Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Vol. 1: The Sinister Six by Kitty Fross , Jeff Parker, Erica David Search Amazon for other books by or about Kitty Fross. Rating: Reviewed by: Celina Cuadro

I am happy to see that an industry giant like Marvel Comics is now tooling its vast wealth of adventure stories for young children in a series called Marvel Adventures. Unlike traditional comic books whose stories span across several issues, each Marvel Adventures comic book is a standalone story, designed for children with the reading level of 9-12 years old. Marvel rates these comic books 'for all ages', and since the 8 year-old in our house has been devouring everything in the series we can find for him, I would say younger children who have comparable reading skills can get in on the action, too!

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man begins with Volume 1: The Sinister Six---a good primer for the series since its first story is how Peter Parker became Spider-Man. The next story is packed with villains: Doctor Octopus assembles the Vulture, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Sandman, and Mysterio to take on Spider-man. Toss in the Human Torch from Fantastic Four, and parents interested in sparking a passion for reading will have in their hands an exciting adventure and many colorful characters to inspire young minds.