The wolf who wanted to be a superhero

An inept wolf discovers theres more to being a superhero than sporting a super-mind-boggling costume.As concocted by jolly, pink-furred seamstress Miss Yeti, it is a nifty costumea yellow unitard with bat wings and a red capeand the Wolf comes up with a name to match: Super-Extra-Fabuwolf. The saving-the-day part turns out to be not so easy, though, as the Wolfs intrusive efforts to rescue Wolfette and his friend Joshua only leave her annoyed and him with broken binoculars. Discouraged (It was a complete debacle!), he sheds his costume, falls asleep in a boatand needs to be rescued himself by Wolfette when the boat nearly carries him over a waterfall. I wanted to be your superhero, the Wolf shamefacedly confesses. Wolfette: You already are my hero. I love you just the way you are, with all your faults and all your qualities! The narrative probably reads better in the original French, but Thuilliers long-nosed, rubber-limbed cartoon wolf has a dopey look thats comical in any language. Would-be superheroes will find more satisfying action, though, in Brian Pinkneys The Adventures of Sparrowboy (1997). Superpowers may fail, but true friends are always there in need. (Picture book. 5-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.