Readers of Stroll the Dunes will surely recall my first article on Leigh Porter Cutrone’s delightful children’s book about her grandson, Camden, who was born profoundly deaf. This book, Camden and His Superpower Ears Go to a New School, details how, with the help of his teacher, Camden becomes accepted by his classmates in his new school once he explains why he wears cochlear implants and what it is like being deaf. One of his classmates, to the delight of everyone, names these devices “SUPERPOWER EARS.”

Now, in her new book, Camden and His Superpower Ears and a Superpower Team, Leigh follows how Camden and his neighbor, Lenox, both neighborhood outsiders, overcome another challenge: becoming accepted members of a basketball team. Camden needs to explain his cochlear implants and his deafness once again, and Lenox must convince an all-boys team that girls can be team players and are good basketball players, too!

After Coach Dribble asks the team to welcome the newcomers, Jimmy, a “smarty,” makes negative comments about both Camden and Lenox. Fortunately, one of the players, Bobby, is a friend of Camden’s and knows all about Camden’s cochlear implants. So, when Jimmy picks on Camden saying, “WHAT are those things on your head anyway? HOW do you expect to play with THOSE?”, Bobby exclaims, “Those are Camden’s ears, and they have SUPERPOWER!. He needs

them to hear.”

In support of Lenox, Camden then turns to Jimmy and says, “Lenox plays really well. You’ll see!” 

Coach Dribble now asks Camden to explain his SUPERPOWER EARS to the team. Camden tells the players all about his cochlear implants: he was born deaf, and without his “ears,” he cannot hear anything. He also mentions some of the limitations of the devices. The team listens attentively to Camden, and while the boys seem accepting, Lenox is left hurt. Camden assures her everything will change once everyone sees how well she can play.

Both Camden and Lenox are welcomed, then, and after the first practice, Coach Dribble asks the team to pick a name for themselves. Bobby shouts out, “SUPERPOWERS.”

Later, with t-shirts and headbands, SUPERPOWERS becomes official.

The rest of this well-written and marvelously illustrated book tells all about the team’s first competition. Excitement builds as the teams compete. You’ll be on the edge of your seat to the very end, but you will have to read the book to see how it all turns out. I asked Leigh to tell her readers why she wrote this sequel to her first book.

“Gaining acceptance and becoming part of a group, a team, is something so important to young children. No one wants to be left out, especially those who don’t seem to quite fit in. It's important to teach children that everyone is unique and everyone is special, including those who may look different, those with physical limitations, those of a different race, and

others who are otherwise not ‘mainstream,’ and they should be welcomed by their peers. Education is key.”

I couldn’t agree more with Leigh Porter Cutrone.

So, let’s treat everyone as if they each have SUPERPOWERS. These might not be so obvious at first, but they are there, just waiting to be discovered. SUPERPOWERS are within each and every one of us!

Leigh is working on a third book of this series, entitled, The Celebration of Fiona and Her Superpower Ears, which will be published this year by Sandi Huddleston-Edwards’ company, Here I Am Publishing, LLC., publisher of Leigh’s first two books. Visit Sandi’s website at hereiampublishingllc.com.

To purchase a signed copy of Leigh’s book, contact her at lpc.pentopaper@gmail.com.