68. Salamander Smackdown by John Sazaklis

Salamander Smackdown by John Sazaklis. Illustrated by Art Baltazar (US) - (Canada)
DC Super Pets

Pages: 52
Ages: 6+
Finished: Mar. 1, 2012
First Published: Aug. 1, 2011
Publisher: Picture Window Press
Genre: children, easy reader, superheroes
Rating: 4/5


First sentence: "It was a beautiful morning in Central City."

Publisher's Summary: "When two naughty newts escape from a pet store, nothing can stop their amphibian antics . . . except the TERRIFIC WHATZIT! This super-speedy turtle must stop the slimy salamanders before they cast another tale of terror on CENTRAL CITY."

Acquired: Received a review copy from Capstone Press.

Reason for Reading: Ds read aloud to me as his reader.

Well ds (and I) really enjoyed this title even more so than usual.  This is a very fun story that doesn't follow the usual supervillan plot of the other books in the series.  Instead, this time, we have two cyborg salamanders who idolize Professor Zoom, follow him home, find a giant robot and get it working.  They then proceed to cause chaos in Central City.  Luckily The Flash's pet turtle the Terrific Whatzit is nearby to rescue the day.  Ds had a great time reading this one and enjoyed the antics of both Whatzit and the newts.  Being autistic he doesn't often get a lot of humour unless it is right in your face but he laughed all the way through at the shenanigans of cyborg newts, X-43 and Bit-Bit.  He even got 2 out of the 3 jokes at the back of the book!  He usually doesn't get any of them.  Lots of fun had by all and one of our favourites in this entertaining series written at a low reading level but suitable for a wide range of ages who are still interested in superheroes. Ds is 11 and mum is forty-{cough}.