![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkD8PehDRbL3esCUBZvp6x79yPNWMuvh8qKVX9uLePfu-y5gRlqJOiQ0d_vm0Pf4ZH7OKbDsYDCEgNUuvSCWwG-ZdJJMmb3ZWR4Dbs1DW8rMKCgSvZ1ndSAd7bj7FogxAsX4eaLgOd8w8/s320/loisclark.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYvuMeS5DMkHg_USHPiaJcSDWsNRl43KaQSQmhclO4-vnrtgg-0eSR_VRvwtiRSO3f5lT5K0wm3_FY4mnro1K1t92mBFzeCgnslWsowQa-FVa7jQDR0RmCtcKEWVY2Fq3-TMBLdKqU_3R/s320/smallville.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo5s-OJKZiYxVaSI6rszkm8vLts0r-YHrmsUsTxCCjq7kBaVn4rmV1TnlFHhtBp1UTM9E7d7yrlozcJxYv4iEVfm3kmjgL2vxzNo8XSZDyQNOX1dx_dlc-Q-vAYmfAE-tRmpuFHnn5X-l/s320/boyssteel.jpg)
Review: The Boys of Steel is a good introduction to the history of comic books to younger readers. The book begins with a cultural setting of The Great Depression as well as the personalities of Siegel and Shuster. Though I doubt children will completely understand how socially awkward the writer and illustrator were, but I think they would understand it through the illustrations. The illustrations are great: they are colorful and convey the message simply and directly. The only fault that I found with the picture book is that I found the afterward much more interesting than the main story as a whole. The picture book ends with a happy ending in which Siegel and Shuster find a publisher to publish the Superman comics. The afterward, however, details the legal and business struggle that Siegel and Shuster had in gaining the copyright and royalties of their creation. I can understand that explaining these technical terms to children in a picture book is hard to do, but I think it's wrong to give the children the impression that all is well when that's far from the truth. Overall though, I did enjoy the book and learned new information about the creators of Superman as well as new history of the comic book industry.
Rating: 3 stars
Words of caution: None. I'd recommend it to Grades 1 to 3.
If you like this book, try: The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino
Post a Comment