Boys of Steel: The Creators of Supermanby Marc Tyler Nobleman
A. A. Knopf
unpaged
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A program of the Children's Services department of the Allen County (Indiana) Public Library. Please join our discussion of this year's best informational books for children.
Welcome to the ACPL Mock Sibert blog!
We're excited about all the new informational books for kids that will be published in 2011 and we look foward to highlighting some of the best here. We hope you'll join the discussion by leaving comments on the titles we post. If you'd like to suggest a title for our list, simply leave a comment or send us an email.
In January of 2012, we'll get together in person to talk about our favorites and vote for our Mock Sibert Award winners. Watch for details to be published later this year.
4 comments:
I appreciate the retro illustration style and glimpses into the world in which Joe and Jerry were living when they created Superman - they really provide a feel and understanding for the time period and setting.
Nobleman seems to have done extensive research...too bad there isn't more back matter to support this.
It's interesting that the body of the book ends on a happy note, when the remainder of the story takes quite a sad turn - do you think the author handled this well?
You bring up an interesting point about the ending of this book. In the main story, Joe and Jerry come across as "Superman-like", rising from being the kids-who-didn't-fit-in to being the creators of the world's greatest superhero. And I liked that, but when I read the end notes and found there was more to the story, it left me with a disappointed feeling.
Thanks for including my book in this fun exercise.
I appreciate your comments, Mandy and Kris.
I am not against unhappy endings - in fact, my next book has a big one. But I chose to split the book this way because I feel it is important to emphasize the high point for the creators; too often people telling their story overlook this moment and focus mostly on the negative. I feel this split would be disingenuous only if I had not included the afterword.
Plus I felt the sad latter part of their lives is both too detailed for the space I would have had and not illustrat-able enough (lots of men at desks!).
As for my research, I do cite select sources on the copyright page but did not have space for the full list (many pages long); my blog elaborates on my research and fills in some of those blanks.
Before I read the book, I didn't know anything about the history of the creation of "Superman." I like how the author builds excitement right from the beginning as Nobleman describes Siegel and Shuster at the beginning of their careers. It's a great story about determination and perseverance that needs to be told.
Upper elementary boys would especially love this book. This would also capture the attention of any student who is a comic book lover with its retro look. This book also shows how hard work and determination pay off in the end.
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