Superhero - Hardcover

Tauss, Marc

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439627346 ISBN 13: 9780439627344

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2005

Synopsis

Every kid wants to be a SUPERHERO!

Maleek may be a small boy in a big city, but he's no ordinary kid. He's a scientist and a superhero! So when his beloved city's parks and playgrounds mysteriously disappear, it's up to Maleek and his robot Marvyn to save the day.

Marc Tauss's mesmerizing black-and-white photo-illustrations bring every young superhero's fantasy to life.

About this title

About the Author:

Marc Tauss is a photo-illustrator and a writer. He spent his childhood inventing gadgets and daydreaming - still two of his favorite activities. He has photo-illustrated Desiderata: Words for Life by Max Ehrmann, Leaf by Leaf by Barbara Rogasky, and Half-Human edited by Bruce Coville. And for more than twenty years, his distinctive photographs have graced countless book jackets, including the Scholastic Press books Learning to Swim and the forthcoming Hard Hit by Ann Turner, and Drawing Lessons and Birdland by Tracy Mack.
Superhero, Marc Tauss's debut as both author and artist, brings every young superhero's fantasy to life through spare text and mesmerizing black-and-white photo-illustrations. Maleek may be a small boy in a big city, but he's no ordinary kid. He's a scientist and a superhero! So when his beloved city's parks and playgrounds mysteriously disappear, it's up to Maleek and his robot Marvyn to save the day.
Marc Tauss lives in New York City.

Review:

Booklist 8/05
Tauss, Marc. Superhero. Sept. 2005. 40p. illus. Scholastic, $16.99 (0-439-62734-6).
PreS Gr. 2. In this picture book's opening photo, an African American boy, Maleek, gazes upon a comic book, face bathed in light from its glowing pages. The scene encapsulates the sense of wonder that superhero tales hold for children. But Maleek isn't just a consumer of secondhand adventure. He keeps HIS superhero costume in a top secret hiding place,” and he springs into action when the parks and playgrounds in his metropolis mysteriously disappear. The story is unexceptional, but the photographs used to illustrate it are a powerful draw. Tauss, whose work can also be found in Barbara Rogansky's Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems (2001), shoots in high-contrast black-and-white, with rich, silvery results reminiscent of the retro sf film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. But even children who don't grasp the nostalgic references will enjoy the mix of realism and unabashed artifice in the photos, as well as the kid-driven heroics. Pull out Brian Pinkney's The Adventures of Sparrowboy (1997) or George O'Connor's Ka-Pow! (2003) and Ker-Splash! (2005) for more kids in capes. Jennifer Mattson

Kirkus 8/15
Maleek is deeply enamored of superhero comic books. Reading about their adventures fuels his active imagination and leads him to create his own. He has a secret identity complete with hidden costume; there's also a laboratory filled with his invented gadgets. Since every superhero is motivated by the desire to do good deeds, when all the city parks disappear, it's Maleek to the rescue. With his robot assistant, Marvyn, and a Time-O-Matic-Whenever-Wherever machine, he goes back in time to collect plants. Back home he uses these specimens to create a formula for Gigundo Juice, which he spreads around the city to recreate the parks and save the day. Tauss has created a feather-light tale that celebrates a child's creativity and offers a positive spin on the comic-book format. Unique black-and-white collage photography captures just the right atmosphere for a super adventure. Bravo, Maleek. (Picture book. 5-9)

SLJ 12/1/05
TAUSS, Marc. Superhero. unpaged. photos. CIP. Scholastic. 2005. RTE $16.99. ISBN 0-439-62734-6. LC 2004025034.
K-Gr 3 A lackluster tale of a boy with a secret identity. Maleek loves comic books, and he also invents amazing gadgets. When he sees the newspaper headline that reads, CITY PARKS & PLAYGROUNDS VANISH OVERNIGHT,” he springs into action. Wearing his superhero cape and goggles, he and his robot, Marvyn, jump into a time machine and travel 500 years into the past to collect plant and flower specimens, which they use to concoct gigundo juice.” Back in the present, he sprinkles it all over the city, achieving the desired effect lush, larger-than-life vegetation everywhere, including the skyscrapers' rooftops. The book is illustrated with black-and-white photographs that appear posed and static. The lack of a tangible villain also detracts from the plot and adventure. Everyone knows that superheroes fight bad guys. While teachers might want to use this title as an alternate read-aloud for Earth Day, youngsters yearning for comic-book action will be sorely disappointed. Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools
PW In Tauss's (Leaf by Leaf) inventive if uneven photo-illustrated tale, a boy urban-dweller named Maleek puts aside his beloved superhero comic books and assumes his own crime-fighting identity (complete with costume cape and goggles). Maleek awakes one day to discover that all the city's parks and playgrounds have vanished. With his trusty robot, Marvyn, at his side, and the help of the "time-o-matic-whenever-wherever machine," the hero heads back 500 years and assembles plants into a growth-accelerating "Gigundo Juice." Maleek and Marvyn then hop into a soda-pop-powered flying thingamajig called a Gyropod and restore al

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0439627346
• ISBN 13: 9780439627344
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Tauss Marc