4 out of 4 stars
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Toni the Superhero is an illustrated small book for young children learning to read. It has been written by R. D. Base, a mother of three boys residing in Northern Maryland and illustrated by Debbie Hefke.
Toni is a small boy with supernatural abilities and is able to fly while being on rescue missions just like other mystic superheroes we know. Still the same, Toni is not your usual superhero. He spends a lot of time doing regular stuff that children do like reading, playing, drawing, jumping and swimming. He also loves doing household chores like sweeping, dusting and helping in the house.
The book which is targeted at little children who are learning to read is colourfully illustrated from page to page and has a short sentence in simple English on each page. This is very attractive to little children who love colourful illustrations and the short sentences in simple English will not tire them. The drawings also help the children understand what they are reading as the stated action is illustrated.
Superheroes are always admired by people and more so by children. Children and especially boys will want to do things that Toni does and become just like him. They will like the book and keep on referring to it making them love books. The knowledge that superheroes are just like them, are friendly, love to read, love to draw and love doing chores at home will have a huge positive impact on their growth. From the illustrations, Toni is also depicted as a clean and organized boy and parents can use this to challenge their children to emulate him.
A probable shortcoming in the book is where apart from flying and rescuing animals, nothing else is mentioned about Toni’s superpowers. Children are intrigued by supernatural abilities and love to imagine that they have similar powers with their superheroes. The fact that Toni would have such abilities and still be able to behave just as an ordinary boy, would probably make him more attractive to the kids.
Nevertheless, as a father of two young boys, I will gladly rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The author easily achieves her aim of helping young children read and love to read. I did not detect any typos and the illustrations are done quite well suitable for small children. The book models good character traits for children enabling them to grow and become responsible mature individuals in the future. It appeals to small children (4 years and below) and will not do for older children and adults.
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Toni the Superhero
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