ARC Review: Good Morning, Superman!

Is that a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a boy getting ready for school!

In Good Morning, Superman! written by Michael Dahl and illustrated by Omar Lozano, a young boy wakes up for the day to get ready for school. Like his favorite superhero, Superman, the boy must get his strength by eating breakfast, changing into his super uniform, and battle the toothpaste.

First of all, I love the idea of this book. Many children can be very unwilling to do many tasks associated with getting ready for the day, even though many of these tasks greatly impact their hygiene. I think pairing a typically boring activity with one of the most iconic superheroes is a great way to motivate and excite children about getting ready.

I also really appreciated the illustrations. All of the illustrations and fonts used in the book give a nod to traditional comic books, but also are colorful and easy to read for younger readers. I thought it was really clever that sometimes on the same page Superman and the boy were completing parallel activities. This really reinforced the superhero theme and will motivate students more than if the cartoon only featured Superman or the boy wearing a Superman shirt.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the checklist in the back. While I was reading the book, I thought it would be great idea to make a step-by-step chart featuring the pictures of this book for students learning to get ready independently. I’m not sure if this checklist would be easily detachable or if the book will feature a cardboard page where you can punch the activities out, but I think that would be a great addition to the book.

While I enjoyed many aspects of this book, there was one part I think that could be improved. In the story, Superman has a female sidekick. In the main story, this correlates to the young boy’s sister, who is about the same age. In the Superman story, the female sidekick wears knee-high boots, a mini skirt, and a crop top. There’s nothing wrong with wearing an outfit like this, but I found it slightly inappropriate in this scenario because it represented a young girl, probably around the age of 4-6.

Overall, I think Good Morning, Superman! is an enjoyable book that colorfully illustrates a monotonous subject. While I do think this is a great children’s books, I think some additional features, like pop-out pictures of the tasks would enhance a student’s learning experience. I give this book four out of five stars.

 

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