Dear Diary,

As a child, I was rarely spotted without my nose buried in a book. In fact, I enjoyed reading so much, I memorized my favorite fairy tales and recited the stories to my sister to her dismay. I’ve been reading and writing ever since and even passed down this interest to my three-year-old daughter. She hasn’t mastered reading quite yet, but she will weave a story around the illustrations if you lend her a listening ear. She’s learning to use her imagination in her preschool class, which has a Super Kids theme this year. The teachers instill in the students that being a superhero means you have brain power–something you get through a quality education. That’s often found in a book.

The love for reading runs in the family. My nephews, who are addicted to video games, will put down the remote controls for very few things, one of which is a book. And that’s exactly what they did when I asked them to review James Patterson’s new book Public School Superhero. Right now, J.R. is in junior high.

Julian is in elementary school.

So they don’t usually agree on much. So, they faced off on whether or not Public School Superhero was written for big kids or preteens.

Would you tell your friends that they should read this book? If so, why?

Julian: Yes, because it was a good book, and it was action packed.  Also, people love super heroes.  My friends enjoy books and comics combined. The handwriting in the comic portion  is neat and easy to ready. The pictures are really cool.  It’s exciting to read, the book because you don’t know whats going to happen next. Very suspenseful.

J.R.: The book is cool, because Kenny is in the 7th grade and most 7th graders don’t use their imagination. It also has a theme that teaches you to make the right choices.

What did you like most about the book?

Julian: What I like most about the book is when Kenneth and Ray-Ray got into a fight, because it was kind of funny.  Also, in the bathroom Ray Ray squirted water in the middle of his pants, and it looked like he peed himself. Hilarious!

J.R.: My favorite part is when Kenny goes to doctor’s office with Ray-Ray and instead of being suspended he has to teach Ray-Ray chess as a punishment. I thought this was interesting,  because usually a punishment is detention or suspension.  Right now, my dad’s teaching me to play chess, so I connected with that scene.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Julian: Kenny is nice and obeys his grandmother. When the Quaashie brothers are mean, I can relate because sometimes there are mean kids at school.

J.R.: Kenny for sure! He has an imagination that normally isn’t on a 7th graders mind. Whenever he’s being bullied or messed with he thinks of himself as a super hero. The superhero beats up the bullies in his imagination.  Every time he’s bullied, he has the same superhero but a different storyline.  It keeps me interested because the story line keeps changing.

I learned that sometimes your consequences can  be unpredictable.  Its important to make the right choices so you wont end up with bad consequences

Should parents buy this book for their kids?

Julian: Yes, because the plot unfolds in a way that you wouldn’t expect it to be. I liked the book so much, I asked my aunt (you) to buy other books by the author for my birthday.

J.R.: Parents should buy it, because it is fully entertaining for readers who are just getting started in novels.  I found it entertaining and  I play video games all the time. It was a good book.  It’s not as expensive as other popular novels, like the Harry Potter, Divergent and Hunger Games series.  It will make kids want to read more, because it will make them more curious about other books.

Did you like the book as much as you like video games?

Julian: Yes!

J.R.: It was a tie.

Hey DTM Fam! There you have it. A book that is so powerful it pries the video controllers out of the hands of young boys and makes at least one put books on the top of their birthday list. They didn’t discover books on their own I might add.  Their superhero mom was reading to them when they were in her womb. What books are you reading to your little ones? How are you encouraging your kids to become super readers?

About James Patterson:
James Patterson was selected by readers across America as the Children’s Choice Book Awards Author of the Year in 2010. He is the internationally bestselling author of the highly praised Middle School books, I Funny, Confessions of a Murder Suspect, and the Maximum Ride, Witch & Wizard, Daniel X, and Alex Cross series. His books have sold over 275 million copies worldwide, making him one of the bestselling authors of all time.

First Book Donation:
In 2015, James Patterson will donate 100,000 copies of PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERHERO to some of the most neglected and underfunded schools in America, and he will launch a major campaign to support school libraries. In 2014, in addition to giving a copy of one of his middle grade books to every sixth grader in the New York City and Chicago public school systems, Patterson gave $1,000,000 to independent bookstores with children’s sections.

When James Patterson meets with underprivileged kids at schools in some of the country’s poorest neighborhoods, they often ask him, “Why can’t we be heroes in any books?” To answer that question and to bring more books into more kids’ lives, James Patterson is donating 100,000 copies of his new book for young readers, Public School Superhero, to some of the most under-resourced schools and youth programs in the country. He was moved to make this donation after recognizing a large and underserved community of children who don’t see themselves portrayed in dynamic, entertaining stories often enough.

These same kids also inspired Public School Superhero, by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts, with illustrations by Cory Thomas, a book about an African American sixth-grade chess devotee named Kenny Wright who lives in an inner city. It’s a story brimming with wit, action, and heart, one all kids are bound to find relatable and entertaining.

The books will be distributed through First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new books for kids in need. First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that has distributed more than 125 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families in the United States and Canada. By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information visit firstbook.org or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Learn More:
Learn More at PublicSchoolSuperhero.com
Visit the Author Site at JamesPatterson.com
Follow James Patterson on Twitter and Facebook
#PublicSchoolSuperhero