Toni the Superhero

Toni is a superhero, but he is so much more than that! Just like regular people who aren’t saving the world on a regular basis, Toni does activities like reading, dancing, and eating. Superheroes really are not that different from anyone else.

Toni the Superhero by R.D. Base is a book that is intended to teach young children to read. There is intentionally no real plot, but it instead focuses on promoting the traditional view of literacy (the ability to read and write). The sentences are simple thus making it easy for the target audience to learn how to identify words while pairing them with the appropriate illustrations.

As a fan of comic books and superheroes (and sometimes villains), I know that many of the characters play two roles—that of the dashing hero and that of the civilian. Clark Kent, for example, is better known as being Superman, but Toni is known more for being a regular kid than for his superhero status. I appreciate that not much is revealed about his heroic adventures because it allows readers to see that everyone shares experiences. The illustrations are appealing because of their bold colors. While I fancy myself a DC fan, I also dabble in other genres of comics, including those directed towards younger readers. I often find these stories to include brighter illustrations, which reflect the lighter storylines. This book could be used as an introduction to comic books because the main character is a superhero.

The best part about this book is that it shows diversity. Toni is African-American, but he has friends of all ethnicities. There is a very small percentage of non-white characters in the publishing industry, and there were more stories featuring animals or other non-humans as protagonists than people of color in 2015. As a scholar within the field of children’s/adolescent/young adult literature, I understand the importance of this lack of diversity in publishing, and I appreciate the author for contributing to increasing the percentage.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I found no punctuation errors and found the illustrations to be well done. I recommend this book for the target audience (ages 0-4) as well as parents who are comic book fans. I can also see this book being included in the academic classroom as a potential discussion on the need for diversity in books, especially those aimed at children. The promotion of diverse characters in this book promotes inclusion for all readers because it does not cater to any one ethnicity or gender, making it a wonderful read for all.