One of his soldiers has to explain it to him. The Commander might have a thing or two to learn from the earthlings and suggests that he is not beyond redemption and the ending shows that evil exists on Earth too as well as with the aliens. The General (from Earth) sees his rescuers as aliens with too much power (reminds me of the Transformers movie plot). The end definitely implies a sequel. Nothing too serious here, folks, and one that young readers will find fun and funny.

4 Smileys

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman

Isabel is the best bunjitsu bunny in her school.  She may appear like a cute little thing, but don't be fooled. She'll high kick and outsmart anyone. Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny is an early reader with a unique mix of 12 fable-like tales and martial arts. I have never come across anything quite like it. The bunny's skills come from an ancient Japanese martial art called, jujitsu, that teaches self-defense while building individual awareness and self-confidence. It does not rely on strength or weapons, but hand-to-hand combat and technique. Each chapter has a moral that the reader has to figure out along with Isabel who is is either practicing jujitsu techniques or in a contest or combatant setting. The humorous illustrations show a bunch of pirates sinking in a boat as Isabel outwits them to her brother accidentally pole-vaulting himself several miles away. The cartoonish characters and situations make for great fun.

The first chapter has Isabel thinking creatively when faced with a problem. The reader gets dumped into the middle of the story with not much setup. Short like a fable and designed to impart wisdom, it looks at issues children deal with or is funny. At the start, the pack of martial art student-bunnies are trying to use their strength and varied jujitsu moves to break down a door. The last move is a good laugh as they try the "running bunjitsu head butt!" at which point Isabel opens the door and lets them in. She ditched the group in the middle of their efforts and climbed through a window into the locked room. Not only does this show the lesson to not rely on strength, which is a teaching of jujitsu, but it shows creative problem-solving.

The next chapter has pirates underestimating Isabel's bunny power as they try to bully her into giving them her boat. She overthrows them all using several different jujitsu moves and watches them sink in her boat. The twist on the Tortoise and the Hare fable has the moral that winning comes from envisioning yourself victorious and having positive self-talk. Other lessons are on how to avoid a fight, practice hard to improve skills, and face your worries. In an ironic twist, Isabel plays hide-and-seek with her friends but is so good at "disappearing," they can't find her. Bored she lets herself be easily found the next time they play. When her friend confronts her, she replies, "Its more fun to be found by friends than lost by friends." Young readers love books on friendship and will be able to relate to this message. I oftentimes find fables somewhat terse and too short, but that isn't the case here. While I did think the first two chapters were abrupt (as I usually feel with fables), John Himmelman does a terrific job with craft and I slipped into the action-packed storyline and illustrations quickly.

Another short chapter has a metaphor of an angry wave that can be applied to something upsetting in life. Bunjitsu bunny discovers that anger is best dealt with by not fighting it but letting it run its course. At first she fights the wave, but later rides it and learns to have fun. She is learning to control her emotions and build confidence in herself. Again, young readers are trying to control their emotions, as well as, make friends and gain confidence as they grow older. These messages are cleverly hidden as the reader enjoys the surface story. This book could also be used with older students that struggle to find depth in novels. One could simplify the concept with the short chapters.

Perhaps bunjitsu bunny is really more like judo which was invented by a man that learned jujitsu and then created his own moves. Here, the bunny creates her own fables mixing in martial arts. At the end when a boulder crushes her flower garden, she responds by turning it into a rock garden. Flexibility and adapting to changes is another jujitsu skill that any person can apply to different situations in life. Kids should love the simple black, white, and red illustrations, fun storyline, messages with some depth. Because it is for younger it might require an adult explanation. A good read aloud with your child or class.

5 Smileys