Captain Awesome and the Smile Snatcher

by Stan Kirby, Doc Moran (Illustrator)

Overview

Captain Awesome faces off with a suspicious photographer in the twenty-sixth Captain Awesome adventure!

The Sunnyview newspaper is writing a feature article on Ms. Beasley’s class, who raised the most food for the canned food drive this year. But Eugene doesn’t trust the journalist, who keeps asking questions and snapping photos with her camera. Could she secretly be the Smile Snatcher, plotting to steal the cans? It’s up to Captain Awesome to save the day...whatever you do, don’t say CHEESE!

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Captain Awesome chapter books are perfect for beginning readers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665958264
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	10/22/2024
Series:	Captain Awesome Series , #26
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.31(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Stan Kirby tied a beach towel around his neck and became Super Commander Beach Boy when he was six years old. When Stan’s not creating the awesome adventures of Captain Awesome, he loves reading comic books, eating okra, and hang gliding (but not at the same time).

Doc Moran is a visual artist and illustrator with over thirty years’ experience as a cartoonist, toy designer, prop maker, and set designer. He is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and has worked for clients including babyGap, Marvel Comics, Sesame Workshop, and many more. He has a dog named Archie.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1 The Can-Do Spirit

 

 

  “Cream of mushroom. Cream of asparagus. Cream of—yuck—spinach!”

  Normally, Eugene McGillicudy would want nothing to do with these creamy veggies in a can. But today they were like priceless treasure.

   

  “We’re gonna win the canned-food drive for sure!” Charlie said.

  “C’mon, let’s go!” Sally stood in the doorway of Ms. Beasley’s classroom. “We don’t want to be late to the final count.”

  Sally and Charlie followed as Eugene ran out of the classroom and down the hall. That’s when they saw it.

  THE PYRAMID.

   

  In the Sunnyview Elementary School gym, a large pile of canned food was stacked like a metal pyramid.

  The last time Eugene saw cans stacked so high was in Super Dude No. 49. That’s when Super Dude fought the dreaded Label-Maker Lou, who was putting the wrong labels on every can in his evil Warehouse Price Club of Doom.

   

   

  What’s that, you say? Who is Super Dude, you ask? Super Dude is truly the greatest superhero ever! He’s the star of the Super Dude comic books, plus movies and TV shows in the Super Dude Cinematic Universe.

  Super Dude was also the inspiration for Eugene to become Captain Awesome. He recruited his friends Sally and Charlie to form the Sunnyview Superhero Squad.

  “131... 132... 133...” Ms. Beasley counted the cans from her class. “We have 133 cans!”

   

  “That puts you in second place,” the principal said. “Mrs. Duncan’s class is in the lead by just four cans.”

  “WE’VE GOT MORE!” Eugene ran to the pyramid with his three cans, dropping two of them on the gym floor.

  Sally and Charlie rushed to pick them up and add them to the stack.

   

  “That’s 134, 135, and 136,” Ms. Beasley said. “We’re still behind Mrs. Duncan’s class by one can.”

  “But we’re out of cans,” Sally whispered.

   

  What would Super Dude do? Eugene asked himself.

  “Charlie,” he cried out. “Your secret power reserve! Our class needs your mightiest of cheese!”

  “I can do it!” As the superhero Nacho Cheese Man, Charlie kept two reserve cans of spray cheese in his backpack at all times.

  He pulled out the unopened cans of jalapeño cheddar. “I’ll miss you,” he said to the cans, “but this is a sacrifice a superhero must make.”

   

  Charlie placed them gently on the big pyramid of cans.

  “137... and 138,” Ms. Beasley said. Her class erupted in cheers as Eugene, Sally, and Charlie raised their arms in victory.

   

   

  “Congratulations to Ms. Beasley and her class,” the principal said. “The Sunnyview Food Bank will be well-stocked to help people who need an extra hand for the holidays. And you know what else this means for Ms. Beasley’s class!”

  “PIZZA PARTY!” The students let out a yell so big, it shook the cans.

   

   

  “It’s thanks to the donations I made first,” Meredith Mooney declared.

  Meredith was the pinkest girl in school. Today she wore a bright pink ribbon in her hair with matching pink shoes.

   

  “Well, you were the only one who brought cans of pink salmon,” Sally said.

  “Obviously,” Meredith replied, tossing her pigtails.

  “The important thing is that our class won!” Eugene exclaimed.

  “PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!” the class chanted.