Nathanael Lessore takes a fresh, hilarious look at Superheroes
About Author
Nathanael Lessore grew up in a North Peckham estate as one of eight children to French and Madagascan parents. His debut book Steady For This was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024 and won the Branford Boase Award 2024. Becoming a writer is a dream come true, and he will never take this journey for granted.
Simran Diamond Singh is an illustrator and character designer based in East London. She has always adored storytelling and world-building and bringing characters to life, and ventured into the world of children's book illustration after winning the Secret Story Draw in 2021.
Interview
Nathanael Lessore revisits Superheroes in Solving Crimes is Not My Superpower!
March 2025
Visit the village of Walsham where everyone has a superpower - but not the kind you'd expect; would you want to be able to produce colourful farts, smell fears or levitate squirrels? For young Sara, any of these would be better than not having a power at all, which seems to be her fate. Could solving the crime of a missing football trophy help her discover where her powers really lie?
Solving Crimes is Not My Superpower (Little Tiger Press) takes a fresh and very funny look at what it means to have a superpower, and we spoke with author Nathanael Lessore and illustrator Simran Diamond Singh to find out more about the book, plus writing tips for creating your very own superpower.
Review: "The book is fast-paced and the reader is swept into a world full of magic, mystery and adventure."
Q&A with Nathanael Lessore, on writing, superheroes and the superpower he dreams of!
1. Can you tell us a little more about yourself and how you started writing for young people? What kinds of books do you enjoy writing? What has been your career highlight to date
I'm just a random guy living his life. And I get to write books for a living. Writing for young people was a proper fluke. I completed a Creative Writing degree, but I was realistic enough not to pursue writing books, as I didn't think it was even a possibility. So I went into marketing, and worked my way up. Then Covid happened. I was living alone, and within weeks I was so bored and lonely that I was reenacting scenes from Tangled around the flat. That's when I decided to write something, just to see if I could. That something turned into my first book. It just happened to be appropriate for young people, as I was taught at university to write what you know. I never dreamt of doing this as a job, I'm simply a Charlie Bucket who won a golden ticket.
I enjoy writing anything. Books, speeches for my friends' birthdays, shopping lists, I have fun writing anything. If I'm not writing, especially on deadline, I have a palpable fear of missing out. I think about writing when I'm not writing.
Finding out I was getting published is always the first that comes to mind. My flat had no reception, so I took the phone outside. When I got the news, I sat in the gutter for three hours looking at the sky. Since then, there have been several highlights. Kids enjoying the books, shortlists, a couple award wins, and getting to meet kind, helpful people who are dedicated to getting and keeping young people reading.
2. What's your new book, Solving Crimes is Not My Superpower, about?
My new book is about a town where everyone has powers except Sara, the main character. And when the school trophy goes missing, Sara decides to hunt it down for her best friend, Georgie. A reviewer recently summarised as a book that shows “there are several ways to be extraordinary”, and I think that's perfect. As a hero with no powers in a town where everyone has powers except her, Sara shows that heart and determination are the real superpower.
3. What inspired this idea of a town of people with special powers?
I loved comic books growing up, and still do. I own several Spiderman costumes that I wear to the cinema to watch Marvel films. I was obsessed with the Justice Leage and had all the action figures. So when Little Tiger asked what I wanted to write about, it was always going to be Superpowers. In our first editorial meeting, the team were so creative in establishing the rules of the universe, that my main job was coming up with silly powers for the “normal” villagers who make up the majority.
4. If you lived in Walsham, what would your silly superpower be? But if you could choose your superpower, what would you want it to be?
If I lived in Walsham, I'd have the ability to turn my tears into milk. Then when someone said there's no use crying over spilt milk, I'd prove them wrong by refilling my glass with milk tears.
My own superpower would probably be teleportation. I love travelling, but I hate airports. Either that, or I'd love the ability to stay warm all year round. I'd love to be impervious to winter.
5. Which superhero films and / or characters did you have in mind when developing your story? Which superhero traditions did you have the most fun playing with?
The Incredibles came to mind when thinking of Sara's parents. And Booster Gold from DC, a clumsy character with no real powers himself. He uses time travel and future tech to come back in time and fight crime, because he wants to help, despite his lack of natural superpowers.
My favourite tradition to play with was the idea of a nemesis for the hero. Dad's nemesis as a traffic warden really tickled me, as Norman is just a lovely guy who seems unaware that he's anyone's mortal enemy.
6. How would you encourage young writers to have a go at 'rewriting' a superhero story - creating a superhero with unusual powers?
I would ask them to identify a problem, and then come up with a superpower to solve it. For example, washing dishes is annoying. So amazing dishwashing powers would solve that.
Or little things, like keeping plants alive when you're on holiday, pouring honey without getting everything sticky, missing the bus; we'd come up with powers to solve those problems.
7. Why do your main characters, Sara, George and Javier, work so well together as a team? Which one of them do you relate most to, and why?
I think they work as a team because each of them is so different from the next. The skills one has makes up for shortcomings in the others. They're like a pie chart divided into three sections. Sara is the brains, Georgie is the motivator, and Javier is the emotional grounding that keeps them together. There's a lot of between them, and I think that's clear throughout the book.
I probably relate to Georgie most. She's the most impulsive of the three, but she's also fiercely loyal. I guess I'm also a bit of a Javier; kinda goofy and just happy to be where he's at.
8. You have a very diverse group of characters in this story - how important is representation to you as an author, and do you feel enough is being done to reach all children through published stories?
For me, diversity is an action, and not just something to talk about. As an author who wants kids to see themselves in books, as an author who didn't see a lot of it myself growing up, I need to write with authentic representation otherwise what am I doing here? The opposite of representation is to exclude certain kids from books, and that's some supervillain stuff right there.
I've met diverse authors telling amazing, authentic stories. I liken diversity in books conversation to racism in football. If we stop talking about it, we take our foot off the pedal. I can't say if enough is being done to reach all children through published stories, but I know that there is an attempt by lots of lovely editors and librarians and authors who still care a great deal. You eat an elephant one bite at a time.
9. What do the illustrations by Simran Diamond Singh bring to the story? Any favourites among the characters?
Simran brings the characters to life, but also does a spectacular job with the action and the superhero elements of the story. It's like watching the book on a screen.
My favourite is Kay Lectric. The showdowns, the fizzing with energy, the complete vibes of Kay's lair, Simran did such a fantastic job that I can fully imagine a Kay spin-off. Simran smashed it from start to finish, but Kay's scenes give me goosebumps.
10. What made you laugh the most when you were writing Solving Crimes is Not my Superpower?
Several lines. I liked that Georgie's parents are both football managers, and in the mornings before work they shake hands and say, “good game out there”.
The kid who runs round screaming “The end is nigh”, is a recurring joke that keeps getting me.
Margaret Chow's power to sense dogs' emotions being completely underwhelming in emergency situations.
Or there's a scene right at the end where Sara bursts crashes through the door to confront the trophy thief, but she keeps bursting into the wrong room.
11. Other than a great adventure, what would you like your readers to take from these young detectives' adventures? What else do you have planned for Sara, George and Javier - and Walsham?
For this book, I want kids to see that they can be heroes in real life, as long as they have love, courage, and determination. I want them to see the value in friendships, in community, and family.
Next for Sara, she accidentally travels back in time. All the way back to the early naughties. The sequel is more about the responsibility and power of empathy, and the power to do what's right.
