Kid Normal and the Rogue Heroes

by Greg James, Chris Smith, Erica Salcedo (Illustrator)

Overview

“Should appeal to readers who enjoy the Captain Underpants and Wimpy Kid series.” - School Library Connection on Kid Normal

Since becoming Kid Normal, Murph Cooper and the Super Zeroes – fellow students with arguably less-than-useful talents like the ability to conjure tiny horses from thin air – have been catching bad guys all over the place. But being a hero isn't easy, especially when you can't tell anyone about your epic adventures and your classmates still don't believe you've got what it takes.

And then, far away in a top-secret prison, the world's most feared supervillain breaks his thirty-year silence. His first words? “Bring Kid Normal to me!” This supervillain was responsible for stealing the powers from some of the greatest Heroes Alliance members of all time. Does Murph have what it takes to bring him down?

With black-and-white illustrations throughout, this laugh-out-loud story proves that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547600984
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Series:	Kid Normal
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	403,513
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Greg James is a familiar voice and face on UK radio and TV. He's the host of UK BBC Radio 1's award-winning Drivetime show and Official Chart music broadcast. On screen, Greg has hosted a variety of shows, including the recent special BBC Children in Need, and in 2016 he raised over a million dollars for the charity Sport Relief by completing five triathlons in five cities in five days. He has no superpowers. In his spare time he enjoys the idea of having hobbies, but always tends to turn those hobbies into work.
@gregjames

Chris Smith is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster who delivers the news to millions of people every day as the presenter of Newsbeat on the UK's BBC Radio 1. Chris enjoyed a previous, glittering, literary career as the winner of the H.E. Bates Short Story Competition 1981 (under-ten category). Chris has no superpowers either, although he enjoys pretending his cat Mabel can fly by picking her up and running around.
@itschrissmith

kidnormal.com

Editorial Reviews

A funny, quirky, action-filled adventure.” —SLC

“Should appeal to readers who enjoy the Captain Underpants and Wimpy Kid series.” —School Library Connection on KID NORMAL

“Packed with dry wit . . . Salcedo's playfully frenetic illustrations complement James and Smith's silly adventure and its good-natured sense of wonder.” —Publishers Weekly on KID NORMAL

“James and Smith show how an unassuming boy can save the day: with equal parts heart and oddball jokes.” —Kirkus Reviews on KID NORMAL

“The Super Zeroes . . . spring into action and, through teamwork, demonstrate that leadership ability, selfless courage, and people skills are as 'super' as any other powers.” —Booklist on KID NORMAL

From the Publisher

2019-02-06

Kid Normal and his friends save the day again in this very normal sequel.

Murph Cooper has settled happily into his school for young superheroes, hanging with his group of strangely Caped friends despite the fact that he doesn't have a Capability of his own. Some kids and teachers think he doesn't belong, but his other heroic qualities mean that he's been accepted into the elite Heroes' Alliance. His power-less alignment with powerful friends makes him a perfect target for Magpie, a villain who steals Capabilities from other heroes and wreaked havoc on the Caped community 30 years ago. Magpie is safely quarantined, but Murph finds himself an unwitting pawn in the villain's plan to escape. The plot-by-numbers includes some flashbacks, a mystery to solve, adults who are either bumbling or helpful, and a heroic rescue, with wholly unremarkable characters driving the action. This kind of story benefits from a fast-moving plot, but chapters bog down in the tangents, digressions, and authorial asides that aim for zany and clever but quickly become cumulatively exhausting. The humor sometimes lands, but it also veers into lazy or cruel territory, especially when it treats fat people as punchlines. Brown-skinned Nellie and Asian-presenting Billy, two of Murph's friends, again provide most of the primary-cast diversity, though much of the rest of the student body is as white as Murph.

A lengthy trek, mostly appealing to readers who loved the first installment. (Adventure. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

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