134,756
edits
Changes
From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to searchHere Come the Superheroes by Neal Zetter and Chris White (view source)
Revision as of 10:52, 22 August 2017
, 10:52, 22 August 2017Created page with "{{infobox |title=Here Come the Superheroes |author=Neal Zetter and Chris White |reviewer=John Lloyd |genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse |summary= Not the most beautiful book ev..."
{{infobox
|title=Here Come the Superheroes
|author=Neal Zetter and Chris White
|reviewer=John Lloyd
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
|summary= Not the most beautiful book ever, but this collection of quick and bouncy raps will appeal to the young fan of both poetry and superheroes.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=64
|publisher=Troika Books
|date=June 2017
|isbn=9781909991460
|website=https://www.cccpworkshops.co.uk/neal-zetter/
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909991465</amazonuk>
}}
I'm quite sure you're well aware of the spate of superhero movies doing the rounds these days, with any and every star of the comics page seemingly on the big screen – and the small. They're everywhere, and their numbers are only growing. But here is a unique chance to meet a few more – Mega Slug, Micro Girl, Magnetic Me, Sister Speed – even one calling himself the Ultimate Superhero. But we're not meeting them in a well-established comic universe, or with some horrid and convoluted back story. No, we're being introduced to them all in the format of verse – and for the young superhero and/or poetry fan this clearly has an instant appeal.
That's not to say the visuals will have much appeal for the adult audience checking this out before handing down to a child, for the cartoonish illustrations really are garish, broadly inked and brashly coloured. But I have to applaud this book regardless, for in presenting a varied selection of poems in the format of a full-colour superhero comic (complete with trivia factoids as asides and databanks for all the new superheroes) it really can latch on to the coat-tails of the real superheroes the target audience already know and love, and get them reading some real verse at the same time.
Yes, a couple of the poems are a bit weak, but they never outstay their welcome – they all fit on one side, and everything comes with the full-colour illustration relevant to the topic. And not all the subjects are new characters – you get a look at the onomatopoeia of the superhero world, you read the lament of the supervillain who only wants renown and recognition – and you also get a glimpse into the future, when superheroes don't have any public phone boxes in which to change clothes any more…
I also liked the whimsical verse of the man dating the Invisible Lady – yes, while a lot of these characters are clearly thinly disguised versions of the 'real' thing, enough is made to make these verses about them interesting and diverse. They all come in a bouncy meter, with an easily-heard rhyming scheme. They can be read very comfortably and quickly as a rap – some even have a slight call-and-response element – and clearly prove the author's standing as a schools-based performance poet. I don't think the book is superlative, but it certainly isn't stuffy, never looks dry, and does do what it aims to do – provides for a kinetic, visual poetry book that connects to a never-ending aspect of modern culture, meaning this has a great deal about it to appeal to the young.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
There is also a rhyme here to make the reader's mother a superhero – [[The Dictionary of Dads: Poems by Justin Coe and Steve Wells]] suggests the father can be too, as well as host of other things.
{{amazontext|amazon=1909991465}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=1909991465}}
{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Confident Readers]]
[[Category:Neal Zetter]]
[[Category:Chris White]]
|title=Here Come the Superheroes
|author=Neal Zetter and Chris White
|reviewer=John Lloyd
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
|summary= Not the most beautiful book ever, but this collection of quick and bouncy raps will appeal to the young fan of both poetry and superheroes.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=64
|publisher=Troika Books
|date=June 2017
|isbn=9781909991460
|website=https://www.cccpworkshops.co.uk/neal-zetter/
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909991465</amazonuk>
}}
I'm quite sure you're well aware of the spate of superhero movies doing the rounds these days, with any and every star of the comics page seemingly on the big screen – and the small. They're everywhere, and their numbers are only growing. But here is a unique chance to meet a few more – Mega Slug, Micro Girl, Magnetic Me, Sister Speed – even one calling himself the Ultimate Superhero. But we're not meeting them in a well-established comic universe, or with some horrid and convoluted back story. No, we're being introduced to them all in the format of verse – and for the young superhero and/or poetry fan this clearly has an instant appeal.
That's not to say the visuals will have much appeal for the adult audience checking this out before handing down to a child, for the cartoonish illustrations really are garish, broadly inked and brashly coloured. But I have to applaud this book regardless, for in presenting a varied selection of poems in the format of a full-colour superhero comic (complete with trivia factoids as asides and databanks for all the new superheroes) it really can latch on to the coat-tails of the real superheroes the target audience already know and love, and get them reading some real verse at the same time.
Yes, a couple of the poems are a bit weak, but they never outstay their welcome – they all fit on one side, and everything comes with the full-colour illustration relevant to the topic. And not all the subjects are new characters – you get a look at the onomatopoeia of the superhero world, you read the lament of the supervillain who only wants renown and recognition – and you also get a glimpse into the future, when superheroes don't have any public phone boxes in which to change clothes any more…
I also liked the whimsical verse of the man dating the Invisible Lady – yes, while a lot of these characters are clearly thinly disguised versions of the 'real' thing, enough is made to make these verses about them interesting and diverse. They all come in a bouncy meter, with an easily-heard rhyming scheme. They can be read very comfortably and quickly as a rap – some even have a slight call-and-response element – and clearly prove the author's standing as a schools-based performance poet. I don't think the book is superlative, but it certainly isn't stuffy, never looks dry, and does do what it aims to do – provides for a kinetic, visual poetry book that connects to a never-ending aspect of modern culture, meaning this has a great deal about it to appeal to the young.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
There is also a rhyme here to make the reader's mother a superhero – [[The Dictionary of Dads: Poems by Justin Coe and Steve Wells]] suggests the father can be too, as well as host of other things.
{{amazontext|amazon=1909991465}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=1909991465}}
{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Confident Readers]]
[[Category:Neal Zetter]]
[[Category:Chris White]]
