Kid Amazing vs. the Blob

When an “extremely annoying howl” wafts through Jimmy’s house, he springs into action: this is a job for his superhero alter ego, Kid Amazing. After taking a secret elevator to his high-tech underground lair—depicted in an elaborate cutaway illustration—and suiting up in his superhero attire, Kid Amazing gets his assignment from the Commissioner (Mom) and tracks the howl (and an accompanying stench) to a high chair containing the Blob (his baby sister). Her calamity is twofold: she has dropped her pacifier (“the howl neutralizer”), a situation that Kid Amazing expertly remedies, and she has a wet diaper, which he sagely leaves for the Commissioner to deal with (“the Blob needs a new stink-containment unit” he informs her). Schneider’s (Everybody Sleeps [But Not Fred]) jaunty illustrations give this sly superhero story an extra goose of irreverence and theatricality. Extra kudos to the author for refraining from a reconciliation between Kid Amazing and his nemesis, although the Commissioner does admonish him to “please stop calling your sister the Blob” in a nice throwaway line. Ages 4–7. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (June)