SUPERNANA

An imaginative grandmother creates fantastical superhero scenarios as bedtime stories for her grandchild.

“Sharper than a pair of knitting needles… / Stronger than sticky tape… / It’s SUPERNANA!” No matter the problem or issue, this grandmother has a solution. If you are late for school Supernana can turn back the clock; she can also simultaneously help out at the science fair and bake cookies. She can rescue spaceships in distress and solve pretty much everything with ice cream. The villain of the moment is the diminutive Madame Le Flea with her latest invention, the Shrinkalizer, which jeopardizes everything tall. Supernana uses all her mighty powers to save the day. Cartoon art in a quasi–comic-book style is filled with plenty of slapstick action resulting in exaggerated and absurd outcomes. Armed with her pink, sequined purse, wearing a blue superhero cape, and with the ability to fly, swoop, and kick her way to victory, Supernana beats Madame Le Flea. “POW! / ZAP! / WHAM! // BAM!” In the end, this grandmother’s unwaveringly heroic view of herself is balanced by her grandchild’s realistic observation that Nana’s true superpower is storytelling. The final scene depicts Nana sitting beside her grandchild’s bed, her red-and-yellow costume transformed into a tracksuit…but is that a real flying saucer in the window? Nana, her grandchild, and Madame Le Flea all present White; background characters are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A silly spoof.