The newest member of a superhero family (grandparents, parents, and big brother, Max), Maxine Lightning-Thunderbolt is born with a mask already in place. Even as a toddler, she can fly. After starting school, she asks her mom for a T-shirt and jeans to replace her family's traditional blue-and-red suit with a cape. Cooperative though a bit tearful, Madam Thunderbolt gives away her daughter's superhero suit and takes her shopping. At the school fair, talking with a timid child dressed as "the Boy Marvel" in the costume parade, Maxine removes her mask and gives it to him. She's content to be simply Maxine. Can she still fly? With Max's help, she soars. A sequel to Max (2000), this picture book has attractive superhero cover art, while the interior ink-and-watercolor illustrations will engage viewers in Maxine's story. In a text that's attuned to the unspoken emotions of young children, Graham suggests that the one thing cooler than being a superhero is having the freedom to discover who you really are. An enjoyable choice for reading aloud.

A new superhero family story from Graham. Fans of Graham's earlier title Max (2000), about a young superhero and his parents, will be delighted to meet the newest addition to their family, a redheaded girl named Maxine. Max is happy to "meet" his little sister via a sonogram image, which shows her already wearing her mask in utero in the cartoon-style watercolor-and-ink illustrations. This funny foray into fantasy risks undermining the internal logic of the story, however, when Maxine grows up and eschews the superhero garb her family gifts her. Shedding her cape and choosing jeans instead of tights and boots seems liberating in the context of the story as Maxine resists her family's admonitions that "superheroes do NOT wear jeans"; removing the mask that ostensibly grew as part of her body during gestation feels somehow different. Ideally, readers will see this act as one of self-affirmation that never undermines Maxine's status as a superhero child (she can still fly without her cape), but the storytelling seems a bit underdeveloped in its exploration of how Maxine asserts her distinct identity. Graham's customary humor is amply present in illustrative details such as the masked family dog, the lightning-bolt--shaped house, and a family of fairies glimpsed beneath the curtain of a dressing room as Maxine tries on jeans. All main characters present as White. This story has its big heart in the right place, but it's missing a beat. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-Gr 3--Graham returns to the world of Max and the Thunderbolt family, a family of superheroes about to welcome a new baby into their crew. Instead of focusing on the theme of bringing home a new baby, this book fast-forwards to focus on little Maxine's acceptance of and confidence in herself. Maxine develops her mask in the womb, but feels unsure about the rest of her superhero getup when she starts school-- four years early--and sees how the other kids are dressed. With some pleading and a prophetic statement, "Things will always be changing, Mommy," Maxine is able to convince her mother to take her shopping for jeans and a t-shirt to be more like the other kids. As a final rejection of her superhero image, Maxine removes her mask and gives it to a costumed kid at the school fair. In a world where most children long to be superheroes with powers beyond imagining, it's hard to understand why Maxine would want the opposite, and this pleasingly subverts the usual message of the superhero trope. Maxine's night time musings about her identity may be years beyond what readers would expect her to experience, but admittedly, she does age incredibly fast due to her parentage. Graham's humorous artwork shines in this book. VERDICT Readers may wonder what a scene of flying means for maskless Maxine's future identity, but no answers are offered. Readers will hope for a third installment, and soon.--Shannon O'Connor, Unami M.S., Chalfont, PA