Written by Scott Sonneborn, Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio
You probably already know the story, or could at least guess a lot of the plot. Penguin is up to no good, and Batman wants to stop him. The story fits in the DC Comics plot line. So, fans of Batman will enjoy following Bruce Wayne into prison and wonder how he will get himself out.
The idea of the comic chapter book is a great one. It combines comic book pictures with chapter book writing. It’s a transitional type of writing with pictures to help the reader envision the characters. The writing carries the story since there is overwhelmingly more writing than illustrations. The idea is great. Kids can move from comic books to chapter books with some support from the illustrations. I was a great fan of Batman as a kid and read lots of comic books about him. I wish there were more pictures in this book. There are “12 pages of comic action in each book”. I missed having more pictures and I missed the details in the drawings. I would probably save up and get comic books to read Batman stories instead of this type of chapter book if I were a kid. The writing was a bit weak, (although there are some funny parts), but it fits the pattern of possible battles between Batman and the Penguin.
But, this book will appeal to a certain type of reader, so it’s nice to include in libraries and schools for those students. It is written with younger readers in mind, and that aspect is nice.
Review by Cheryl Baker, Teacher, Mill Creek Elementary
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 3-6
Batman: Prisoner of the Penguin!
Written by Scott Sonneborn, Illustrated by Luciano Vecchio
Stone Arch Books
74 pages
Release Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 9781434291318 (hardcover)
This gets check out a lot.