Kid Amazing vs. the Blob (review #2), written by Josh Schneider, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Caroline M.
Summary: This is a very fun book about a little boy named Jimmy and the character he becomes in order to defeat “the Blob.” Kid Amazing is Jimmy’s smart and clever superhero personality. Kid Amazing uses problem-solving and his creativity to infiltrate and stop the loud stinky Blob from taking over the town in a cute story about sibling love.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This book is a very good book whether reading in the classroom aloud or alone. The plot is intriguing while teaching a lesson in a heart-warming story. Throughout the story, you do not know who or what the Blob is, but you get clues and clues up until the climax of the story when Kid Amazing finds the Blob after using his clever thinking skills to find the Blob and reveal who the Blob is. Although the Blob is described as an “arch-nemesis”, at the end of the story, the Blob actually ends up okay and gets along with Kid Amazing, teaching a good lesson that anyone can get along, it does not have to be a fight. This all happens in a visual-appealing, exciting and educational book. This book would be a great starter book for kids who love superheroes or action and shows that even kids can be superheroes. The cover art and illustrations are bright and drawn using watercolor, pen, and ink, with amazing detail including dragons and snakes in the “stink cloud,” the flowers in the “de-stinking spray,” the little description boxes with all of Kid Amazing’s supplies, and even the “waaaaaaa” noise of the howl throughout all the pages until the Blob is subdued. The book also has a nice mix of challenging and understandable words for elementary school students. For example, “catastrophe,” “transformed,” “vanquisher,” “absorbent,” “neutralizer,” and more, are all examples of words in story that could be used for vocab. Also, many of these are found in the description boxes of Kid Amazing’s gadgets, so they are not super distracting to the overall story but more advanced readers might pay more attention to these. All in all, Josh Schneider’s Kid Amazing vs. the Blob is a nice beginner action story for kids interested in superheroes and fighting crime while teaching a valuable lesson.