Captain Awesome to the Rescue!

Stan Kirby's Captain Awesome to the Rescue is a superhero adventure for 5 year olds about a boy starting a new school with a secret identity and a class hamster to look after.

What happens

Eugene McGillicudy has just moved to a new town called Sunnyview. Tomorrow is his first day at a new school, and he is NOT happy about it. He's also got a very big secret. Underneath his ordinary clothes, Eugene is Captain Awesome!

He got the idea from Super Dude, the comic-book hero he loves more than anything. So he's got a cape (if only he could find it after the move), a battle cry ("MI-TEE!") and plenty of villains to fight. His baby sister Molly is Queen Stinkypants from Planet Baby. Who knew a baby could be so evil?

School brings a whole new set of baddies. Eugene decides his teacher, Ms Beasley, can read minds. Meredith Mooney, with her pink hair ribbons, laughs at him from the very first morning.

Then Ms Beasley puts Eugene in charge of Turbo, the class hamster. Meredith is furious (she's got a calendar to prove it was her turn). So when Turbo goes missing, Eugene has a real mission on his hands. A superhero can't let his first job at a new school go wrong, can he?

Reading it is like being inside Eugene's head while he's on high alert. Ordinary things become huge and dramatic. The loud footsteps in the corridor belong to Principal Brick Foot. Lunch is the Mystery Meatloaf Surprise (and yes, there's a surprise). Even getting tangled in his own cape is part of the adventure.

The story talks straight to your reader too, with whispered secrets and lots of shouting in CAPITALS. There are made-up words and silly sound effects all over the place, so it's super fun to read aloud.

Under all the jokes there's a sweet story about being the new kid. Eugene doesn't know where to sit at lunch. Then Charlie Thomas Jones waves him over, and it turns out Charlie loves Super Dude just as much as he does. If your reader has started somewhere new, that moment will probably feel very familiar.

What to read next

This is the first Captain Awesome book. If they're after another small boy with a big superhero secret, try Superdad's Day Off. Stanley's dad saves the world every day, and on his day off Stanley ends up doing the rescuing himself so his tired dad can rest.