A Little Bit Super: With Small Powers Come Big Problems
In these hilarious stories by some of the top authors of middle grade fiction today, each young character is coping with a minor superpower--while also discovering their power to change themselves and their community, find their voice, and celebrate what makes them unique.
The kids in these humorous short stories each have a minor superpower they're learning to live with. One can shape-shift--but only part of her body, and only on Mondays. Another can always tell whether an avocado is perfectly ripe. One can even hear the thoughts of the animals in the pet store! But what these stories are really about is their young protagonists "owning" a power that contributes to their individuality, that allows them to find their place in the world, that shows them a potential they might not have imagined.
Because if you really think about it, we all have something special and unique about ourselves that makes us a little bit super. We all have the power to change as an individual, to change our communities for the better, to have a voice and to speak up. These playful, thought-provoking tales from some of today's top middle grade authors prompt readers to consider what their own superpower might be, and how they can use it.
Written by Pablo Cartaya, Nikki Grimes, Leah Henderson, Jarrett Krosoczka, Remy Lai, Kyle Lukoff, Meg Medina, Daniel Nayeri, Linda Sue Park, Mitali Perkins, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Gary D. Schmidt, Brian Young, and Ibi Zoboi; coedited by Leah Henderson and Gary D. Schmidt.
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Gary D. Schmidt is the bestselling author of The Labors of Hercules Beal; Just Like That; National Book Award finalist Okay for Now; Pay Attention, Carter Jones; Orbiting Jupiter; the Newbery Honor and Printz Honor Book Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy; and the Newbery Honor Book The Wednesday Wars. He is also a contributor to and coeditor, with Leah Henderson, of the acclaimed short story collection A Little Bit Super. He lives in rural Michigan.
Pablo Cartaya is an award-winning author, screenwriter, speaker, and occasional actor. He is the Pura Belpré Honor Book Award winner for The Epic Fail for Arturo Zamora; an Audie finalist for Audiobook of the Year in the middle grade category (for which he narrated); an ALSC notable book of the year for Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish; and the 2020 Schneider Family Book Award Honor winner for his middle grade novel Each Tiny Spark. His newest title, The Last Beekeeper, contemplates a future where bees are central to a rebuilding world. His novels focus on the themes of family, community, culture, and the environment. He lives in the hyphens between his Cuban and American identities and with his familia in Miami. Visit him at pablocartaya.com
Jarrett J. Krosoczka, known since boyhood as "JJK," is the New York Times bestselling author-illustrator behind more than forty books for young readers, including his wildly popular Lunch Lady graphic novels, select volumes of the Star Wars: Jedi Academy series, and Hey, Kiddo, which was a National Book Award finalist. In addition to his work in print, Krosoczka produced, directed, and performed in the award-winning, full-cast audiobook adaptations of his graphic novels. Krosoczka has delivered three TED Talks, which have accrued millions of views online. Krosoczka has garnered millions more views online via the comics tutorials he has produced for YouTube and TikTok. As well as working on his books' film and television adaptations, Krosoczka has written for The Snoopy Show (Apple TV+) and served as a consultant for Creative Galaxy (Prime Video). Krosoczka lives in western Massachusetts.
Meg Medina is the author of The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind and the picture book Tía Isa Wants a Car, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She is also a voice talent and audiobook narrator.
Daniel Nayeri likes to read things backward even when it doesn't make sense to do so. He is the author of Everything Sad Is Untrue (A True Story), winner of the Printz Award, the Christopher Medal, and the Middle Eastern Book Award. He loves letter-unit palindromes, like "toot" and "God's dog," and word-unit palindromes, like "Never say never" and "Fall leaves after leaves fall," and if he didn't say how much he likes and loves his wife and son, he wouldn't be Daniel Nayeri.
Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal winner for A Single Shard and #1 New York Times bestseller for A Long Walk to Water, is the renowned author of picture books and novels for young readers. She lives in Western New York. Learn more at lindasuepark.com.
Mitali Perkins is an award-winning author of novels and picture books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near; Forward Me Back to You; Rickshaw Girl; and Bamboo People, among others. Her books have been nominated for the National Book Award, have won the South Asia Book Award, and have been listed as Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and School Library Journal. Born in Kolkata, India, Perkins has lived in India, Ghana, Cameroon, Great Britain, Mexico, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the United States. She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Author and filmmaker Brian Young is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. He grew up on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Brian earned his BA in film studies at Yale University and his MFA in creative writing at Columbia University. Brian currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Ibi Zoboi is the New York Times bestselling author of American Street, a National Book Award finalist; Nigeria Jones, a Coretta Scott King Award winner; Pride; My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich; Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel; and the Walter Award and LA Times Book Prize-winning Punching the Air, cowritten with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam. She is also a two-time Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner for her picture book The People Remember and her middle grade biography of Octavia Butler, Star Child. She is the editor of the anthology Black Enough. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her family. You can find her online at ibizoboi.net.
"Award-winning contributors keep delightfully inclusive and accomplished company in this emotionally grounded, compassionate collection. . . . These are not your run-of-the-mill, cape-and-tights-clad superheroes. These are kids with relatable struggles learning to embrace that quirky bit of themselves that makes them unique." -- Booklist (starred review)
"Broadly appealing. . . . An engaging and imaginative look at the powers of childhood." -- Kirkus Reviews
