A book review by Mr. B. at the Grandview Branch:
With an
unstated nod to Harry Potter, arm-chair storyteller/narrator Greg Trine
has created the humorous chapter-book level series Melvin Beederman
Superhero. Let’s take as look at the first and (randomly) the fourth books
in the series. Volume 1, “The Curse of the Bologna Sandwich,” begins as orphan
Melvin is graduating from The Superhero Academy. His assignment is to set up
shop in Los Angeles, “where there hasn’t been a hero since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.” When the cleaners mistakenly sends his super powers cape to Candace Brinkwater,
third-grade actress, Melvin gallantly gives her half his cape, and inherits a
partner in un-crime. Together, they discover that their super-weakness is not
Kryptonite, but bologna. In the remaining chapters, they must overcome a bologna
trap set by the villainous McNasty Brothers, as well as an interfering
narrator.
In Volume 4, “Terror in Tights,” the dynamic duo faces more bologna;
country music; Melvin’s former Academy classmate, Carl, who has turned Superbad;
and that pesky narrator. Running gags abound from chapter to chapter and book to
book. This silly, popular series of nine titles features a self-conscious
narrator, puns and jokes, real and imagined Los Angeles area landmarks, and the
singular warmth of a “favorite uncle” storyteller.
RL: Grades 3-4
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