Arnold the Super-ish Hero

Written by Heather Tekavec

Illustrated by Guillaume Perreault

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0309-8

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

2021

Arnold works in the family business, and that business is one of superheroes. They are superheroes like his super strong cousin and his super fast brother and his super bouncy uncle. But Arnold doesn't have a super power, yet, so, as they all wait for it to show up, Arnold is their phone guy.

From Arnold the Super-ish Hero by Heather Tekavec, illus. by Guillaume Perreault

Then a call comes in for a superhero and no one responds when Arnold sounds the alarm. So, determined to follow the family motto of "Stop the bad guy from being a bad guy," Arnold dusts off his great-grandmother's mask and cape to find the crime. But just getting to the crime scene becomes problematic. As he speeds to the scene, as best he can after taking the bus, he comes across situations he misinterprets. A young man yelling at a woman in a wheelchair is actually a grandson trying to tell his grandmother who has lost her hearing aid to keep her hands off the tires so he can push her safely. Arnold's solution of giving the woman a stray kitten to hold works miracles for the grandson, grandmother and even the kitten. He sees a little girl throwing things in the water until she reveals she's trying to feed a baby duck before the more aggressive adults get the food. Arnold comes to the rescue again. 

From Arnold the Super-ish Hero by Heather Tekavec, illus. by Guillaume Perreault

When Arnold finally gets to the called-in crime scene, he realizes that he can use his phone message-taking skills to good use to solve the problem and make two little girls very happy, with one declaring him a super-ish hero. After a few more good deeds, Arnold returns home to witness his efforts lauded on TV, with his family unaware that the Super Nice Guy superhero was their own family member. And that's a secret he's happy to keep to himself. (Oh, look, another superpower: keeping secrets!)

Kids love the idea of superheroes who can do beyond the norm, usually to fight crime and evil. But, if the past two years have shown us anything, it's that heroes come with all kinds of abilities, and goodness and kindness may be the greatest of all of these. As such, BC's Heather Tekavec has given us a humble character in Arnold, one who just wants to emulate his superhero family, but learns unintentionally that kindness is his strength. Even without trying for the spotlight, just stopping to offer assistance wherever help is needed, Arnold has become a hero. He's every guy and, with him, Heather Tekavec has shown us that anyone can be a hero.

From Arnold the Super-ish Hero by Heather Tekavec, illus. by Guillaume Perreault

Quebec illustrator Guillaume Perreault gives Arnold a banal look that works with the common person image. Except for a top-knot, there's not much to distinguish Arnold from anyone, including the reader. He doesn't stand out except when he does something kind. Guillaume Perreault may make Arnold's family members unique in their dress and skills but he makes Arnold stand out for his originality. In fact, Guillaume Perreault gives the whole book an understated feel with his choice of colours-no emphasis on bold primary colours–and blend of picture book illustrations with graphic novel boxes. Unlike most comic books about superheroes that bombard you with flash and action, Arnold the Super-ish Hero has the same restrained and easygoing appearance as does Arnold himself.

With a message that kindness is a superhero talent available to anyone, even Arnold, young readers will cheer for him and anyone who does good, knowing that the goodness comes in the doing, not from the recognition or the celebrity.

Sleep, Sheep!

Written by Kerry Lyn Sparrow

Illustrated by Guillaume Perreault

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-796-5

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

October 2018

Duncan may be the little guy who can defer sleep with an endless stream of demands and excuses but he meets his match in Sheep #68, one of the counting sheep Duncan needs to help him fall asleep. Getting a sheep to jump in its predetermined sequence seems to be as hard as getting a little one to sleep. Go figure.

From Sleep, Sheep! by Kerry Lyn Sparrow, illus. by Guillaume Perreault

Duncan didn't mind going to bed but he'd do anything to avoid sleep. He would need to change his jammies, to change his socks, to get a night light or two, to get a drink of water, to read another story, to find his favourite toy, to change his pillow, etc., etc., etc. But one night, his clever mother makes sure every thing he might ever need and more is in his room (except for the washroom). When he declares he is not sleepy, she recommends that he count sheep.

From Sleep, Sheep! by Kerry Lyn Sparrow, illus. by Guillaume Perreault

Soon a barrage of sheep, labelled with different coloured race numbers, are jumping over Duncan's bed and he counts. He starts to get sleepy but he has to sit up when Sheep #68 refuses to jump. Seems there's always something to prevent Sheep #68 from leaping and keeping up Duncan's count. With every request, Duncan gives in. Water, bathroom, the need to stretch, consider his green socks, and on and on. Eventually Duncan recommends that Sheep #68 join, without leaping over the bed, the first sixty-seven sheep already sleeping on one side of the bedroom. And with that, Duncan and Sheep #1 through #68 are asleep. 

Who knew that bedtime could be so exhausting?

What a turnaround of a story, from little boy who frustrates his mother with his relentless bedtime demands to a sheep frustrating the same boy with its exhaustive appeals. It's probably maddening for all concerned: mother, child, sheep. But, told with the seriousness of children who are trying to reason their way through difficult situations, it's actually maddeningly absurd. But, Kerry Lyn Sparrow, parent and teacher, seems to know how to handle the wearisome bedtime antics of children and makes sure that Duncan gets as good as he gives without any nastiness or offence. In Sleep, Sheep!, Kerry Lyn Sparrow's first book, she gives Duncan and Sheep #68 true voices that reflect their anxieties and resoluteness but still makes them empathetic characters.

From Sleep, Sheep! by Kerry Lyn Sparrow, illus. by Guillaume Perreault

Even Quebec's Guillaume Perreault makes his cartoon characters relatable, giving them expressions of confusion, embarrassment, fear and even pleasure. I couldn't help but feel pity for Sheep #68.  Just as Duncan feels the pressure to fall asleep, it feels the pressure to perform. Appropriately, Guillaume Perreault, who shared the win for the 2017 Le Prix TD with Larry Tremblay for their book Même pas vrai (Éditions de la Bagnole, 2016), works with Kerry Lyn Sparrow's story to make it evident that compassion is required to help make an awkward situation right. After all, who is going to stay up all night waiting for one sheep to jump? Here's hoping Duncan wakes up in the morning still recognizing the similarity in the sheep's actions with his own and the consequent happy endings that come with sleep.