Abstract
Reviewed by: The Adventures of Beanboy Kate Quealy-Gainer Harkrader, Lisa . The Adventures of Beanboy; written and illus. by Lisa Harkrader. Houghton, 2012. [240p]. Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-547-55078-7 $9.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-547-55083-1 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-6. Comic-book connoisseur Tucker McBean sees an opportunity to help out his struggling single mother when the makers of his favorite superhero, H2O, announce a contest with a hefty prize for the designer of the best superhero sidekick—and if it happens to jumpstart Tucker's career as a comic-book artist, well, that's just a bonus. Unfortunately, between seventh-grade schoolwork and looking after his little brother, Tucker doesn't have much free time to devote to his budding comic creation, Beanboy, and even after his mother hires a babysitter (who, unbeknownst to her, is Tucker's arch-nemesis and the school bully), Tucker can't quite find the right inspiration for his character's heroics and the deadline for the contest is looming. Will Beanboy manage to save the day, or will Tucker find out that he's just an average nobody after all? Harkrader carefully surrounds a considerable amount of warmth and complexity with fart humor and boyish hijinks, so that readers coming for the wackiness of a flatulent caped crusader may also find themselves pleasantly surprised by the emotional resonance and nuance of Tucker's tale. There are some pretty heavy character dynamics going on here, including Tucker's role as caretaker for his developmentally challenged brother as well as his unexpected support for [End Page 306] Sam, the aforementioned bully, but these interactions thankfully never veer towards melodrama or preachiness, instead allowing readers enough space to consider how they themselves would act under Tucker's circumstances. While superhero fans may be disappointed by the lack of an epic good-versus-evil battle, most readers will simply be pleased to see Tucker get a happy ending while Beanboy gets to fight another day. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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