Time to Be a Hero: Ready-to-Read Level 1

by Daphne Pendergrass (Adapter), Style Guide

Join your favorite heroes as they work together to save the day in this Pre-level 1 Ready-to-Read based on PJ Masks, the hit preschool series airing on Disney Junior!

Owlette can’t wait to try the new train ride at the amusement park! But when Romeo steals the train for himself, it’s up to Owlette, Catboy, and Gekko to stop him! Can Owlette put aside her excitement to track down Romeo and derail his plot?

PJ Masks © Frog Box / Entertainment One UK Limited / Walt Disney EMEA Productions Limited 2014

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published November 8, 2016

Reviews

[Matt]

This was a re-read, but Neo liked it so much that he decided to take control and read it to me. When a train is found on the loose, chasing a mad scientist's mobile laboratory, the PJ Masks help to slow it down and ensure that no one is hurt. Their teamwork and skills are surely what has saved the day, keeping the city from impending doom. Neo liked that we found more books about this superhero team and hopes that I will discover more Level 1-2 readers for him to hone his skills. His super reading antics will soon have Goodreads begging him to be a regular contributor, or so we can hope!

[Noah Metzger]

I read this at a 6 year old's birthday party. While I was initially surprised to see that this was based on a screenplay, I was quite impressed with how well the author managed to adapt the narrative to a junior novelisation. The heart and soul remained intact and I can tell the creator's original vision was maintained throughout. The denouement leaned a little too heavy on Deus Ex Machina for my tastes, but I have never seen PJ Masks, so that may be standard process for this procedural drama. The birthday party also had bacon, which put me in a good mood. Happy birthday, Evie.

[Tasha]

Cute 🥰💙

[Sheila]

It was so good my niece had me read it twice in a row!

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*]

Adapted by Pendergrass, Daphne PJ Masks: Time to be a Hero 15 pgs. Simon, 2016. $3.99 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G

This level one early reader features three youngsters who become animal inspired superheroes, based on a gecko, a cat, and an owl. In this story there is a missing train and bad guy named Romeo who tries to stop them from retrieving the train. Bright cartoon illustrations fill each page.

I have not yet had a student ask for books from this new to the U.S. TV show, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like the book. It’s a fun and simple plot that would work for Pre-K or K.

PRE-K, EL(K-3) –OPTIONAL Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

[Silas]

I like this book because Romeo (he's the bad guy) stole all the tracks because he needed to use them to catch up to his lab because his lab was rolling away on its own. So he needed the train but he took it without asking. The day when they found out that before they knew it, they were like "what, why is that train not here?" It's because Romeo stole the train ride at the amusement park.

[Joe Slone]

Riveting. Complex. Suspenseful.

[Ethan & Isaac]

Anytime can be time to be a hero

[Benny&Ella]

Read @ NYPL

[Kelly Chester]

What a great book !!

[Irene Ramos]

It was a very cute book. It was read to me by my four year old granddaughter Arina. She really loves this book. I would recomend this book for kids.

[Darian - Books With A Chance]

My son says 5 stars.
If your little one is a fan of PJ Mask they’re going to enjoy the book

[Emma Sedlak]

Eamon’s review: “it was an oh-pay book.”

[Lucas]

“I like when the bad guy were taking the train” - Luke

I think we’ll have to revisit this because despite wanting to rank it 5 stars, Luke was not paying attention - Mama

[Melissa]

Alain Reyes

[R.]

PJ Masks is one of my daughter's newest interests. Still doesn't rank as highly as some of the others, but it gets decent attention. This story is written very simply for a learning to read book and focuses a lot on teamwork. Owlette is so focused on wanting to ride the train, that she keeps making mistakes until she works with her friends to solve the problem. The title comes from the teams popular phrase every time they finally buckle down and figure out how to save the day: "it's time to be a hero."

[Alexis R. Young]

Short and sweet! Words were short and large enough to teach and to help children learn, which I loved. Cute book if your littles love Pj Masks!

[Cara]

While I actually enjoying watching PJ Masks, this book was a terrible rendition. I get that it's for kids just learning how to read, but if they're reading a PJ Masks book, they probably watch the show and expect to read about the Track-a-Whacker.
It gives the general gist of the episode with as few details as possible.

[Ali]

Summary:
The kids were at the fair and noticed that the train was missing. When night comes the kids turn into PJ Masks and go looking for the missing train. Owelette is in a rush to get the train back that it makes her become trapped by Romeo, the bad guy that stole the train. Gekko and Catboy help rescue her. The work together as a team to get the train back to the fair and in the morning the kids get to ride the train.

Activity:
If you were a superhero, draw what your costume would look like. Next, make up a story about how you would save the world. Make sure to include what super powers you have, what are the things or people you are saving, and how are you going to save it. Make sure to write in your story if you are working as a team like PJ Masks.

Pendergrass, D. (2016). Time to Be a Hero. New York: Simon Spotlight

[Angie]

Synopsis: "Join your favorite heroes as they work together to save the day in this Pre-level 1 Ready-to-Read based on PJ Masks, the hit preschool series airing on Disney Junior!

Owlette can’t wait to try the new train ride at the amusement park! But when Romeo steals the train for himself, it’s up to Owlette, Catboy, and Gekko to stop him! Can Owlette put aside her excitement to track down Romeo and derail his plot?"

My Review: Munchkin is a HUGE PJ Masks fan and I jumped on the books as soon as I saw them. This is a great pre-level early reader for fans of the show. It does copy an episode exactly but this book does a great job of simplifying it. There are simple sentences and words, some great sight words and with the characters and episode from the show kids will feel confident in being able to sound out new words.

[Netaniel Dempster]

(Actual title of the book is Time to be a Hero, not We're a Team)

This book is about Connor, Amaya and Gekko saving the day!

Connor, Amaya and Gekko become Catboy, Owlette and Gekko because Romeo took the train. Owlette wanted to ride the train but Romeo took it. He was trying to get back his lab.

The Pj Masks went to the fair. Amaya wanted to go on the train ride. She didn't get to go on the train because Romeo took it. They decided to save the day when they saw that it was missing. Owlette was in a rush. She got taken. Romeo took her! Gekko and Catboy helped her get away. Next time she has to slow down and wait for her teammates.

[Sarah]

I was a little disappointed in the quality of this book. I usually have low expectations of easy readers (ready to read, I Can Read, etc.) due to the fact that the sentences have to remain simple so young readers can read them. I also usually have low expectations for books based on TV shows and this one did not disappoint. The "illustrations" were screen captures straight from the TV show and the story an extremely simplified version of an episode.

[Jesse]

Huge gaps make the story difficult to follow without knowing the episode, or completely contradict events occurring one after the other. But Berry was super excited to see familiar faces on the page and we read it about 25 times so that's something. :)

[Kenson and kirra]

i love pj masks. my favorite is catboy -- (age 5). my sister likes owlette (age 3). my nephew (age 6) likes gecko. together we save the day.

[Paul]

2018 summer reading reward from local library.

[Tale9Fin2Bryn]

PJ Masks are at it again, saving the day from a run away train. However, I will not be reading this again for storytime due to lack of storyline or gaps in the story.

[Aarvik]

Nice!