Written and Illustrated by Dan Santat
Published by Graphix
Sidekicks, a new superhero adventure by Caldecott Medalist and National Book Award winner Dan Santat, as both writer and artist, provides yet more evidence to the truth of my oft-stated belief that a great many graphic novels for kids are better than graphic novels for adults.
Aimed at grades 3-7, ages 8-12, Sidekicks offers a fun, unusual, and genuinely exciting tale of heroism and family. It’s another where the creator shows off a definite understanding of cinematic techniques and pacing, so that even at 244 pages it doesn’t seem too long at all, even for children with short attention spans. It holds your attention.
We’re quickly introduced to our hero, Captain Amazing.
The captain is an aging superguy who’s still out on the front lines fighting his best fight. He is not, however, our main character.
Our main character, you see, is his pet hamster, Fluffy. (At least I think he’s a hamster. Might be a guinea pig. Some sort of little rodent.)
In the past Captain Amazing has used his pets as sidekicks. Now that the papers are citing his age, he decides he needs a new sidekick and puts out a call that he’s going to be holding auditions. Fluffy—who has no superpowers—is determined to get the job.
Along with Fluffy, we also meet the dog Roscoe who was, as Metal Mutt, previously a sidekick, and Shifty, a chameleon and a brand-new addition to the household. All the pets worship Harry—Captain Amazing—although they all wish he had more time to spend with them.
And then there’s The Claw, a mysterious figure on the scene, who turns out to be Manny, a cat who had previously been the sidekick until he ran away. Manny reluctantly takes Fluffy (and Shifty) under his wing to teach them superheroing
The auditions begin, with a huge turnout, but all is not what it seems, and our tiny protagonist will be tested to the extreme when…! But that would be telling.
The key parts of Sidekicks are the interactions between the animals. They are, in a very real sense, a family. Like all families that includes rivalries and bickering, but in the end, support. They say they’re doing all they’re doing for their human, Harry, but in the end, it becomes more than obvious they’re doing everything to help each other, with more recognition from Harry just a hoped-for bonus.
Visually, the animal characters are super cute like in a standard children’s picture book but Santat’s writing manages to subtly give each one a real and recognizable personality. Fluffy is Roscoe’s naïve little brother. Manny is the older, estranged sibling, and Shifty is the newly adopted toddler just trying to fit in, something he should be good at, being a chameleon.
The artist has a great capacity for showing dynamic movement, as well as some creative layouts and a consistently clever and creative use of color.
The story moves along quickly overall but after achieving a fairly happy ending continues on for another 15 pages that feel somewhat anticlimactic and unnecessary. Clearly these “extra” pages are a coda, setting up not one, not two, but three additional volumes of Sidekicks that we’re promised at the end of the book. If you’re reading it to your kid, though, you could stop at the actual ending and skip the “Three Months Later” section without disappointing your child. If you do read it, though, be prepared to get those sequel volumes to find out what just happened
Graphic novels for kids—what a great concept, and Sidekicks is just the latest great example. I’ve apparently entered my second childhood…or is it third?
I loved Sidekicks! I think you might, too!
Booksteve recommends.
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