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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HERO! (The Caped 6th Grader) Zoe Quinn Trade Paperback | Yearling | 978-0-440-42079-8 (0-440-42079-2) | June 2006 | $4.99 | Ages 9-12 Hardcover Library Binding | Yearling | 978-0-385-90304-2 (0-385-90304-9) | June 2006 | $11.99 | Ages 9-12

Zoe’s first indication that something isn’t right is when her mom takes her to get her ears pierced for her 12th birthday. PING ! The Stud Stamper 2000 isn’t able to make a hole in her ears and the studs just keep bouncing off the walls. Then, once she gets to her Grandpa’s for her birthday dinner, the two decide to play some catch in the backyard. After just a few tosses, which Zoe runs to catch, she quickly realizes her tennis shoes have smoke coming out of them! It is only then that her Grandpa tells her the truth about who she really is. The good news: she’s a superhero! The bad news? She can’t tell anyone, not even her parents. Grandpa fills her in on what being a superhero means, and also gives her a superhero training manual to study. Along with the history of superheroes and why it is imperative her superhero status be told to no one, Zoe must also learn how to control her impulses to run fast and pick up heavy objects. Can Zoe learn how to use her powers to help fight for justice, or is this secret just too good to keep to herself?

COPYRIGHT

Prepared by Brenda Day, Library Media Specialist, Crowley Middle School , Crowley , TX

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