Superhero Dad

by Timothy Knapman, Joe Berger (Illustrator)

"Blazing with energy and saturated with love." — Booklist

Dad might not have a superhero mask or wear his underwear outside his pants, but his super snores can be heard a thousand miles away, he tells super-funny jokes, and he can even make super-scary monsters go away at bedtime! This vibrant, humorous, and warmhearted celebration of all the incredible things a dad can do is a fun tribute to the specialness of dads (and their superhero children!).

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Storytime, Superheroes, Juvenile, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2015

About the author

Timothy Knapman has written many books for children, including Mungo and the Picture Book Pirates, Dinosaurs in the Supermarket and Eleanor's Eyebrows. He also writes plays and co-writes musicals.

Timothy Knapman is available in a range of colours, and is washable.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kind of dad every child dreams of!

[Craig Sisterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful illustrations combine with a fun little story about why a son thinks his Dad is a superhero (despite his dorkiness). Lovely rhymes, good rhythm to the narrative, and a lovely underlying message and finish make this a great tale to read again and again to little ones.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superhero Dad is a children's picture book written by Timothy Knapman and illustrated by Joe Berger. It is about a son and his relationship to his father, who views everything he does for him as superheroic. Today, at least in my part of the world, is Father's Day (16 June) and Google Doodle for the day and I thought it would be apropos to read this book today.

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds and the influence of fathers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, but in Canada, where I live, it is the second Sunday in the month of June.

Knapman's text is simplistic and straightforward. With simple rhymes, it describes the relationship between a son and his father, who views all his father’s deeds as superheroic, by chronicling the many things his father does for him from the perspective of a child. Harrison's illustrations are simply wonderful with high-energy digital graphics and depict a child imagination rather well.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is about a little boy who is in awe of his father and considers him a secret superhero. From super snoring, telling super funny jokes, to making super scary monsters go away, and many more examples are listed. However, the narrative focuses on hetero-normative examples and it is not as gender neutral.

All in all, Superhero Dad is a wonderfully children's book celebrating fathers everywhere and the message that every father is a superhero as well as every boy.

[Cristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dads are not always fun. They can be boring at times. This is the story of Superhero Dad. The little boy tells us all of the wonderful things that make his dad a superhero. He has Super Snoring. He makes Super Breakfast and the best toast with chocolate and fruit, ice cream and cake! He always tells Super funny jokes and has a Super long laugh. When he is woodworking, he means to bang his thumb. He also knows a super hero, which is his Super Son! This is a great story about the relationship between a dad and his son. I would recommend this for any collection. The author does a great job of depicting the dad and son in the pages of the book with great text as well. When the author is trying to emphasize a point the text is bold and large print. The art work is also very colorful.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 4 out of 5]

He has the power of loud snoring! Ability to make fantastic breakfasts! Tells the most hilarious jokes! He is...Superhero Dad! Readers will love the brilliantly colored illustrations and action-packed flow of this awesome story-in-rhyme. Recommended for dads, friends of dads, and kids of dads ages preschool thru 1st grade. Reviewed by: Alyson D., Youth Services, Vernon Area Public Library

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this love letter to a father from a son about all the awesome things dad does for the boy that makes him a superhero. Long enough to be interesting but short enough for toddlers. It actually flew by for me.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy tells why his dad is a superhero.

[Gail Gauthier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a sweet book with engaging illustrations. Was hoping for a little more superhero, but the very young won't miss that.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the oversized children’s book featuring a boy and his father. The little boy tells us why his father is so special, what makes his father a Superhero Dad. His father’s many talents include that he can protect him, he’s funny, he’s strong (he can lift up their dog), he plays with him, he makes this fantastic breakfast featuring outrageous breakfast food while he is almost asleep plus there are many other talents that his father possesses that he tells us about inside this book but I let you discover them when you read the book. I like that some of the illustrations feel like they jump right out of the pages at you and that the illustrations are bright and colorful. The text is big and bold and easy to read. The best reason of all that I like this children’s book, is that when I read it to my granddaughter, it always puts a smile on her face.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story and pictures! Superhero Dad follows gender expectations, even making a dessert-like Super Breakfast and doing super woodworking. Decent non-violent, non-scary superhero book for little ones. I sense a sequel in the last page's compliment from Dad about his Superhero Son.

From publisher website:
"Dad might not have a superhero mask or wear his pants outside his trousers, but his super snores can be heard a thousand miles away, he tells super jokes and can even make super-scary monsters go away at bedtime! This vibrant, humorous and warmhearted celebration of all the incredible things a dad can do is a soon-to-be-classic book about the specialness of dad (and their superhero sons!)."

[Marissa Elera · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually loved Nosy Crow creations., but this one leaves something to be desired. The text here is uninspired. The illustrations are nice, but can we get children who aren't lily white and blonde depicted? Why couldn't they be brown?

[Rachel M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute depiction of a father from his son's POV.

[Waterstones Peterborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rather fab Dad book.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny rhyming book of how a son sees his dad as a superhero. I think parents and kids will appreciate the text. There's lots of references to superhero cliches that kids will enjoy.

[Mollie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for storytime, great rhyme scheme.

[Michael Lausche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book about a dad that is a superhero to his child. The young boy in the book looks to his dad as a superhero who can; cook amazing breakfast, play and roar like an actual dinosaur, and scare away the evil darkness when he calls for superhero dad. I love the way that the illustrator did this book. It really "pops" out at you with the heroic side of the dad, and all of his features. I also admired the use of rhyme within this story. It created a flowing pattern that was easy to read, and very intriguing! I wanted to read more about superhero dad! I recommend this book for ages 1st-2nd grade.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book about how the boy sees his dad as a superhero with all the amazing things he does like cooking yummy breakfasts and making castles! It's a lovely story about the love between a child and parent, but I think you would have to be careful about reading this in school as some children may not see their dad much or may not have positive relationships with them so you would have to be sensitive and consider the individual children in the class. Otherwise it's a lovely read to share and children could think about the things their family members or friends do to make them happy to make it more inclusive.

[Tennille Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far my son's favorite book - he's 2, and this is his go-to pick. The pictures are cute. It's about a little boy explaining why his Dad is a superhero. There are plenty of opportunities to incorporate fun action ('tyrannosaurus kiss') and sounds (making his Dad's snore). This was a Father's Day gift for my husband after our son was born, but our son has claimed this particular gift for his own. Perfect for any little one who loves their Daddy!

[Ché Constable · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book rather humorous. I feel this book potentially explores the idea that maybe the family are not a stereotypical family, and it may just be a father and son who live together. This is interesting as I don’t think I’ve seen a book portray this type of family before - which is amazing as it normalises it! It’s also important that this book doesn’t focus on which type of family the boy comes from, it is left open to your own interpretation which is extremely important to me.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not inclusive, still adorable. I had to edit this book so my daughter and I could read it together. I wanted her to have a book about her dad. The energy is great, the rhymes, awesome. But even tho the kid could be any translucent white child, the story ends with "Superhero Son." So I duct-taped over a couple parts and now it ends "Superhero Kiddo."

[Charlotte Yardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little story from the perspective of a child who views their father as a superhero. It's nice to see a dad represented in this way as often it is the mums who are represented more so in this way.
It's nice to have this representation for children as not all children have both parents/ have the stereotypical mother and father.

[Annalise - Teacher Training · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lovely and funny take on a little boys perspective of his dad - he's his superhero!
We learn all about the different things that make his dad great (and some injuries that happen along the way and are definitely supposed to happen)
This would be a nice book to use in KS1 to get children thinking about who the superheroes in their own lives are and what makes them great!

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a good gift for Father's Day as the boy tells how his father earns the title of Superhero Dad. And at the end the father has a superhero, too. Father and son bonding and activities, no other characters are mentioned. If only all fathers were this way with their sons.

[Jennifer Choi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhythmic story and fun to read (who don't like super hero stories!) Comical illustrations with a mix of fantasy and reality, reminds me a little of "My dad used to be cool" by Keith Negley in a different storytelling. An engaging book for 3-6 year old kids.

[Dana Lovell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about a boy who thinks his dad is a superhero. I found it interesting that there is no mention of another parent in this book, so this would be interesting to share with children.
I think this book could make a child appreciate their loved ones more

[Magnus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet book. It's always mummy that's compared to a superhero so nice to see some daddy love. Magnus adores his daddy, and he now adores this book too

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super-dad and his amazing dad powers (telling jokes, building a treehouse) are celebrated.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little one requested multiple bedtimes in a row and Dad loved obliging. Funny and silly.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book about an average dad who's son thinks he is a superhero. A big hit at my house.