Cybils nominee: Early Chapter Books. Nominated by Anita Eerdmans.

Superhero trainees Extraordinary Ernie and and his sidekick, Marvelous Maud the sheep, are headed for the National Superheroes Conference to meet with superheroes from all over the country. However, when super villain Chicken George disrupts the conference by stealing President Stupendous Sue’s speech right out of her hands, the superheroes are all shocked and “more stupefied than stupendous.”

Marvelous Maud has her own worries in addition to Chicken George’s villainy. No one can name even one heroic sheep from history, and Maud isn’t sure anymore that sheep can be heroes. (Can you name a sheep hero?)

How will the superheroes stop Chicken George?

Can a sheep be a hero?

What will Extraordinary Ernie write about for his school research project on heroes?

Will Super Whiz be able to make his speech for the convention without interruptions?

will Extraordinary Ernie be able to meet his favorite superhero, The Daring Dynamo?

Read The Greatest Sheep in History (Ernie and Maud) to find out the answers to these and many more superhero questions, such as Ideal Cape Length, Below the Knee or Above the Knee?

I thought this third book in the series was a good lesson on the meaning of true heroism encapsulated in a fun story. The first two books in this series from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers are:

Extraordinary Ernie and Marvelous Maud. Ernie wins a superhero contest but discovers, to his dismay, that his sidekick is a sheep.
The Middle Sheep. Ernie and Maud learn the value of teamwork when Ernie must deal with an unusually grumpy Maud.

*This book is nominated for a Cybils Award, and I am a judge for the first round thereof. However, no one paid me any money, and nobody knows which books will get to be finalists or which ones will get the awards. In other words, this review reflects my opinion and Z-baby’s and nothing else.