Friday, January 29, 2016

Woodford Brave

Woodford Brave
by Marcia Thornton Jones; illus. by Kevin Whipple
192 pages; ages 9-12
Calkins Creek, 2015

Cory Woodford's best friend has deserted him, his father is fighting overseas, and a Nazi spy lives just down the street. Cory needs to be brave, like his father and grandfather. Like his favorite superhero, Mighty Space Warrior. He needs to be Woodford Brave. He writes letters to his dad, drawing cartoons at the bottom of the page - the Space Warrior's Kid. Will his dad notice that he's drawn his own face tucked inside Warrior Kid's Helmet of Power?

This is a fun mystery - is the guy with the suitcase really a Nazi spy? - with a dash of ghost story - is the house down the street really haunted?- some baseball, and a crazy go-cart race that nearly ends in disaster.

The black-and-white comic book illustrations add to the feeling of going back in time. And even though it's fiction, there's an author's note with resources for anyone who wants to lean more about World War II, women's baseball, and the history of comic books. Review copy provided by the publisher.

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