Contribution to Diversity

[Mely918]

I think the diversity in this book will teach children to be accepting of everybody regardless of skin color. It will teach them to judge based on character rather than by appearance.

[Dahmy 10]

I think the book preaches diversity to the child. And I must applaud the author for putting that into cognizance....

[RAndersen]

I agree that Toni being shown as Black and being shown with a multi-gender multi-ethnic group of friends is a good thing. Kids of the age group this is intended for may or may not actually notice this element but it's there for those that do notice.

[LV2R]

I liked the portrayal of the book's hero as a black kid, it will no doubt appeal to children in the African-American community and the larger Black African community as a whole. But the book also showed Toni playing with children of other ethnicities, what subtle message(s) about social inclusion and cultural diversity do you think this book will relay to young children?

I think that this book will help children of any ethnicity to see others like themselves and of others not being any different. Hopefully, children will not see any skin color and just enjoy a good book. I thought the different friends was a great way to show cultural diversity.

[Gikonyo Caroline]

I think the book does a good job in being inclusive so as to appeal to diverse backgrounds. However, I would like to take a different angle of diversity to include individual differences that are not social demographic such as hobbies, gifts, personalities. I believe the major lessons children will learn is that all of them are superheroes because they each have their own unique gifts, hobbies and abilities. This means they need not worship superheroic characters showcased in movies and films or celebrities that society parades and uplifts because heroism is about embracing their individuality as well as embracing and accepting each others uniqueness. Being a superhero is a lifestyle portrayed in the way we live out our daily lives and not about having supernatural powers or doing superhuman activities.

[emkinney4]

I think that even if young readers don't notice the book's diversity and messages of inclusion right away, being exposed to more media normalizing diversity and the celebration of differences will make a large impact on how they view the world as they grow older. If kids look up to Toni and other characters different from themselves, it's likely they will model that behavior in school and throughout their lives. In addition, including a diverse group of characters allows for more children who may rarely see themselves represented in books or other media to not feel out of the norm or ostracized. Overall I thought R. D. Base did an incredible job of promoting diversity in "Toni the Superhero"!

[Charlaigne]

This was one of the things I liked about the book. I also liked that it was subtle and not overt. However, the target audience is not likely to pick up on it. It would only be noticeable to people of a certain age so very young children would not notice unless someone pointed it out to them. Maybe the person helping them to read the book might notice? Then again, maybe not.

[Ashiyya Tariq]

I think that this book subtly makes it clear that social inclusion is important, and that a child doesn't have to have friends who are the same gender or ethnicity as them. The topic is obviously not explicitly addressed, but I think that the portrayal of different "types" of people getting along and living their lives helps subtly normalize acceptance and friendship without social or ethnic barriers.

Yes, I agree with you. It's a good book to remove the barriers of ethnicity or stereotyping.

[PABS]

To be honest, this social inclusion message may be obvious to adults, but for children between the ages of 3 to 6, who I think are the target audience in this book, they will hardly notice. Usually at their age, unless someone has taken great pains to teach them discrimination based on race or gender, most children will just be children and will naturally interact freely and play with each other. It is a useful message though. I did not even think about it when I read the book.

I absolutely agree with you. I didn't even think about Toni or the other children's ethnicities/nationalities/races until these forum discussions began. I just saw a group of kids and the two women I assumed to be mom and sister. I think children will see this in the same light.

I agree as well. This is why it is so important that parents participate, that they read with their children. It's up to parents to point out the subtle, but important, messages like this one.

[haleygerstenberg]

I doubt kids are going to consciously catch onto the diversity as an intentional thing - much more likely it will become a piece of their mental model for normalcy, which is great.

[RebeccasReading]

Diversity is so important for kids to see. It needs to be normalized for them to see interactions between different races, ethnicities, religions, etc. This will help them be more open minded as they grow up. Most of the time when I see bigotry, it's due to ignorance. The more we fight ignorance of other cultures, the more we can help stop discrimination.

[Anthony Martial Tata]

It is only proper if children are nurtured on diversity from a tender age. Black children playing with whites enhances cultural diversity and helps curbs cases of racism.

[CinWin]

I agree that young children are basically "color-blind". It is us adults that feel the need to reply to threads such as these. (Myself included). Children would not even notice the color of another child's skin.

[Anthony Martial Tata]

The fight against racism can only be achieved if children are taught the art of living together regardless of skin colour at a tender age.

[sheeps44]

I mean, its good to have multiculturalism in everything.