A Little Bit Super: With Small Powers Come Big Problems

Gr 5 Up–A collection of 13 stories, each written by a different author, centering ordinary characters with semi-extraordinary powers. The superpower is often small and easily missed by others, but can be inconvenient to the main character. When Meg Medina’s Carla Perez, who has the power to shapeshift into a guinea pig, finds herself in a position where she must shift quickly, it requires removing all her clothes before doing so: “Geez! If anybody finds me in puris naturalibis and with my head in a cage, I’ll be a guidance department case with no hope for parole.” In Daniel Nayeri’s dialogic entry, a boy grapples with a demon attached to his body in the shape of a claw. The line-up is full of notable authors, including Linda Sue Park, Brian Young, and Ibi Zoboi, and the majority of the entries are quite humorous. This book contains some language and imagery that may invoke some negative or scared feelings, and therefore may not be appropriate for younger children. Comic-panel artwork by Krosoczka is dispersed throughout. Diverse characters appear in each chapter.