After Timothy's mother fixes his favorite pajamas with Patches of Power and Buttons of Bravery, he acquires amazing super strength. But when the pajamas rip and his strength disappears, Timothy finds his true power in his friends. Full color. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Starred Review. K-Gr 2 Timothy Smallbeast longs to be big and strong, so he drinks "fortified" milk, exercises, and "thinks STRONG thoughts." However, it is only when he wears his favorite pajamas, repaired by his mother with "PATCHES of POWER and the BUTTONS of BRAVENESS," that Timothy becomes the superhero of his dreams. Using his abilities, he catches a falling elephant, carries a mountain of packages for an elderly woman, rescues a princess, rights a sinking ship, drags an alligator back to the zoo, and carries a huge bear into the "deep dark forest." When he tries to pull his sock monkey from under the sleeping bear, though, his pajamas rip and his power disappears. But never fear all those recipients of his help now come to Timothy's aid and deliver him and his stuffed toy safely back home. The watercolor illustrations vary from small vignettes, to vertical and horizontal paneled scenes, to full pages and spreads. Especially dynamic are the depictions of tiny Timothy carrying a bear so huge that he encompasses two pages, and the close-up rip of his pajamas (you can almost hear the material tear) as he tries to pull sock monkey from under the bear's giant paw. Youngsters who long to be strong and powerful will enter into this fantasy with gusto. Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Timothy Smallbeast, a cute lemur, with a striped bushy tail and floppy ears, has an evening regimen to make himself stronger: doing exercises, eating "extra-tough" cookies, and thinking strong thoughts. When Mother repairs his worn pajamas with strong thread, sturdy patches, and "buttons of braveness," Timothy becomes "really, extremely, mightily, amazingly strong" and uses his abilities to rescue others, including an elephant, a princess, and a bear. Then Timothy rips his pajamas, causing him to lose his strength and making it impossible to rescue his sidekick, a toy monkey. But everyone Timothy has helped in the past comes to his aid, and Monkey is saved. As Timothy falls asleep, his mother fixes his pajamas "better than ever." Illustrations in muted colors and a format that varies from double-page spreads to multiple panels on a page perfectly complement the action-packed text. The characters, warm and friendly, seem just right for this pint-size "superhero adventure," aimed at children not quite ready for the wild, crazy adventures that mark most superhero stories. Enos, Randall. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.