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    Meet the Mighty Helpers

    Eyeglasses, Wheelchairs, and Friends Show Off Their Skills

    Author Laura Purdie Salas
    Illustrated by Julia Patton
    Hardcover
    $18.99 US
    Astra Publishing House | Wordsong
    9"W x 11"H
    On sale Jul 21, 2026 | 40 Pages | 9781662660009
    Preschool - 3
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    In this imaginative picture-book collection of poems, a variety of tools that help humans—such as eyeglasses, wheelchairs, and fidget toys—audition to be superheroes.

    It’s time for tryouts—superhero tryouts! Who will be chosen for the top-secret Superhero Crew? Will it be the eyeglasses that help Lata see clearly? The wheelchair that helps Nat race across the basketball court? The seizure alert dog that helps May when a seizure starts? And/or best friends Akeem and Javon, who are always there for each other? As the contestants show off their skills in the illustrations and in Laura Purdie Salas’s playful poems, it’s clear that we all need a little help and that these helpers are our superheroes. 

    Featuring a dyslexia-friendly font, action-packed art, and exuberant poems, this picture book is a buoyant celebration of everyday triumphs.
    Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 125 books for children, including If You Were the Moon, the award winning Can Be . . . series, and BookSpeak! Poems About Books, which was an NCTE Notable Book of Poetry and won the Nerdy Book Award for Poetry, among other honors. She lives with her family in Plymouth, Minnesota. Visit her at laurasalas.com. View titles by Laura Purdie Salas
    © Julia Patton
    Julia Patton is an illustrator, author, and designer, who has also run a freelance greeting card business since 1994 and has periodically taught in BA and MA programs at various universities. She has illustrated more than 56 books, including 7 that she also wrote. Her author-illustrator title The Very Very Very Long Dog was on the Kids Indie Next Picks List and became a Dreamscape animation. She says, “I'm a huge advocate of silly . . . [and] probably due to this I’m irritatingly 99.9 % happy at all times.” She lives in Tyne & Wear, England. View titles by Julia Patton

    About

    In this imaginative picture-book collection of poems, a variety of tools that help humans—such as eyeglasses, wheelchairs, and fidget toys—audition to be superheroes.

    It’s time for tryouts—superhero tryouts! Who will be chosen for the top-secret Superhero Crew? Will it be the eyeglasses that help Lata see clearly? The wheelchair that helps Nat race across the basketball court? The seizure alert dog that helps May when a seizure starts? And/or best friends Akeem and Javon, who are always there for each other? As the contestants show off their skills in the illustrations and in Laura Purdie Salas’s playful poems, it’s clear that we all need a little help and that these helpers are our superheroes. 

    Featuring a dyslexia-friendly font, action-packed art, and exuberant poems, this picture book is a buoyant celebration of everyday triumphs.

    Author

    Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 125 books for children, including If You Were the Moon, the award winning Can Be . . . series, and BookSpeak! Poems About Books, which was an NCTE Notable Book of Poetry and won the Nerdy Book Award for Poetry, among other honors. She lives with her family in Plymouth, Minnesota. Visit her at laurasalas.com. View titles by Laura Purdie Salas
    © Julia Patton
    Julia Patton is an illustrator, author, and designer, who has also run a freelance greeting card business since 1994 and has periodically taught in BA and MA programs at various universities. She has illustrated more than 56 books, including 7 that she also wrote. Her author-illustrator title The Very Very Very Long Dog was on the Kids Indie Next Picks List and became a Dreamscape animation. She says, “I'm a huge advocate of silly . . . [and] probably due to this I’m irritatingly 99.9 % happy at all times.” She lives in Tyne & Wear, England. View titles by Julia Patton

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