5 Stars

Thanks to his superpowed zapatos, Freddie is the neighborhood super hero.  However his summer’s off to an iffy start.  Freddie’s learning to swim at summer camp.  But he hasn’t even put his face in the water yet.  When a bully shows up at Starwood Park, Freddie’s shoes go missing.  Is the bully to blame? And how can Freddie investigate without his zapato’s super-speed?

Super hero Freddie Ramos is back in this fourth edition of the Zapato Powers series.  Summer has arrived and Freddie is in the pool learning to swim, but he will not get his face wet. Some construction workers from the swimming pool plastering Los Angeles company look friendly but busy at work.  A bully, riding a green bike, is taunting others and swiping their stuff.  Plus, someone is leaving wads of purple gum on the sidewalks of Starwood Park.  Freddie has quite a summer this year.  He steps on the purple wads of gum, losing his super-speed.  The green bike bully is mean, unrelenting, fast, and . . . a girl!  And, he loses his white backpack at the pool.  Did the green bike bully take Freddie’s white backpack?  Can he walk fast enough to catch the bully wearing his flip-flops?  Who is going to clean up all those wads of gum on the sidewalk?

This is a fun read.  I have not read any of the other books that precede this one, yet I had no trouble getting up to speed.  By the end of the second page, I knew what I needed to understand the Zapato Power series.  The short chapter book is a fast, fun, and funny read.  Both boys and girls will like this one.  I read a Kindle version and the illustrations, those that appeared, were simple line drawings.  I saw those same drawings, and more, as an Adobe Digital Edition and they had better detail, finer lines, and more saturation.  For example, the full-page fireworks scene pops in the Adobe version, while on the Kindle it becomes less than a half page in size and is rather dull.  This is also available in hardback.

Illustrations aside, Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash will have you wishing for summer fun.  After reading the fourth book, I now want to go back and read the first three, but that is not necessary to enjoy this one.  It stands on its own merits without any purple bubble gum to hold it up.  Freddie Ramos, with his super powered purple sneakers, is an adorable character with lasting power in addition to super-speed.

Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash

Author: Jacqueline Jules
Illustrator: Miguel Benitez
Publisher; Albert Whitman & Co.
Publication Date: March 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 88
ISBN: 978-0-8075-9485-8