Pizazz and her relatives are superheroes. Each of them has magical superpowers which they regularly use to thwart the plans of criminal masterminds who are intent on creating all sorts of destructive mayhem and environmental calamities.
Pizazz is also a schoolgirl, trying very hard to be normal during the day, but it’s not easy when she has to dash off in the middle of the night to save the world or gets called away right when the fun stuff is happening with her friends.
Pizazz finds the whole superhero thing a bit annoying, even though it is also quite awesome. She juggles normality with superhero activities but would much prefer a good night’s sleep. Her parents are super-busy but Pizazz can rely on her aunty Blaze and her grandparents for help and advice when she needs it.
Pizazz has just started at a new school and is struggling to find friends with the same interests. Her little sister is finding it annoyingly easy to fit in and is blitzing the challenge of making new friends and fitting into the school community. Eventually, Pizazz does make a group of friends, united in their efforts to stop an evil developer from wrecking the local park.
This becomes the unifying story that brings together all the different tales within this book, and it taps into the current awareness among children that they CAN make a difference to their immediate environment through activism, spreading awareness and engaging people of all ages in the community to band together to fight against corruption, greed and environmental vandalism.
The language is sassy and fun, the story is contemporary and exciting. The concept of a superhero existing alongside us in day-to-day activities is appealing and familiar. This would make a great read-aloud for a classroom or bedtime story instalments.
Sophy Henn is an award-winning picture book illustrator and author. Her illustrations in the style of a graphic novel are fun, adding meaning and context for independent readers. They are used to good effect in the sequences when the superheroes are on a mission to save the world. There is also a very good balance of text that helps the story flow easily.
And yes, we do learn what Pizazz’s superpower is and how she uses it! Stay tuned for the next exciting instalment, as this is shaping up to be a series which is great news for superhero fans and readers 7+.
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