The Hero Revealed

The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy #1

by William Boniface, Stephen Gilpin (Illustrator)

In Superopolis everyone has a superpower! Well…almost everyone. Meet Ordinary Boy. In a town where everyone is a superhero, what if you were the only person with no superpowers at all? Welcome to the life of Ordinary Boy. He’s...well, he’s pretty much exactly as his name suggests. But things are not so super in Superopolis these days, with the evil Professor Brain-Drain on the loose. To make matters worse, Ordinary Boy and his friends are thrown into the middle of a baffling mystery. Forget superheroes. In a city where everyone is extraordinary, this just might be a job for...Ordinary Boy! With black-and-white illustrations throughout, this “celebration of the comics genre” (Kirkus) is perfect for readers who love the New York Times bestselling Captain Underpants series and Michael Buckley’s New York Times bestselling NERDS series, as well as young fans of Marvel and DC Comics—and anyone who’s ever longed to be super.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade, Childrens, Humor, Superheroes

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2006

About the author

William Boniface may or may not exist. Ordinary Boy, after all, tells his own story. Mr. Boniface could simply be a creation of the publisher in order to fulfill the requirement that an author be listed on the cover of this book. Given that possibility, there is no harm in revealing that Mr. Boniface has lent his name to over two dozen far less wordy children's books that were also in need of an author. Unless, of course, he didn't, which would make this entire biography irrelevent.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Superopolis, everyone has a superpower – except Ordinary Boy, known as O Boy or OB to his friends. Some of them use their powers to fight crime, others to commit it. Mostly, they just try to make a living – like the Levitator effortlessly delivering heavy packages, or the Big Bouncer using his human gym ball skills to stock shelves at Mighty Mart. OB’s mom, whose gaze can be chilling when she wants it to be, has a well-paid job at a refrigeration firm called Corpsicle. His dad can cook food with his bare hands. His teacher, Ms. Marble, can turn a rowdy class into stone – for a minute or two. Even the other kids in OB’s class have strange powers.

The trouble is, when everyone is special, nobody is – which is perhaps why Thermo (O Boy’s dad) has so much trouble getting into the League of Ultimate Goodness. He just wants to fight crime, but the Amazing Indestructo (who flies around with the aid of a jet pack) isn’t interested in the help of anybody talented enough to upstage him in the media circus he keeps focused on himself. Besides, he’s pretty busy cashing in on his fame. So, funnily enough, Ordinary Boy’s ordinariness allows him to become the kid everybody depends on. Especially because he has brains, uses common sense and (by necessity) knows how to get things done the hard way, which is sometimes the only way.

In his debut adventure, O Boy joins a group of school kids including Stench (who is super strong in more ways than one), Plasma Girl (who can transform into ooze), Tadpole (who can stick his tongue out, like, 20 feet) and Halogen Boy (who, ironically, isn’t all that bright) to complete their collection of a set of superhero and -villain trading cards. Along the way, they learn lessons about supply and demand and, as a free bonus, discover a plot to destroy Superopolis. In a story that broadly lampoons our generation’s overall obliviousness to the mind tricks the commercial media play on us, they face villains who do not go gently into that good night and a boss hero who isn’t all that he publicizes himself to be. They discover their own strengths, and particularly, the extraordinary qualities of a boy everyone thinks is nothing special.

It’s a goofy book that hits notes I have heard elsewhere, but makes its own unique music. Kids going to schools for junior superheroes are not new, nor is the idea of their grown-up idols being revealed as less than advertised. Also, I’ll admit that it’s a little on the lighter side for my taste, or maybe younger would be a better way to put it. In its favor, it scores some palpable hits on mindless commercialism and junk culture. Its characters form an effective ensemble, sharing a fun patter and a bunch of adventures that are, both at once, off-the-wall silly and embarrassingly close to one’s memories of childhood hijinks. It’s the kind of fantasy concept that fulfills many kids’ wish to live in a comic-book universe and, at the same time, makes them happy they don’t have to.

This is Book 1 of the Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy. Its sequels are The Return of Meteor Boy? and The Great Powers Outage. William Boniface is also the author of a novel titled Studs (there's a horse on the cover) and a couple dozen children's books, including What Do You Want on Your Pizza? and There's a Dinosaur in My Soup. Many of his titles have holiday themes and/or the words "Five Little" in them (Five Little Pumpkins, Five Little Bunny Rabbits, etc.).

[Eli - Bookworm & Vine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun read, kids will definitely enjoy this book.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t that impressed with the first one, The Hero Revealed, but it was good enough that I read the second one. I thought The Return of Meteor Boy? had a stronger, more interesting plot and enjoyed it quite a bit. Ordinary Boy lives in Superopolis, a city where everyone is born with a super power. Well, everyone but him. But since most of the super powers are fairly worthless and most of the citizens are fairly dense, Ordinary Boy holds his own quite well and makes for a good protagonist. He deals with his issues around trying to fit in as the different kid while getting into some pretty good adventures and even saving the day, all while learning more than he wanted to know about the hero he idolizes and the nature of corporate capitalism.

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this book with my 8 year old son. Any book that engages my kid as much as this one did deserves 5 stars. I do rate books I read for myself quite differently. He is a strong reader but this book mostly I read to him. It would not be to challenging for him, but I guess he wanted it to be our joint road trip. It is a solid chapter book with quite a few illustrations. The plot is fast and engaging. Any child likes superheroes and this book is loaded with them. The nice part I think is that the main character is a boy with no super powers. However, his intelligence makes him more powerful then his friends. Message behind-it is cool to be smart. I already brought from library second book from the series.

[holliehocks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.25
Link to full review here.

As this is a children's book, I'm not going to touch on the synopsis here since it's pretty straightforward (and also done on the review linked above). However, I do want to mention that this was my second time reading this book. I am now beyond the age that this book was intended for, but I did read this book in elementary school. Even looking on it now though, I understand why I enjoyed this book so much as a kid. It's fast-paced, filled with humor that kids understand, adventurous, imaginative, and it's on a level of interest that most children can relate to (in this case, completing a collection [of trading cards]).

What I liked about this book was the fact that it taught life lessons on things such as scarcity and rarity, and though I did not catch it the first time reading, I realize now that this book also symbolizes the real world quite a bit (such as the contracts between Tycoon and other characters in this story). It has illustrations that are well-done and not overpowering, and the chapters titles are very catchy. The naming of characters in this book was simplified and appearing to be dumb, but it was intentionally done and worked SO well for this story to the extent that even the town itself had a distinct character. The last thing I loved in this book was its ability to not only teach that being different is a good thing, but the way it was saying that even ordinary people can be extraordinary- not just the ones with the superpowers.

[Pat Salvatini · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this new “super” series, everyone in Superopolis has some sort of superpower. Some powers are awesome, such as the Amazing Indestructo; star of comic books and TV shows, and real life hero to practically everyone in Superopolis. Some powers are less impressive; such as Puddle Boy or Melonhead. Still, everyone is exceptional. Everyone except our narrator, OB – Ordinary Boy. Life for OB is fairly routine, hanging out with his friends eating potato chips and reading comics. That is until the Junior Leaguers; OB, Halogen Boy, Tadpole, Plasma Girl, and Stench team up to complete a set of 64 collector cards and stumble upon a mystery that has the potential to change everyone’s life. Boniface offers readers a fast paced and often silly story interspersed with pages from the Li’l Heroes Handbook (OB’s ever present illustrated reference book of character and location profiles). This new series is a great option for readers who have outgrown Captain Underpants, but still love superheros and silliness.

[Deechjp · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 8-year old (he is an advanced reader) read this book and LOVED it. I had a look myself, and now I'm hooked as well. My son is almost finished with book 2, which he said is even better. My son prefers humorous books. His favorites are the Bone series by Jeff Smith and the Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce. He tends to be picky about what he reads, and it's difficult to find something that will excite him. He became very enthusiastic about this series. It's well-paced and exciting. The humor is fresh and witty. We did question whether Puddle Boy really did have a super power or whether he was exercising an ability all of us have at our disposal...

We couldn't help but notice that the third book in the series was published in 2009. Hopefully, this excellent series will be revisited. It's too good to let go.

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, and a great beginning to a wonderful series (if only it would be continued beyond the third book!). Cleverly written, wryly humorous, and good fun, the story follows the adventures and escapades of Ordinary Boy, the one citizen of Superopolis without any "super powers" (although his intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, and plain ol' common sense put most of the town to shame). I read this book and the two that follow it to some of my older children years ago, and I'm reading through the series again with my younger ones now, and it's just as enjoyable and entertaining now as it was then. Well worth it!

[Major · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique super hero story with a great cast of characters. Ordinary Boy and his friends are on a adventure to complete their trading card collection and end up stumbling upon a evil plot that threatens their city.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superheroes, crime fighting, action, adventure, plot driven, illustrations throughout

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps super hero fans would emit this book. It was cute but I didn’t really get into it

[John Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book. A bit too much of a goofy premise, but fun for what it's about. I liked the fact that the protagonist is clearly brilliant and a natural leader but not recognized for it.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great kids book!

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ordinary Boy is the only resident of Superopolis, a city of heroes, who doesn't have superpowers. He is part of the Junior Leaguers team that includes Halogen Boy, whose glowing ability depends on his consumption of apple juice; Plasma Girl, who can transform into a jellylike substance; and Stench, notable for passing overpowering gas. Ordinary Boy's personal hero is the Amazing Indestructo, the self-proclaimed greatest hero of Superopolis, who is the leader of the League of Ultimate Goodness. When the Junior Leaguers get the opportunity to help the Amazing Indestructo foil the sinister plans of villainous Professor Brain-Drain, Ordinary Boy realizes that even without superpowers, he can still do extraordinary things. Ordinary Boy's narrative is interspersed with pages from the Li'l Heroes Handbook, offering brief profiles on characters and places in the story. This is the first book in a series

This should have been a fast paced funny book. I thought it dragged a bit and the humor was a bit subtle for the intended audience, which most likely would be 4-6th grade boys. No bad language or improper situations.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bestseller by the most popular postwar writer for children of all ages.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book series when I was a kid. I loved the idea of a town where everyone has superpowers, except for one kid, the hero of the series, Ordinary Boy. Only he’s not ordinary. Although he has no powers, he has more integrity, morality, and intelligence than anywhere else in his town. Hmmm…

The best part of the story is definitely the setting. In Superopolis, everyone has superpowers, and so they have costumes and act like comic book heroes or villains. Their names are like comic book characters, but a lot of the adults have no imagination, so a lot of character names are stupid on purpose. Most of the superheroes in Superopolis are idiots or jerks, especially the Amazing Indestructo, who has the best power. Most of the other powers in the series are weird and have limited usefulness. I distinctly remember a kid named Puddle Boy whose power is creating puddles. Ordinary Boy should be glad he isn’t this kid.

Combine all that with a good plot and concepts that are surprisingly mature for a kids series, and you have an excellent introduction to other kids series about superheroes. I know after I read the trilogy, I read a whole lot of stories about superheroes. Only a few were as good as this.

[Alan Figueroa]

***SPOILER ALERT*** In Superopolis everyone has a power. Everyone except one kid. I really like this book. This book is about a boy that is different from everyone else. He does not have a super power. The genre is adventure and humorous.

This book takes place in Superopolis City. In this city everyone has a unique super power. This kid named Ordinary Boy (O Boy) has no power. He thinks it's because his dad Thermo is fire and his mother is ice they canceled each other out and he was left with no power. Well O Boy and his friends Stench, Tadpole, Halogen Boy, and Plasma Girl were looking for a collection series of cards. Their favorite superhero The Amazing Indestructo was indestructible. He always "saved" Superopolis. Once O Boy and his friends had collected the rarest card that had Dr. Brain Drain on it (Amazing Indestructo's worst enemy) they found out it was very valuable. There was only 3 of them in all of Superopolis. One of them was destroyed, they found one, and the last one belonged to a villain named the Multiplier. He was able to make multiples of whatever was in his hands. The Multiplier multiplied the rare card and was working for Dr. Brain Drain's plan. His plan was to suffocate all of Superopolis with the card that had his face on it. Dr. Brain Drain captured O Boy and his friends. O Boy was put into Dr.Brain Drains blimp and he was going to take all of his intelligence. Then O Boy's dad Thermo and The Amazing Indestructo came to save O Boy. Thermo did all the work and the Amazing Indestructo wouldn't take Dr. Brain Drain to jail because then he wouldn't have an enemy. In the end Dr. Brain Drain's plan was destroyed by O Boy's father.

This story was in 1st person so the readers can only see what O Boy was feeling. A major event that changed O Boy was that he no longer looked up to Amazing Indestructo. Throughout the story Ordinary Boy motivates his friends to help him find out why there was only 3 cards. I think the theme of this story is you could be different from everyone else but still have a huge impact on things. The structure of this story also kept the tension building.

I was surprised when Thermo came to help O Boy. I was angry at the fact that The Amazing Indestructo wouldn't fight Dr. Brain Drain. I liked the way the author chose what super power O Boy's friends have because they played a huge role in the story. I was satisfied with the fact that Dr. Brain Drain's plan failed. My favorite part was when O Boy and his friends finally found the Dr. Brain Drain card.

I would rate this book 5/5 stars. I rate it this because it has a great plot to it and I like the style of the author. I would recommend this book to people who like super hero books. I say from 4th grade and higher should be able to read this book. O Boy was the only person in Superopolis without a super power.

[Mary]

Boniface, William. The Hero Revealed: The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy #1. Illus. Stephen Gilpin. Harper Collins, 2006.

This is a novel-length story with added visual elements, which would appeal to its intended audience: middle grade and tween readers who are interested in superhero adventure stories. Boniface plays with and subverts superhero tropes to create an enjoyable narrative, and the liberal use of illustrations, excerpts from the "Little Hero's Handbook," and cliffhanger chapter endings will keep readers turning pages. There's also a sweet father-son relationship story underlying the protagonist's defeat of a super villain that gives the story emotional weight.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ordinary Boy live in Superopolis where everyone has a superpower except Ordinary Boy. Everyone except O Boy has 1 power and 1 power only. O Boy is a member of the Junior Leaguers that includes his friends Halogen Boy, Tadpole, Plasma Girl and Stench. The town's greatest superhero is The Amazing Indestructo who can't be harmed by anything.

There's also supervillains who have superpowers, too. The worst of them is Professor Brain Drain who can boost his own brainpower by draining the intelligence of others. His latest and strangest plot involves the Amazing Indestructo Collector Cards, the Oomphlifier a device that can magnify it's possessor's power by nearly a million times, and a multi-million promotional contracts. When O Boy and his team of Junior Leaguers are captured by Professor Brain Drain, O Boy discovers that he isn't ordinary after all (he's very intelligent) and is able to help rescue the team along with help from The Amazing Indestructo.

This would appeal to readers who enjoy comics and superheroes. A humorous story that reads quickly and has great illustrations to aid the story, especially the entries of people, things, places, etc. from the "Li'l Hero's Handbook". Highly recommended.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great juvenile fiction book for all those young boys into super hero comics or just looking for a good, humorous read. Ordinary boy is the only person in Superopolis without a super power, but that doesn't stop him from forming a junior crime-fighting league with his friends. What I love about this book is that even though he's the only one without super-powers he ends up being the de-facto leader of the group and gets them out of many sticky situations by using his intelligence. They also spend a lot of the story trying to collect an entire set of hero collector cards which leads to a valuable lesson about supply and demand and the whole collecting craze (particularly relevant to the comic/super hero crowd that the series is aimed at). We only had the first book at my library, so I haven't read the rest yet, but I am interested to see what direction the rest of the series goes in and if it continues to have little morals like this for each book.

Read more of my reviews at http://auldschoollibrarian.blogspot.com

[Johnd014 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Ordinary boy is a great book. It is about this kid named Ordinary boy who is trying to find the 3 professor brain drain cards. The reason why Ordinary boy got his name is because his father Thermo makes fire and his mom snowflake makes ice, so their powers must have cancelled each other out. So Ordinary boy and his friends Stench, Halogen,Plasma girl, and Tadpole are finding the Professor brain drain cards. Well first they thought it was just a gimmick because the person who comes up with those ideas does not even make the item. So then they went to Indestucto Industries and talked to this guy named Tycoon, he told them that he made only 3 because he can't steal money from little kids.

Ordinary Boy and his group were finding clues to find a Professor Brain Drain card to complete their collection. I really like this book because when I was younger I used to like superheroes and now I just felt like reading this book. I really enjoyed this book and I am trying now to read the whole series. I would really recommend this book to people who like superheroes.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The classic good vs. evil story, except this time the whole town is full of superheroes...that is, of course, all but Ordinary Boy. The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 1: The Hero Revealed is full of good old-fashioned fight-to-the-finish, rescues-just-in-the-nick-of-time kind of adventures. Ordinary Boy is just that...ordinary, yet he does have some powers, although they aren't recognized as such by his parents and himself. He thinks things through, logically puts them in order, and comes up with a winning solution, every time! Whether they want to believe it or not, he saves the day in the end...and Superopolis is saved from the evil master mind, Professor Brain Drain and his dastardly invention.

Full of humor and not-taking-oneself-too-seriously, The Adventures of Ordinary Boy is also fun since it captures each of the 'superheroes' in the Li'l Hero's Handbook which is full of super people, places, and things. They are cleverly illustrated throughout the book.

A fun adventure book for kids!

[babyhippoface · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a town full of superheroes--literally--O.B. (short for “Ordinary Boy”, since he is the only person in town without some sort of superpower) displays plenty of brain power as he, his friends, and his personal hero, The Amazing Indestructo, work to uncover the evil Professor Brain Drain’s plot to destroy the city. Everything about this novel is appealing, from the gray-scale cartoon illustrations to the action- and humor-packed plot. The tantalizing opportunity to look inside a town full of people with special abilities (albeit, some strange ones) will grab the attention of middle grade readers, and the exploits of O Boy and his friends as they collect trading cards and fight off evil-doers, will keep them hooked. Teachers may choose to read this title aloud to their classes and discuss the methods O.B. uses to solve math and logic problems. Look for more titles in this new series and watch them fly off the library shelves faster than a speeding bullet.

[Chak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for a 10 -14 year old (we read it to our 7 year old). Ordinary boy is the only person in Superopolis who doesn't have a super power, but he manages to tie all the pieces together to solve a mystery and thwart a bad guy. PLOT BONUS: there's a great lesson in supply and demand in the story!

NOTE: I originally had the ages of 7-12 for this book, but I changed it after reading the next book in this series (Book 2: The Return of Meteor Boy?). Not to reveal any spoilers, but there are scientific concepts in the second book that, while interesting, are really beyond the capacity of most 7 and 8 years olds to understand. I don't know what age would be the right age for the second book, exactly, but I think 7 is too young. Still, the first book is fine for 7-12 year olds, but it's just so good that you'll really want to go on to book 2, and then you're in for an intellectual whammy when you do.

[Camille Stanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A city where all the citizens have super powers and wearing costumes around town is a regular occurance. This is Superopolis, home to the Amazing Indestructo and the League of Ultimate Goodness.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book,and though in the beginning I was annoyed at times by the comic book atmosphere (Cheesy clique lines get to me especially in the superhero genre), I loved the characters. The point of view is from a boy named Ordinary Boy (in Superopolis it is common for everyone to have a name that describes their power) who does not seem to have any power. I found the plot clever, and though originally I thought the villain Brain-Drain was kind of silly, but I soon found that he is a bona fide villain that could easily take over the city, except that he found no challenge in it.Anyway, it is a fun, clever book that I would gladly read again.

[Medford Children's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPECIAL REVIEWER: ALEX SANTOS

The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy is a great book for anyone who likes to read about a smart kid facing a lot of problems. This book is also great for kids who like to read about superheroes.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy is about a kid named Ordinary Boy and he lives in a town where everyone has superpowers, and nobody knows why. But the problem for Ordinary Boy is that everybody has superpowers except him. Ordinary Boy thinks that the best superhero ever is the Amazing Indestructo. So when they started to sell Amazing Indestructo trading cards he bought a bunch. But a mystery appears and Ordinary is on the case. In a town where everyone is super this might be a job for Ordinary Boy!

[Corinna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Maud Hart Lovelace Division 1 nominee, and I read it aloud at bedtime. We loved this book. It's fun and a little bit different. The illustrations and style add a lot, and my kids thought it was interesting having a city in which everyone has a superpower. This book deals with some surprising ideas such as supply and demand, breach of contract and the underhanded things a hero might do to protect his image. There is a good measure of silliness thrown in as well - the main villain wears a colander on his head, for goodness sake, so you know this book does not take itself too seriously. We are looking forward to reading the next installment in the Extrordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy!

[MTS Youth]

Some of the things I find interesting about it is that it gives the facts on some of the heroes in the novel, it has a great plot, and the main character is ordinary, but the book is certainly opposite. I also recommend the second and third one, The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 2: The Return of Meteor Boy? and Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 3: The Great Powers Outage.

[Alex Cybulski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a real fun surprise. Ordinary Boy (OB) is the only person without a power in a city full of people who all have superpowers. In fact, having a power is so central to their identities that they are named for them (Snowflake, Thermal, the Amazing Indestructo, Stench, etc...). Not all the powers are impressive or useful (such as Spaghetti Man's amazing power to create cooked noodles) but they are still powers.

The actual plot centers around the release of a set of trading cards featuring The Amazing Indestructo (the city's premier hero), the other members of the League of Ultimate Goodness, and members of his rogue's gallery. OB and his friends realize there is something fishy going on, and become embroiled in a mystery that will change the way OB views his world and favorite hero.