Why doesn't Toni have abilities? Is it a safety reason?

Use this forum to discuss the July 2018 Book of the Month "Toni the Superhero" by R.D. Base
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Ashiyya Tariq
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Re: Why doesn't Toni have abilities? Is it a safety reason?

Post by Ashiyya Tariq »

briellejee wrote: โ†‘14 Jul 2018, 22:45 I think not giving Toni the typical superpowers like Superman is to help children realize that even though in such small things, they're already a big help to their parents. I think this is to teach kids to be more aware of their own surroundings first before saving the world.
Indeed consider it the epitome of this story book. Saving world and community and helping family are important things.
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Shrabastee Chakraborty
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

kfwilson6 wrote: โ†‘31 Jul 2018, 19:36
Shrabastee wrote: โ†‘26 Jul 2018, 07:30 I suppose that is precisely the reason Toni doesn't show any superhero streaks. A lot of accidents have been reported to occur while little children have tried to mimic the actions of their favourite superheroes. However, one drawing shows Toni flying, and the same photo is shown as a framed one on his walls. That might be counterproductive.
The images of him flying were quite confusing. I'm not sure how that and the blurb on the back of the book play in. Will it turn out that Toni has superhuman abilities or not? We will have to wait and see.
Like many other readers, I have started to believe that Toni does not have any superpower per se. He is probably called a superhero because his character is ideal for the children owing to his healthy habits and lively relationship with others. Let's see what the next book reveal.
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Post by Kelebogile Mbangi »

Kids want to be just like their favourite superheroes so I think its aimed at motivating them to be helpful and take pride in doing their chores.
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Post by MishM1 »

JudasFm wrote: โ†‘28 Jul 2018, 11:34 To be fair, there are precedents for the safety thing. For example, in Peter Pan, it was originally just happy thoughts that enabled you to fly. After various nannies and governesses wrote in to complain about their charges flinging themselves merrily off the tops of wardrobes, the whole "fairy dust" thing was hastily written in.

For those of you thinking that it was so long ago, and children these days are far more sophisticated, there were similar problems with the 1966 Batman TV series ("Holy broken bones, Batman!")

All that said, I don't think this is the case here. I agree that the focus on this is to show how normal people can be superheroes too, even without having/using cool powers ;)
I fully agree that children are highly impressionable and curious. This makes them far too eager to try extraordinary things if we don't add impossible factors to attaining superhuman abilities. However, that begs the question whether or not picturing Toni as flying but not presenting any real reason he can, could actually encourage children to try flying.

I genuinely think that we could be reading too much into this particular text but it's a valid question.
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Post by JR Mercier »

I think that can definitely be a reason for the lack of superpowers. I think another reason could be so that little children can relate to Toni and that his powers are easy to emulate. It will be a way to get kids to do these normal things and understand the importance of them.
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Post by Mailis »

Dael Reader wrote: โ†‘02 Jul 2018, 14:37 I think the author is subtly showing us that you don't need special powers to be a superhero. You can be a superhero to your family and friends by spending time with them and helping them out in ordinary ways. In fact, maybe the willingness to work and play and help others in need is the greatest superpower of all.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. Sometimes the hardest things for kids to do seem to be the normal everyday tasks that get them no flashy recognition or instant rewards, but are still necessary in the larger scale of things. And postive attitude is also truly the best superpower. :)
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Post by kelvinmwaniki17 »

I think the fact that Tony has no powers makes the book more interesting. It's sort of an underdog story where the hero has to defy all odds to succeed.
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Post by desantismt_17 »

I agree that it shows how kids can be heroes without fighting the bad guys. Just doing everyday stuff and being helpful is super. As for a safety reason, I (much to my parents' grief) tried to do Power Ranger jumps/hovering by draping the curtain strings over my shoulders and jumping off the couch. Kids will be kids no matter what. This book just shows a cool different side of being a hero.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
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Post by Ruba Abu Ali »

You do not need to have superpowers to be a superhero. Teaching kids by example is a smart way to get them involved in helping with simple house chores in a fun way.
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Post by Ijeoma Kikelomo »

It could be a safety factor and if is, then it wasn't a bad idea. Children within the targeted age bracket, would take everything literally.
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Post by Fozia-Bajwa »

Yes it is due to the fact that safety reasons don't allow Toni to be having such abilities.
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Post by Cheruiyotvin »

The book is safe for children to read. The issue of Toni lacking superhero abilities is just for safety reasons. I won't entertain my kid reading a book that is capable of manipulating his mind. The author did a great job thanks to for effort.
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Post by Mee_maw »

Cristal2408 wrote: โ†‘01 Jul 2018, 14:43 Something most noticed while reading is the lack of "superhero abilities" in Toni. He helps at home, plays and has a healthy lifestyle. He can fly too, but he is not shown battling villains, he is shown being a good kid and son. Do you think this is because the author didn't want children jumping through the roof wanting to be like Toni? Are the actions meant to influence kids towards helping at home and being well behaved? Is it safer for children to read this book rather than modern superheroes?
Kids often can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality, so yes, Toni the superhero is a safe alternative to modern superheroes.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

Probably, the author didn't want children to engage in unnatural activities learnt in novel. Moreover, Toni is still a young kid, probably aged less t than ten years. It is so rare of him to have supernatural powers.
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Post by Fozia-Bajwa »

some abilities are difficult to learn and only can be learnt through tough practice. so the abilities about Toni are really based upon the physical practice and lead to the safety reason.
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