A Little Bit Super - Edited by Gary D. Schmidt & Leah Henderson - ★★★

EDITORS: Gary D. Schmidt & Leah Henderson

GENRE: Middle-Grade Anthology

PUBLICATION DATE: April 23, 2024

RATING: 3.1 stars.

In a Nutshell: A middle-grade anthology about children who are a “little bit super”, i.e. they have one only little superpower. An interesting and a diverse assortment of stories herein, but as often happens in a multi-author collection, the result is a mixed bag.

The introductory note sets the right tone for this thirteen-story collection. I love the theme of having a “little superpower”. Superhero stories are usually about great powers such as invisibility or superhuman strength or flight, so imagine having not-so-super powers: a time travel ability where you cannot control where/when you land, or a power that tells you whether a fruit is ripe, as long as the fruit is an avocado. It’s like the superpower adding a clause saying, ‘Conditions apply.’ That uniqueness is the biggest appeal of this book.

The stories are contributed by some of the best contemporary MG-fiction authors such as Pam Muñoz Ryan, Remy Lai, Linda Sue Park, and Daniel Nayeri, among others. The diverse background of the authors also ensures a diversity in the character representation.

The genres are quite varied, ranging from ordinary drama to science fiction to even a story-in-verse.

There appear to be some graphics in between each story. I’d have loved to see these, but the images were missing from my ARC. Graphics would certainly add to the fun of the book.

There is a detailed bio for each author at the end of the book. I wish these were written immediately after the story, so that it would be easier to look up other books by those authors whose stories worked best for us. One thing I liked is that each bio included the mention of one minor superpower the author would choose for themselves; these were fun to read.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Most fell in the mid-range for me, primarily because I liked them but was not blown away by them. 

My favourite stories were:

🔥 Shift - Nikki Grimes: A story-in-verse about a little girl who can shapeshift only one one day of the week. I loved not just the shapeshift adventures but also the message in this tale. The verse style is also put to good use. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

🔥 The Hieroglyph - Gary D. Schmidt: A 'tricky' story and yet so much fun! I loved how the author didn't keep things overly simple nor go into too many explanations despite the young age of the target audience. He lets the story do the talking only to the extent required. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

Of course, as this collection is aimed at middle graders, they might enjoy the book far better. MG Fiction is actually among my favourite genres, but some MG books seem to be restricted only to their age group. This is one such example.

Recommended to middle-graders wanting to read an unusual superpower story collection with relatable and inclusive characters. Some of these stories would work well for classroom discussions.

3.1 stars, based on the average of my rating for each tale.

My thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “A Little Bit Super”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.