Super Spaghetti

by Rebecca Donnelly, Bonnie Lui (Illustrator)

Overview

A laugh-out-loud funny picture book about an unexpected superhero for fans of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs filled with humor and fun and lots of spaghetti!

Meet Fred, a boy who loves spaghetti. Fred's mom is an inventor, and when she builds a machine that can turn anything into spaghetti, Fred thinks life will be nothing but noodles from here on out. But when Fred himself accidentally ends up in the amazing spaghetti-making machine, Fred finds himself transformed. He becomes Super Spaghetti! (A superhero made entirely of spaghetti.) Is this spaghetti-crazy-boy-turned-superhero made of the right stuff to save his town?

With fun comics-style action, this is a superhero story that will have readers laughing and cheering for Super Spaghetti! Rebecca Donnelly's funny read-aloud text and Bonnie Lui's bright, action-packed art make this an irresistible story!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250860927
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	01/04/2022
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rebecca Donnelly is the author of many best-loved books for children. Her debut picture book, Cats Are a Liquid, was nominated for the Mewbery Award. Her debut middle-grade novel, How to Stage a Catastrophe, was an Indies Introduce/Kids’ Indie Next pick. Rebecca writes, studies cats, and works as a children's librarian in northern New York.

Bonnie Lui is an illustrator and storyteller who loves to play. Her work can be found in books, games and television. She is always looking for ways to create fun in all forms of media for everyone to enjoy. Besides making art, Bonnie also enjoys playing the ukulele and the piano. Bonnie lives in Los Angeles where it is over 75°F and sunny everyday.

Rebecca Donnelly was born in England and has lived in California, Florida, and New Mexico. She has an MA in Humanities and a Master’s in Library and Information Science. She is the author of many best-loved books for children, including Cats Are a Liquid (nominated for the Mewbery Award), How Slippery Is a Banana Peel?, and Super Spaghetti. Her debut middle-grade novel, How to Stage a Catastrophe, was an Indies Introduce/Kids’ Indie Next pick. Rebecca lives in and writes from northern New York.

Editorial Reviews

2021-08-11
Fred absolutely adores almost everything about spaghetti. The only thing he doesn’t like is how long it takes to cook.

Luckily, Fred’s mother is an inventor, and when he asks her to create a machine to cook spaghetti faster, she invents the Spaghetti-Tronic Electro-Spaghetti Zapper, which takes 10 seconds to turn anything into spaghetti. One day, after eating so much spaghetti that he can barely move, Fred forgets to turn off the machine. When he realizes his mistake, he gets sucked into the Zapper and turned into spaghetti himself. The spaghetti seems to give him superpowers, and before long, a crowd is chasing him through the streets, calling him a superhero. At first Fred is frightened, but when disaster strikes, he realizes he can use “pasta power” to save the day. The book’s illustrations are vibrant and colorful, and the clever textual design creates an appropriately comicslike feel. Unfortunately, the plot meanders and is difficult to follow. It is unclear whether or not Fred is actually turned into spaghetti (it just looks like he’s covered in the stuff) or what his superpowers are. Although the ending is humorous and sweet and the mother character is particularly quirky and fun, overall, the disjointed narrative makes the book difficult to follow. Both Fred and his mom have brown skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Plot holes make this one hard to digest. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews