Heroes of the Year: Ernie & Maud    by Frances Watts & Judy Watson Order:  USA  Can Eerdmans, 2012 (2012) Paperback, e-Book      Reviewed by J. A. Kaszuba Locke Heroes of the Year is the fourth in a series starring heroes-in-training - Extraordinary Ernie Eggers and his companion sheep, Marvelous Maud. The team has assigned days to patrol the streets of the town and meet in front of the Baxter Branch Superheroes Society. The dynamic duo bring each other up-to-date on life trials - Ernie presses hard to win a ribbon at the school carnival, while Maud has switched from art classes to gymnastics and voices woe that she cannot perform splits! But a bigger problem quickly diverts their attention. The dodging nemesis Pencil Pete is in Baxter - the duo first note the Mayor's poster with a huge mustache drawn on her face. And that's not the only place Pencil Pete is at work ... mustaches appear on menus, books, posters, newspapers, etc.. Pete's artwork also appears on posters of the members of the Superheroes Society! The dynamic duo rushes to 32 Main Street headquarters to inform their colleagues of Pencil Pete's destruction of town property. They listen to peers discussing the upcoming Heroes of the Year award. Leader Super Whiz wants to nominate Ernie and Maud for the honor. The central headquarters' judges are secretly touring nineteen Superheroes locations. Amazing Desmond comes up with a plan to dazzle the judges, while Valiant Vera advises the duo to be themselves as they carry on heroics each day. Frances Watts is Fearless in her portrayal of two heroes who will find out if Pencil Pete has an ulterior motive for drawing mustaches. Illustrator Judy Watson works hand-in-hand to synchronize black/grey-shaded pencil sketches - note the fine details on page forty with its full-page row of stores including Winters Newsstand. Each book in the series teaches what is important: supporting friends and faithfulness to duty. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews