How To Be a Hero

K-Gr 2—Gideon is a nice boy who lives in a nice house, has nice parents, and possesses plenty of toys. He should be satisfied, but he wants more. Gideon wants to be a hero, the kind he sees on the front page of the newspaper. Thinking long and hard about the heroes in the fairy tales he has read, he concludes that it isn't necessary to kiss a princess (or a snoring elderly babysitter) or even to be strong, brave, or clever. Gideon decides that all he has to do is be in the right place at the right time and pay attention. So he goes to the supermarket, where he finds himself surrounded by other customers cheering him on as the 10,000th customer. His picture appears in the newspaper, and he even gets a kiss on the cheek from a girl. Gideon becomes the hero he's always wanted to be. The narrative alone is strong enough, but the true story lies in Groenink's soft illustrations. Gideon is so wrapped up in his candy bar and becoming a hero that he does not notice what's happening in the background. To find out the identity of the true hero in this book, readers and listeners alike must follow Gideon's own advice about keeping their eyes open. This narrative is filled with tongue-in-cheek humor but can be a starting point for a discussion on what makes a hero; educators may want to use it as part of a fairy-tale unit.