Book: Better than a Superhero
Author: Belinda Francis
Illustrator: Kayleen West
Paperback: 24 pages
Publisher: Wombat Books, Australia, 2014
Language: English
ISBN: 9781921632755
RRP: AUD $17.99

Reviewed By: Penny Reeve

Blurb: ‘Who is better than a superhero? He’s the best friend you’ll ever have.’

About the book: .This brightly illustrated, hardcover picture book has a simple purpose – to introduce children to Jesus. It is told through the first person voice of the book’s main character, an un-named boy. He initially shares his wonderings about who made him; ‘Somebody must have made me. Whoever did that must be the cleverest, strongest, most powerful and creative super being of the all!‘ and then launches into an explanation/introduction of Jesus, who is ‘better than any superhero‘.

Accompanied by illustrations showing the boy with Jesus, and his imaginative play with toys (to whom he may be telling this story?) this book covers a lot of ground including Jesus’ role as teacher, healer and saviour (although not using these words). A comparison is made (in a double page spread showing the boy playing dress-ups with his toys) between Jesus as King and the kings of this world, and then the boy explains in more detail why Jesus is different.

The language is simple, but appropriate for the voice used, and the tone of the book welcoming, child friendly and certainly NOT patronising, which books like this can often be. This is Belinda Francis‘ first book for children and is illustrated by Kayleen West, both Aussie book creators.

Author Belinda Francis

What I thought: I have the feeling this may be a book a young child, grappling with the fullness of who Jesus is, may come back to several times and just sit with the concepts it explores. In itself I don’t think it explains the facts about Jesus clearly enough to be used as a stand alone gospel presentation, and as such I’d certainly hesitate from using it as an outreach gift for children with NO exposure to Bible teaching.

Some of the theological concepts are cleverly touched on – for example I like the way Belinda points out that Jesus had a human mummy, so the virgin birth is implied (contrast this to many other books that actually imply otherwise by information omission). On the other hand the divinity of Jesus is implied so faintly it could be lost, and this is one of the reasons I believe this book needs to be accompanied by other sources for some readers.

Illustrator Kayleen West

But for children from Christian homes, or who are familiar with the historical stories of Jesus, and those who can see the links between what the narrator is discussing, and what they are learning elsewhere, this could be a good gift. It is certainly a book that may jump start many discussions and even times of informal worship as the super qualities of Jesus and his love are contemplated.

There’s a lot of theological content in such a small book, but it all boils down to the fact that Jesus can be our best friend. I liked the way the story ends with a quite intimate and almost unspoken invitation to this friendship.

Rating:     

Where to buy: Better than a Superhero is available in good Christian bookstores in Australia, or from Light The Dark (a family friendly book distributor with very reasonable international postage rates).

This book was reviewed by Penny Reeve as part of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance. Penny is a children’s writer from Australian and is always on the look-out for great stories for kids that explore faith related concepts.
If you are interested in being part of the blog alliance and tasting some amazing writing by Aussie writers, click on the link to find out more!