Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero

by Anne Cottringer, Alex T. Smith (Illustrator)

All the grown-ups comment that Eliot is "such a quiet little thing," unaware that at night, when the clock strikes midnight, he becomes a superhero, and now he has received his most urgent mission yet, to help a group of scientists prevent a giant meteor from crashing into Earth.

Genres: Picture Books, Superheroes, Adventure, Childrens, Humor, Storytime

24 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2008

About the author

Anne spent most of her childhood playing baseball, climbing trees and going on adventures. After her geography degree from the University of Western Ontario, she got itchy feet and moved to London and became a freelance film technician. She received Dip.Ad. from Slade School of Fine Art and a M.A. from Royal College of Art.
Anne turned to writing when her first child was born, and now splits her time between writing children’s books and making films.

Reviews

[Haelwyn Greene]

My children really like this book! We are learning about book reviews and the majority gave it five stars!

[Sarah Kiesche]

Eliot Jones is a quiet, laid back kid during the day. At night however, he zooms around the world helping people in need. I love the imagination put into this and think kids would enjoy thinking about what they would do as a superhero. I thought this was a cute read and could be a great writing mini-lesson. 1st-2nd grades

[Becky Allen]

A sweet story about imagination or dreams or maybe both. It is a lovely story about being more than other people think you are and about being all that you want to be. The language used is so interesting; rampaging - champion - sleuth - deafening - ingenuity. Perhaps a book best read with an adult to ensure these words have been understood by early readers. It is a lovely way to introduce such exciting vocabulary however. The illustrations as well are really lovely, sobright and animated but also full of humour. There are also little bits of illustration in Eliot's room which link to the adventures he experiences which nods to the idea that it is all imagination or a dream perhaps inspired by the things in this room. A lovely book.

[Cara White]

I read this to a Year 2 class who are currently working on the theme of superheros. They really enjoyed it and were able to use their prediction skills to come up with what they think the story is about from the first few pages.

It is a really nice book to read and has good comic like illustrations which fit with the superhero theme (the students were amused by how big the characters heads were). Just like some heros those around Eliot did not know that at midnight he was a superhero saving the town and flying jets.

[Emily Jones]

I think I will always hear this story in the voice of Jonas Armstrong (my first "reading" of this book was Jonas' reading on CBeebies). The book is much more entertaining when read by Jonas Armstrong [swoon]. Nevertheless, it's a cute book with some great vocabulary words to introduce to children. I've considered this for a superhero-themed storytime, but it may be too advanced for that age group.

[Gage Langman]

Though this book seems like it was made for a 8-10 year old, it had the grammatical writing for children with academics leading up to my age. Using words such as; Rampaging, Deafening, Courage, and even Ingenuity! The book itself wasn't too entertaining, but with the choices of words that were used, I at the least got my bit of brain food for the day!

[Eliot Reads]

Eliot is a quiet boy during the day, but at night he soars as a brave (and adorable) superhero. Eliot tames a runaway zoo lion, tows a ship to safety, recovers stolen jewels, travels in a supersonic jet to Tibet, and even stops a meteor from destroying the earth.

[Kirsty]

Eliot, quiet by day and superhero by night! I love how the book can be used with all primary ages with the accessible, engaging illustrations as well as the wide vocabulary choices used! A great, humorous which would be brilliant to use alongside literacy lessons.

[Alice]

A great book to read to a Year 1/2 class exploring the theme of superhero's. I really liked the comic like illustrations too which created a warm atmosphere. This book highlights the theme of being creative with your imagination.

[Susan]

Eliot Jones is very quiet except when he is out saving the world at night. I do always wonder if kids may start worrying about meteors after this one...

[Kenson and kirra]

i thought this book was a little silly. i liked that the boy becaume a super hero but why were their crowds at midnight around the lions. they should have all been sleeping too (age 5)

[Kris]

Cute. Eliot is a quiet kid, at least during the day. But after midnight, he is a superhero. And adorable one with red hair and glasses. A fun read that encourages vocabulary and imagination.

[Giacinta]

Good story, weak ending.

[Jenny]

By day, Eliot is calm and quiet. At night, however, he is a superhero...saving lives and helping people.

[Alon]

It’s really cool. I really like superheroes. And the book is like PJ Masks, a show, because at midnight, the PJ Masks come out just like Eliot. (Alon, 7)

[Courtney]

Super cute book about a midnight superhero saving the world from a meteor! My four year old really liked this one. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fun bedtime read.

[Lottie Jackson]

A brilliant story following a theme of superhero’s and the importance of being creative with your imagination.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

By day Eliot Jones is a reserved kid who is always reading in his room. But, at midnight, he becomes a super hero who is called upon to solve all kinds of impossible disasters.

The Illustrations make this book better than your average superhero story. They are water color and ink and have all sorts of funny details thrown in. And Eliot himself is adorable, depicted as a tiny spectacled boy with a pig head full of curly red hair.

[Jean-Marie]

Eliot Jones is a quiet boy by day. At the stroke of midnight he turns into a Midnight Superhero. And because saving the world by night - like returning the queen's stolen jewels and stopping meteors heading to Earth - can be very tiring work, it doesn't leave him with much energy during the day. Very cute superhero book, and really gets the imaginative juices flowing...What other ways could Eliot Jones be saving the world?

[Kelsey]

Age: Preschool+

When the clock strikes 12 every night, Eliot Jones leaves his quiet, pleasant life and becomes a midnight superhero skiing down glaciers, saving towns from prides of escaped lions, and returning stolen jewels back to the queen. But Eliot is up for his most difficult mission: saving Earth from an approaching meteor. The artwork was very well done with interesting detail without being overwhelming.

[Joelle]

Every kid dreams of being a superhero. It's always the quiet, nerdy kids who seem to have these secret abilities. This book is a great way for children to live out there superhero dreams vicariously through this little boy. He travels around the world, he works for the mayor and the queen, and he gets to have some great adventures. It's a fun story full of excitement that allows children to use their imaginations generously.

[Sunnyvale Librarian]

Eliot leads a deceptively quiet life; until the stroke of midnight when he becomes Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero. At midnight, Eliot is endowed with numerous talents--expert lion tamer, champion swimmer, and skilled jet pilot--to name a few. He will need all of these abilities as he faces his greatest challenge of saving the world from a meteor! The combination of an exciting story and engaging illustrations will make this an often requested read-aloud by young superheroes!

[Connie]

The title pretty much says it all. Eliot Jones is a MIDNIGHT SUPERHERO! He's an expert swimmer and can save ships! He's an expert pilot and mountain climber and can save the whole world from a meteor!

It's a fun little book about a boy's daydreams, and worth reading, I think.

[Molly]

Eliot is mild-mannered and quiet- by day- but a major force for good by night. Of course, it is possible that Eliot simply has an overactive imagination!

My son especially enjoyed the blueprints outlining how to turn a lamp into a variety of superhero equipment.

[Kim]

Very cute story about a quiet boy who is/thinks he is a superhero after midnight. The plot is more vignettes and the ending isn't entirely satisfying to me, but I think this would be a great boy read.

[Charles Norris]

It was a good superhero story but I felt that there wasn't much of a message within the story. I really did like the illustrations because they looked like a child may have helped draw the pictures. It was also an exciting story with lots of action throughout.

[TwoDrinks]

It's okay this book but I didn't enjoy reading it aloud much. It's got lots going on on each page so it's a very good book for older children who'd like to look at everything and discuss. I particuarly enjoyed Eliot being ginger. There just aren't enough gingers in literature.

[Janine]

This book has beautiful, detailed illustrations that children will love to pore over, sharing things that they've spotted! It's a fun story with a repetitive structure and lovely sentence starters/connectives which make it perfect for learning off by heart and retelling.

[Ann]

Fun book that should make a great read aloud, even for 2nd-3rd grade

[Becca]

Cute story explaining why a child is quiet during the day.