Review by Lu_rire -- Toni the Superhero by R.D. Base

Lu_rire · Post by **Lu_rire** » 03 May 2018, 08:53

[Following is a volunteer review of "Toni the Superhero" by R.D. Base.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Toni the Superhero, by R.D. Base, is a book for children aged one to four. It narrates the ordinary side of Toni the superhero’s life particularly the activities which Toni likes. The book utilizes simple sentences to tell its story. The vocabulary consists of basic words which young children are familiar with such as sing, run, and jump. If the child encounters an unknown word while reading, the pictures which accompany the sentences can be used as an aid when explaining or defining the word.

The sentence structure is repetitive following the same standard format throughout the book. This repetition helps ease the young child’s understanding. However, the monotonous structure might make the book boring to read hence it is advisable to add some innovation to the story when reading aloud to help maintain interest in the book.

The editing is good with no grammatical or spelling mistakes except one involving the classification of a noun. In the sentence 'Toni is a Superhero'; 'Superhero' is capitalized making it a proper noun rather than a common one though this may have been intentional. The illustrations are also bright and vivid which should appeal to the visual senses of children.

By showing Toni the superhero’s ordinary life, the book may give children a thrill at the similarity between their lives and a superhero’s. It may also instill them with a desire to work or help out like Toni inspiring little children to develop a sense of responsibility.

The book does not contain much of a storyline. The lack of plot does help maintain the simple sentence structure and thus makes the book very suitable to be used as teaching material for children learning to read. Hence, the book is more of a reading primer than a storybook as its title and colorful cover may lead one to believe.

It may be a good idea to start by showing how awesome Toni is as a superhero, before talking about the ordinary things he likes to do. Such a start would have helped increase the child’s interest in the book and thus increase the book's effectiveness as a reading aid.

As an aid to learning to read, the book is very useful. However, the points mentioned above such as the lack of plot and the failure to build a sense of awe in the child for Toni, weaken the book’s ability to stimulate the child’s interest. Thus, I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.

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Toni the Superhero
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Helen_Combe · Post by **Helen_Combe** » 05 May 2018, 02:10

Great review. Everybody interprets things differently, I came to the conclusion that he was just a little boy with a superhero costume. The book’s message of healthy eating, exercise and cooperation were for me the most important part of the book.

Manang Muyang · Post by **Manang Muyang** » 05 May 2018, 03:47

I think that R.D. Base is a harried mother and housewife who wants children to help in the household chores, entertain themselves, and be responsible. Those are the superpowers each mom desires for her child.

Helen_Combe · Post by **Helen_Combe** » 05 May 2018, 04:58

Miriam Molina wrote: ↑05 May 2018, 03:47 I think that R.D. Base is a harried mother and housewife who wants children to help in the household chores, entertain themselves, and be responsible. Those are the superpowers each mom desires for her child.

Indeed, especially nowadays when we’re not allowed to send them up chimneys anymore

stacie k · Post by **stacie k** » 05 May 2018, 09:10

I like your suggestion to engage the child’s interest in Tony as a superhero before highlighting his ordinary life. Great review!

Lu_rire · Post by **Lu_rire** » 05 May 2018, 11:30

Miriam Molina wrote: ↑05 May 2018, 03:47 I think that R.D. Base is a harried mother and housewife who wants children to help in the household chores, entertain themselves, and be responsible. Those are the superpowers each mom desires for her child.

You are very likely right. She seems to want children with superpowers that make adults' lives just a little easier. Thanks for commenting.

Bianka Walter · Post by **Bianka Walter** » 05 May 2018, 14:48

I agree with a lot of your points. I think it's a great learning tool for children of a certain age, but lacks the excitement that a children's book should have.
Thanks for the great review!

Ashiyya Tariq · Post by **Ashiyya Tariq** » 06 May 2018, 00:17

I agree, this book is a good aid to learning tool. Different healthy tasks performed by Toni is also a source of inspiration for children. Thanks for your interesting review.

Lu_rire · Post by **Lu_rire** » 06 May 2018, 10:03

Helen_Combe wrote: ↑05 May 2018, 02:10 Great review. Everybody interprets things differently, I came to the conclusion that he was just a little boy with a superhero costume. The book’s message of healthy eating, exercise and cooperation were for me the most important part of the book.

That's another way of looking at it. Thanks for commenting.

revna01 · Post by **revna01** » 06 May 2018, 12:18

It sounds like the author hit the mark with the vibrant illustrations and proper editing. That's most of the battle in a primer book. Thanks for a thorough review

jvez · Post by **jvez** » 07 May 2018, 00:53

I've also read this book before and I agree that the sentence structure really suits the target audience. I do agree that the sentences may be monotonous to a certain extent, but the colorful illustrations like you've mentioned, does cover for the very simple sentence structure.

Enjoyed reading this review. Thank you

Dolor · Post by **Dolor** » 07 May 2018, 01:49

Toni, the Superhero is an illustration book for children who are learning to read. My children are all grown-ups so I recommend this book to the parents and the teachers who would like to teach the little kids to start reading. The cover really looks colorful and appealing to the little children. I'm sorry to hear about the lack of plot and the failure to build a sense of awe. Thanks for the detailed review.

Lu_rire · Post by **Lu_rire** » 07 May 2018, 15:13

stacie k wrote: ↑05 May 2018, 09:10 I like your suggestion to engage the child’s interest in Tony as a superhero before highlighting his ordinary life. Great review!

Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my review, I hope the review was useful to you in one way or another.

AbbyGNelson · Post by **AbbyGNelson** » 07 May 2018, 16:23

From all of your critiques on the book - lack of plot and the failure to build a sense of awe - I'm surprised you gave the book a 3 out of 4 stars rating. Those seem like huge gaping issues that would really bring a story down.