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Vendor
Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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LIKE LAVA IN MY VEINS

Shawn Martinbrough Derrick Barnes

A super-cool graphic picture book about a boy learning how to control his temper, by bestselling author Derrick Barnes.
Bobby Beacon's got fire flowing through his veins. And now he's psyched to attend a new school that'll help him get a better grip on his powers. But right off the bat, his new teacher is not too welcoming. That causes Bobby's hot temper to land him in the principal's office. It ain't easy to stay calm when people don't seem to understand you and are always pushing you to the edge.
Good thing Bobby gets moved to a class with an understanding teacher who clues him in on ways to calm himself and shows him that caring for others is its own kind of superpower. With her help - and some cool new friends - he just might be on his way to becoming the best version of himself possible.

Derrick Barnes (derrickdbarnes.com) is the author of the empowering New York Times bestsellers The King of Kindergarten and I Am Every Good Thing, which won the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award and the Kirkus Prize, and Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, which received a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Honor, the Kirkus Prize, and the Ezra Jack Keats Award. He also wrote the bestselling chapter book series Ruby and the Booker Boys. Derrick is a native of Kansas City, MO, and a graduate of Jackson State University, and was the first African American male creative copywriter hired by greeting card giant, Hallmark Cards. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and their four sons.

Shawn Martinbrough (shawnmartinbrough.com) is the author of How to Draw Noir Comics and an Eisner Award nominated artist whose comic book projects include Batman: Detective Comics, DMZ, Luke Cage Noir, The Black Panther: Man Without Fear, Hellboy, the Thief of Thieves series, Prométhée 13:13, and Red Hood. He's been a featured guest and panelist at comic conventions all over the world, and has given lectures at Walt Disney Animation, Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon, TEDx Mid Atlantic, the International Spy Museum, the California African American Museum, the Society of Illustrators, and the 100 Black Men of America Conferences. He lives near Washington DC.
Available products
Book

Published 2023-07-04 by Nancy Paulsen Books

Book

Published 2023-07-04 by Nancy Paulsen Books

Comments

With this lively and clever picture book, award-winning author Barnes tells an engaging story while skillfully conveying the idea that young people can flourish with guidance from empathetic educators... Comic-book elements such as speech bubbles and panels work perfectly with the text; Martinbrough and Lucas' dramatic art oozes action... A thrilling story with a sound takeaway: Compassionate teachers are the real superheroes.

This picture book has the visual style of a classic comic book, with dramatic shifts in perspective, dynamic onomatopoeia, and tightly controlled action sequences... The superhero context lends it plenty of timely appeal, and its emphasis on adult support and acceptance is a strong reminder that problematic behavior can often be funneled into strengths with the right focus... Bobby's strong narration carries readers through his battle with Headmaster Chaos from the Institute, with a cliffhanger ending that assures readers there's more action to come.