LOVESAiV7/c C ? ~ U ! /BUUKS /v~ AS THE ARTIST, L Y W WILL TOO.’ , KIDS, THIS BOOK BUILDS MEN7AL /WWiR-- Sa m ple file AND IT’S fUjV.1 A A A Sa m ple file THE PUBLISHERS GROSSET & DUNLAP NEW YORK FOR JASON STRIKER, MY SUPER SON Sa m ple file ALSO BY SUSAN STRIKER The Anti-Coloring Book@(with Edward Kimmel) The Second Anti-Coloring Book@(with Edward Kimmel) The Third Anti-Coloring Book@ The Anti-Coloring Book@of Exploring Space on Earth The Fourth Anti-Coloring Book@ The Anti-Coloring Book@of Red Letter Days The Anti-Coloring Book@of Masterpieces The Anti-Coloring Calendar@of Red Letter Days The Fifth Anti-Coloring Book@ The Sixth Anti-Coloring Book@ Build a Better Mousetrap: An Anti-Coloring Book@ The Anti-Coloring Book@for Adults Only Copyright 0 1984 by DC Comics Inc. All rights reserved, including the right to reproducethis bookor portions thereof in any form. Super Heroes i s a trademark licensed by DC Comics Inc. Super Powers and al I characters and related indicia depicted herein are trademarks of DC Comics Inc. Used with permission. The Anti-Coloring Book i s o registered trademark of Susan Striker. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of The Putnam Publishing Group, New York. Printed i n the United States of America. ISBN 0-448-07932-1 Illustrations by Jose Delbo. Special backgrounds by Edward Kimmel. Cover photograph by Arie deZanger. Cover design by Neal Pozner. I N T R 0 D U C T I 0 N Since the 1930s, when comic books were first created, millions of children have been sneaking comics into the house, hiding them behind the covers of ”approved” books, devouring them by flashlight under the blankets at night-all to avoid parental disapproval. Having banned enjoyable reading matter, parents and educators force children to use educational materials they abhor. But to help children learn, we adults would do well to capitalize on material they already love. For that reason, I have incorporated the Super Powers comic-book characters into an Anti-Coloring Book. file For generations, parents have taken comic books away from children, admonishing them to read something worthwhile. Instead, we should find ways to help children learn about the world through the very heroes we are banish’ing. When my son was three-and-ahalf, he was never seen without his Superman cape. He ate only Superman peanut butter and would look only at books about the Super Heroes. When he suggestedthat I write a Super Powers Anti-Coloring Book, I realized that he was showing me the best way to help him learn. Sa m ple Powerful beings, such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, not only fascinate children but help them understand the notion of power. Through the use of fantasy play, children instinctively try todefine their own powers and limitations. Their preoccupation with powerful heroes is their way of beginning the process of accepting themselves as people with their own responsibilities. It is our duty to encourage children to explore the constructive uses of power. And I believe that the Super Heroes characters, whose goals are “truth and justice,” can be good role models. Unfortunately, stories of popular heroes, like children’s toys and games, are not considered proper tools for learning and are usually relegated to the light concerns of playtime. But children do not havea learning switch in their heads that they turn off at recess. They are learning all the time, in or out of school. Why then do we insist on convincing them that learning time is not as much fun as playtime? When we teach, why ban the things that children really like only to offer boring substitutes? In this book, the Super Powers characters encourage children to exercise their own powers of creative thinking, stretch their imaginations and develop their abilities to solve problems and make decisions. Here, children are invited to think for themselves, to fantasize, to pretend and draw. They are not simply asked to color pictures drawn by adults. The illustrations in this book are meant to suggest and inspire. The child is the artist, the storyteller and the problem-solver. With the Super Powers characters leading the way, children strive to emulate their heroes. They begin to make decisions, to strengthen their self-confidenceand to develop their own best powers for the years to come. V ple m Sa file ple m Sa file \ _-----