Disaster has struck! Mr Spyros the PE teacher has lost the key to the PE shed. That not only means, no footballs, rugby balls or hoola hoops – but having to do Maths instead of playing games on the field!

Break down the door? It’s impossible.

Break the lock? It’s too strong.

Spare key? You guessed it. The one lost WAS the spare key!

Now, students are milling around the shed wondering what to do. Standing a little way off, as they usually do, are three students named Max, Daniel and Natalie. Why do they stand apart? They know they are seen as the uncool kids. They know others find them a bit intense sometimes. But it is just who they are, and they are perfectly happy in each other’s company.

Daniel loves dinosaurs and will talk about them endlessly. Natalie is a huge fan of Doctor Who, and Max is a history buff. But that’s not the only thing special about these friends.

Max has a photographic memory, and Natalie is incredibly fast at doing jigsaws. Her mind sees the pieces and quickly knows exactly where they go. Max decides they can use their combined ‘superpowers’ to open the PE shed.

Max announces to the other students that’s what they are going to do, and Natalie cringes. How are they going to do it and what if they can’t? The other kids will think they are even more uncool, by making false promises. But Max is determined.

They must face the front office lady – very cranky. Face down the school bullies – the Bogan boys. Then race a rubbish truck, and most difficult of all – fight their inner tensions that are rising every minute. They aren’t used to putting themselves through so many stressful situations.

They might not have the PE shed key, but they could have a solution after all.

Unable to find books with kids like himself in it, Dr Craig Cormick wrote Superheroes for a Day for his autistic son.

Readers will find a large clear font, black & white illustrations throughout and a easy to read, fun story. They will also learn from the characters themselves, what it is like being different from their peers, seen as uncool etc, when they really do have skills that are like super powers. A photographic memory and the ability to rapidly piece puzzles together, seem like super powers to me!  

Daniel, Max and Natalie work together well, understanding each other’s quirks and ways of dealing with outside stresses, without judging, laughing or walking away. Seeing this story from their perspective is a great way to normalise autistic children’s individual traits within a school setting.

Having a cool kid’s understanding and friendship is also appreciated in the story, without taking anything away from the heroes themselves – keen to save the day.

Author – Craig Cormick

Illustrator – Lauren Mullinder

Age – 7+

(2024, Autism, Autistic, School, Superheroes, Friendship, Bullies, Cool kids, PE, Maths, Hero, Missing Key, Courage, Different, Photographic memory, Determination)