4 out of 4 stars
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Toni the Superhero, written by R.D. Base, and illustrated by Debbie Hefbe, is a delightful children’s story. We meet a school-age boy named Toni, a superhero, whose super powers cleverly match those of a typical child’s daily life activities. The author’s charming fictional character demonstrates his superhero powers throughout his regular day. He completes many very important childhood tasks; all the while wearing his wonderful superhero costume. Toni flies, climbs, jumps, and plays through his day. He reads books then rescues animals from trees, helps clean the house, and even shows his super powers by sleeping. This fabulous publication allowed my own inner child to surface the moment I gazed at the front cover; I fell in love with this book from the start.
Toni’s illustrator, Debbie Hefbe, did the amazing task of bringing this wonderful superhero to life. Her choice of bright, cheery, primary colors were splashed across each page; an instant attraction for children to examine their content. They will be immersed into the visually stimulating illustrations and wonderful exploding colors and colorful pictures. I appreciated the simple, yet expressive storyline; perfect for an emerging reader who has prior knowledge of daily childhood activities such as playing, jumping, cleaning, dusting, and so forth.
I have one minor change that is more of a suggestion. I noted on the page about Toni rescuing animals, we see a beautiful tree. Perhaps an addition to this illustration could show Toni with the cat in his arms after he has rescued it from the prior page. However, the page is still truly delightful.
I have read many children’s books to my own children and would be very enthused to add this story to their private reading collection. I always look for books with strong morals, and this book has them. It could be an ingenious way to introduce the idea of a child helping their family with daily cleaning and home living activities. I loved the idea of a child being a superhero for completing these basic and daily chores. Tony the Superhero, is a fantastic, yet adorable way to share a child’s home expectations.
Toni-the Superhero has met my approval and that of my own children. It is a delightfully creative, well-written book, with colorful, bright and cheery illustrations that any family would be lucky to add to their book collection for their children.
As a teacher I enthusiastically recommend this cheery tale for preschool classrooms or even Kindergarten readers. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars as it was well written, vibrantly illustrated, and joy for me to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone with emerging readers at home. Tony the Superhero is truly a worthwhile children’s book.
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Toni the Superhero
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