Published by Nancy Paulsen Books

Summary:  Bobby Beacon has a superhero’s name (“beacons lead people and show them the way”), and now he’s off to a superhero’s school, Academy of Kids With Awesome Abilities, or AKWAA.  His superpower is light and fire, but sometimes if he gets angry, his powers overwhelm him, and he ends up destroying things.  His first teacher, Ms. Flores, doesn’t always treat him respectfully, and Bobby ends up melting his chair.  Having witnessed another student, Pause, get expelled and sent to the Institute of Superpowers for misusing her superpowers, Bobby is afraid he’s headed in that direction.  But a smaller class and a more understanding teacher, Miss Brooklyn, make him feel welcome at school and give him strategies for channeling his powers.  He needs those strategies when the head of the Institute and Pause come looking for him.  He manages to defeat the head and puts in a good word for Pause to get her readmitted to AKWAA.  It’s a happy ending, and the final page hints that a sequel may be in store.  40 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  Fun comic book meets Black empowerment in this story of superhero kids learning to channel their powers for goods.  Miss Brooklyn provides a great model for a compassionate teacher, showing the importance of listening and using empathy to reach kids.  The cover and illustrations make this a book that will fly off the library shelves.

Cons:  This felt like it would have worked better as a longer graphic novel with more character and plot development.