When it comes to superheroes, there are the loners like
Superman, Spiderman, Aquaman, and Thor.
Then there are the ones with sidekicks.
The most famous being Batman and Robin.
In Lisa Harkrader’s wonderful book The
Adventures of Beanboy the world is introduced to the next major
sidekick. Tucker MacBean’s life is in
turmoil. Tucker is a seventh-grader
trying to make it in life. His recently
divorced parents are not so pleasant to each other. His younger brother has special needs. His mom works too much, and is overwhelmed
with getting her degree. A girl named Sam bullies him, and to make matters
worst his favorite comic book is not being published for months.
As he finishes the final issue of the comic he reads about a
contest the publisher has to find the perfect sidekick for the superhero. The grand prize is a scholarship to
university. Tucker sees this as the
solution to all his problems.
The Adventures of
Beanboy is quirky. What made this
book so enjoyable were the relationships between the characters. Tucker grows emotionally during this
turbulent year. He learns that his
actions greatly impact those around him, and appearances can be very deceiving. There are touching parts when Tucker realizes
why his archenemy and tormentor acts the way she does. There are funny parts. Let’s get real the
superhero is called Beanboy, so you know what the superpower has to be.
In my opinion this is a fourth grade and above book.
PS I know it has been along time since my last post.
