Batman Going ape

Superheroes have been all over the I Can Read series as of late, and this entry into Level 2 (Reading with Help) is just the sort of punchy story to get kids flipping pages. Clark Kent is interviewing celebrity guest Bruce Wayne at the Gotham Zoo's unveiling of a new ape exhibit. Unfortunately, one of the apes is Gorilla Grodd, a laser-firing simian baddie whose golden helmet allows him to turn humans into his slaves. As Grodd goes about transforming zoo personnel into ape minions, Batman must fight them off including Superman, who has also gone ape. Backgrounds are kept uncluttered to focus on the muscular, easy-to-follow action, replete with punching, flying, gun fighting, rope twirling, and more. Meanwhile, the text itself features up to nine short sentences per page (and includes the expected puns: Stop this monkey business, Grodd). A two-page spread at the beginning introduces each character, and though a glossary may have been nice for a few odd words (like cowl), this will still be a winner with superhero addicts.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist