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The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man [Hardcover]

Michael Chabon , Jake Parker
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 6, 2011 4 - 8 years600L (What's this?)

Awesome Man can shoot positronic rays out of his eyeballs, fly as straight asan arrow, and hug mutant Jell-O! Even villains like Professor Von Evil and the Flaming Eyeball are no match for this caped crusader.

But Awesome Man also has a secret. . . . Can you guess what it is?

The first picture book from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon perfectly captures the fantasy life of young superhero fans.


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The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man + The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy (Ladybug Girl)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Look Inside The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man
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Review

“The depiction of a showdown between Awesome Man and his nemesis—the Flaming Eyeball—is priceless. Readers may notice that there’s a moral peeking out from Awesome Man’s cape, but they’ll still grab this story in their ‘ginormous Awesome Power Grip’ and not let go.” (School Library Journal (starred review) )

“Young caped crusaders and Chabon’s adult fans alike will grin at this self-consciously witty portrait.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Awesome indeed.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“It’s a wonderful celebration of tough-guy fantasies and down-to-earth boyness, perfectly matched with the retro stylings of animated film artist and comic book illustrator Parker.” (San Francisco Chronicle )

“Chabon’s first-person narrative is that of a boy-zealous, goofy, and antisister-and the story reads like the play-by-play antics of an action figure in a kid’s game.” (ALA Booklist )

Praise for SUMMERLAND: “Chabon hits a high-flying home run.” (Publishers Weekly )

Praise for SUMMERLAND: “Packed with magic, adventure, myth, and America’s favorite pastime, this book will enchant its audience. (School Library Journal )

Praise for THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY: “The depth of Chabon’s thought, his sharp language, his inventiveness and his ambition make this a novel of towering achievement.” (New York Times Book Review )

Product Details

  • Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  • Hardcover: 40 pages
  • Publisher: Balzer + Bray (September 6, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9780061914621
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061914621
  • ASIN: 0061914622
  • Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 25 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Artwork, Mediocre Story September 30, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I have two children, ages 5 and 11 who were very excited to see Awesome Man arrive in the mail. We are big fans of super hero literature and movies, so this was something to look forward to. The cover alone had my 5 year old extremely excited, and she could not wait to read the book. And so, we began to read. Let me start with the positives of this book, because the illustrator deserves a huge shout out for the terrific job he did bringing the story to life. The artwork is absolutely amazing, and without it, the book would have been even less interesting to my children than it was. Jake Parker chose the ideal color scheme for this super hero story, and the retro feel to the pictures was superb. He captures the super hero and the villains perfectly in this book. If you went back through the book and only looked at only the pictures, you could create your own detailed story from start to finish. His pictures are truly worthy of 5 stars. [As a side note, there is one thing that did bother me about quality of the pictures, and I am guessing it is due to the printing of the book and not the illustrator himself. There were several pages in my copy of the book that almost looked grainy, and the crispness of the artwork almost looked as though they had taken clip art, blown it up, and lost some of the clarity in the process. It was not true throughout the book, so it would be interesting to know why some of pages did not look quite as clear as others.]

The actual story itself was not quite as inspiring to me or my children. To start, Moskowitz the Awesome Dog is featured prominently on the cover of the book, yet other than bringing a snack to Awesome Man, there was no story line involving the dog that lead me to believe there was anything awesome about him.
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35 of 45 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Not so awesome September 30, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
My son loves superhero movies/stories so I thought this would be great for him. I was rather disappointed after reading it with him today.

I liked the retro comic book feel of the book, but the story is terrible. Awesome Man basically lists all his superpowers then fights random bad guys who show up out of nowhere. Some positive messages but they get lost. Very aimless in that regard when even a simple plot would've been easy to devise and much more engaging. There's also nothing to appeal to little girls with this book. Unless you're already a fan of Chabon/Parker, skip this book. Good premise, poor execution.

Decent illustrations but come on -- kids deserve a good story too.
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44 of 62 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Another One of Those Books September 28, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I did not like anything about this book, the story was lackluster, the illustrations were unpleasant to look at and I felt like this was another one of those books...

You all know what I'm referring to...those books that grab your attention because the author has written something else that was great and now they've published something that isn't but because of the great book the book that isn't great will be able to sell a ton of copies before anyone really notices that the not at all great book isn't great.

I hate when that happens...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars There's just no there there November 29, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Awesome Man is a cute child's book. It contains a lot of great art work by veteran artist and illustrator Jake Parker - the artwork being the best part of the book!

On the downside, award-winning author Michael Chabon really seems to have dropped the ball on this book. The story is kind of cute, but ultimately there is just not much to it. It seems as though the author had an idea for a children's book, but then never spent the time to develop it. My little reader thought that the book was OK, but indeed after one read she never had any inclination to go back for a second look.

Check it out from the library, by all means, but I would not suggest buying it, there's just no there there.

(Review of The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man by Michael Chabon and Jake Parker.)
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Cute story for kids just getting into super heroes October 21, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man is the super hero's self-narrated guide to his abilities and what a typical day entails for him. It's a cute story for kids around three to six years old that are starting to show an interest in super heroes, but don't necessarily have the desire to study the history of each of the X-Men or Batman and his nemeses and such. My seven year old, who is into X-Men and Avengers right now, was bored with this book, but my younger kids liked it.

The story is written with a realistic voice using slang, sentences interrupted and so forth, so I think it's best read with an upbeat, animated attitude to really bring the story to life. The illustrations are wonderful. Awesome Man, Moskowitz the Awesome Dog, and all the bad guys are bright and colorful. Such vibrant images really add to the tale. The book slips in some good advice too, such as violently breaking things is never a good thing to do if you're upset, and everyone needs some quiet time to rest and refuel the body. And in the end, you see that Awesome Man is a wonderful little boy who loves an awesome hug with his Mom. It's a sweet ending to a cute story.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book! September 10, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I happened upon this book at the library and our book reading has never been more awesome! It's such a cute book and teaches children in a fun way how to deal with their emotions by being positronic:) We returned the book to the library and I had to buy it for my son who is 5. Now all he needs is a flaming eyeball toy that he keeps telling me to look for!:)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great voice, so much fun to read.
My now 4.5 year-old boys got this book about 2 years ago and still love it. I read it to their nursery school class aloud and had 35 girls and boys totally engaged. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Michelle Lefferts
5.0 out of 5 stars Michael Chabon tackles the super hero!
I am a big fan of pretty much everything Michael Chabon. I was first introduced to him from his amazing and understandably successful hit, The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. Read more
Published 3 months ago by jsteininger
5.0 out of 5 stars Super Read Aloud!
My two boys, ages 2 and 5, absolutely love this book! It's a super read aloud that is fun for both me and the kids
Published 5 months ago by lexgm
4.0 out of 5 stars There's a superhero at the end of this book
The illustrations are colorful and fun, and the story is appropriate for early readers. Younger kids will probably be bored quickly, and older kids will want more substance. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jonathan Strawn
2.0 out of 5 stars Tacky,too much slang and violence
I heard about this book on NPR during an interview with the author and thought it would be a nice story. I was very disappointed. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Melanie Graham
1.0 out of 5 stars This book will make your child stupid.
I rarely feel compelled to review things, but I saw this book sitting on the counter and I had to drop everything because I'm so annoyed at its very existence. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ryan Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars A Hit for the Super Hero Genre
I cannot believe anyone would give this book negative review if you are critiquing it from the eyes of a child. Read more
Published 12 months ago by R. Gilbert-Cornish
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book for the little ones.
My son was 5 when we got a copy of this book and a year later, it remains one of his favorite books. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Paul A. Fucito
5.0 out of 5 stars It's Awesome
My 4 yr old son loves Awesome Man. We have read it countless times. The secret identity part is especially fun for him. I highly recommend this book for this age group. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Sarah Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun text, lots of humor, escellent illsurations
The best way to read this book is out loud to kids, using a over-the-top Gary Owens/Powdered Toast Man voice for maximum comedy potential. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Greg Ehrbar
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