Toni The Superhero

Toni the Superhero, a picture book written by R.D Base and illustrated by Debbie Hefke, is great for a young demographic of children up to three years old, who are still learning to speak and read. It’s a very fast paced, simple book that follows a young boy, Toni, through his daily superhero activities, ranging from rescuing cats off of trees to helping his mom around the house. The book is short, and made up of full page, eye-catching illustrations.

The first thing I noticed when reading this book, was how positive it was. I had been used to children’s book being about a silly, misbehaving protagonist, so this one really stood out to me. Toni is sweet and playful, yet always behaves and does the right thing. It influences kids to be like him, because every little boy or girl wants to be a
Young children tend to have a very short attention span, so fast paced books are guaranteed to keep your child entertained, and possibly result in said book being re-read so much you will probably end up memorizing it. It has a very cute, innocent feel to it, and all of the actions in the book are illustrated, making it easier for a child to pick up the meaning behind some of the words by matching them with the pictures.

Another thing I liked about the book is that it is very gender neutral. Though the protagonist is a little boy, all the activities he partakes in don’t have have heavy masculine undertones, and therefore can be enjoyed by little girls and little boys alike without either group feeling excluded.

I also found the fact that the protagonist was a person of colour to be extremely empowering, as it is very important for young children of colour to see themselves portrayed in the media they consume, and it is also important for them to be seen. Racism can start at a very young age, so taking diversity into account when writing or reading children’s books is