Super Pizza & Kid Kale

July 1, 2022
School lunch turns fraught when feuding foods fight. In this relentlessly puntastic outing, a rare kitchen disaster turns ordinary food into intrepid caped comestibles eager to protect the students of Baker Elementary from playground accidents and other mishaps. But even though Super Pizza and Kid Kale play equal roles in averting several near disasters, it's the cheesy champion who gets all the love ("You're the hero we knead!")--and makes a cutting remark about how the surly side dish is "just...garnish." The ensuing argument ("You want a pizza me?") escalates into a full-scale riot that leaves the school spattered with garbage. Seeing a student's tears brings the maddened menu items back to their senses, though, and once the "crustfallen" pizza has expressed remorse, the vengeful veggie is quick to forgive and even to lead the cleanup effort. Though it stretches logic to see the students and staff suddenly cheering the "lean green roughage machine" and proclaiming it "as good as pizza!" (sure), there's nothing half-baked about the way Super Pizza and Kid Kale proclaim themselves "perfectly paired partners" and soar off together. Smith cranks the almost frantic action up another notch in his loudly colored and loosely drawn cartoon scenes; speech bubbles and occasional use of panels give this one a graphic-novel look. Students and staff are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Dishes up a delicious duo, with a theme of reconciliation as the secret sauce. (Picture book. 6-8)

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