When is a comic not a comic? When it’s a book.
I have nothing against comic books, except that sometimes they can be a bit violent and they’re not always terribly well-written. Fortunately, there is a healthier alternative.
These books have superheroes and illustrations like comic books, but they’re non-violent and the vocabulary is age-appropriate.
Perfect Man – Michael Maxwell McAllum suspects that his teacher is Perfect Man’s alter ego. A heartwarming book with a wonderful ending. My favourite.
Atomic Ace (He’s Just My Dad) – Atomic Ace misses his son’s recital because he’s battling crime. Even superhero dads mess up. The main text is written as a poem; the illustrations are very similar to a comic book.
Max – Born into a legendary family of superheroes, will little Max ever develop superpowers? The illustrations, and the characters, are cute and endearing.
Superhero ABC – From Astro-Man is always alert for an alien attack, to The Zinger zanily zigzags through the zero zone. Author Bob Mcleod illustrated Spiderman and Superman comics before this.
There’s also Atomic Ace and the Robot Rampage, which is also excellent but might be a bit scary for younger readers. If you know of any other superhero books like these, please let me know.
We have borrowed a few of these titles from the library in the past and my kids enjoyed them. I have also found Graphic Novels to be very popular with them, especially when they want to understand the characters and plot of a story but they aren’t ready to read it themselves. For example, there is a graphic novel of The Hobbit that my son loved before he was ready to read the book.
Thanks for directing me here, and I've noted the other post. And as my son is called Max, I think you may have pointed me to a very good reading encourager.
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I just wanted to thank you for for taking the time to put all these great read’s on here! My 3-1/2 year old son is really into superhero’s these days (he wear’s his superman costume daily)
Thanks so much!
I’m glad there are so many kids out there who are interested in great books like these. And moms who find that it’s worth looking a bit further afield, to find something that’s not a straight comic book. (There will be time enough for them when the kids are a bit older.)
Kristy, if you search “superhero” on this blog you’ll find a few more as well. Finding these books seems to be something of an obsession with me – I’m always on the lookout!
Thanks for your comments, everyone.