Cybils nominee: Early Chapter Books. Nominated by the HappyNappy Bookseller.

Freddie Ramos looks like an average kid, but he’s actually a superhero with ZAPATO POWER that comes from his wristband controller and the special purple sneakers that he wears every day.

With that mantra and a press of the flashing button on his wristband, Freddie can “zoom out of the classroom in a cloud of smoke.” And then he’s off to do what superheroes do: save the school from a purple squirrel–or maybe save the squirrel from an angry principal?

If I were a school librarian (as I once was in another life), especially if I had Hispanic students in my school, but even if I didn’t, I’d snap up the books in this series for the easy reader shelf. I haven’t seen the first two books in the series, Freddie Ramos Takes Off and Freddie Ramos Springs into Action, but I’m guessing they’re as fun as this third one. First grade boys and girls should fall in love with Freddie. The book contains a very few Spanish words and phrases, which is a plus.

Freddie is a delight, and a really good superhero, too. He’s out to save the world, but he’s also a realist.

“Superheroes are supposed to work in secret. That’s why so many of them have masks. I didn’t have a mask, so I had to talk as fast as I could run. . . The principal marched me back to Mrs. Lane and told her to keep an eye on me. Secret superheroes don’t get much credit.”

I wish I had Zapato Power, even if I did have to keep it secret.

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.