Even Superheroes Get Scared

by Shelly Becker, Eda Kaban (Illustrator)

Overview

When Superheroes feel worried or scared,
When they fret, when they sweat, when they feel unprepared . . .

They could run off screeching, they could but they don’t.
Because real superheroes just wouldn’t, they won’t.
 
Even superheroes get scared sometimes. When that happens, do they run and hide? NO! They acknowledge the feeling, then choose to be brave! There are villains to fight and cities to save! Young readers can follow the superheroes’ examples and take deep breaths, ask for help, and face new challenges.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454943426
Publisher:	Union Square Kids
Publication date:	01/24/2023
Series:	Superheroes Are Just Like Us
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	115,163
Product dimensions:	10.60(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Shelly Becker is the author of Sterling’s Even Superheroes Have Bad Days (a 2018 Blue Spruce Award Nominee), which Kirkus called “an action-packed romp,” and Mine! Mine! Mine!, which has been included in many top five and top ten lists of books to teach the concept of sharing. In addition, Shelly is the author of more than fifteen children’s novelty books. She lives in Toronto, Canada. Follow her on Instagram at @shellybeckerbooks.

Eda Kaban was born and raised in Turkey and studied illustration in the US. Her work has appeared in a wide variety of publications and her illustrations have been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Creative Quarterly, American Illustration, and 3X3. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @petiteturk.

Editorial Reviews

The stylized depictions of superheroes are a lot of fun to look through.” —Kirkus Reviews 

“[C]olorful, action-packed, and memorable.” —Daily Mom

From the Publisher

2022-09-28
Superpowered beings tackle their fears (after some heavy-duty cowering).

This brave pack of superheroes may have names like Thrash, Zing, and Screecher, but please don’t think they’re fearless. As a gently rhyming text helps to explain, no matter how brave the superhero, they all have to face scary things from time to time, from stage fright and bugs to claustrophobia and the dark. With each of these examples we see a crew of petrified, cape-wearing good guys who won’t be able to save the day if they don’t act. A number of coping strategies are outlined for handling fears, including talking to mentors and questioning “scared inner voices.” The lesson here is not that superheroes don’t feel fear. Rather it’s that “they feel fear, then choose to be brave!” The stylized depictions of superheroes are a lot of fun to look through, though the advice can on occasion be a bit adult and too vague for everyday use (particularly when saying superheroes “calculate risks and make logical choices”). Rhymes scan with clockwork efficiency, though it’s unfortunate that the book does use the problematic term thug, as in “Imagine superheroes…afraid of bugs! / Would that prevent them from chasing thugs?” Both the superheroes and those around them are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Not quite super. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews