Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show (review)

From the challenge of too-tight neck holes to the horrors of broccoli, no obstacle is too daunting for fearless Kel, a Captain America Lite vision in his cape and red, white, and blue safety helmet. Kel stares viewers down with his piercing eyes and clenched jaw, regaling them with such epic feats as "the time I threw caution to the wind and faced . . . the Potty of Doom! Dun-Dun-Duhhhhh!" His adventures have obviously been captured on video (in spreads framed in black with a digital time display rolling along the top), and his parents, siblings, and grandmother gasp at each new attempt: "Is he insane?" "If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it!!" Even the youngest listeners will recognize Kel's accomplishments: eating vegetables, toilet training, dressing independently, bathing, waiting patiently for parental attention, and going to bed "without checking the room for monsters!" It's the older sibs, though, who will most enjoy owning their role in this affair—contributing the appropriate mock terror and loud acclaim as the little guy reaches each new milestone. Hyperbolized Photoshop illustrations will have immediate appeal for the Pixar generation, and big, blocky upper-case letters in speech bubbles will entice beginning readers. If marvels of bravery fail to elicit shrieks of approval, then flashes of bare butt certainly will. Expect demands for multiple readings.