Downtown Bookworks and DC Comics are releasing a new Super Hero children's book series with themes of inclusivity and kindness that feature characters from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of powers.

To celebrate the release of the books, I'm sharing this "Design your own Superhero" printable along with a Q&A with Downtown Bookworks authors.

DC Super Hero Book Activities

Kids will have fun designing their own Superhero inspired by Downtown Bookworks DC Super Heroes board books. Click image to download printable pdf (9 pages)

For more activities, visit - www.dtbwpub.com/activities-for-kids

DC Super Hero Book Series

The collection featuring characters from diverse backgrounds and a wide range of powers and includes two brand new titles

• The Power of Kindness
• Diversity is a Superpower
• Price: $10.99 : Board book : Ages: 0–3

as well as reimagined bestsellers

• My First Book of Girl Power
• My First Book of Superpowers
• Super Hero ABC
• Price: $10.99 : Board book : Ages: 0–3

The reimagined edition of those books features characters that are relatable to all readers.

A few new faces:

• Aquaman’s fellow Atlantean, AQUALAD once saved Aquaman and then became his protege—and later a member of the Teen Titans.
• High school principal by dayBLACK LIGHTNING uses his electromagnetic powers by night.
• BUMBLEBEE is a STEM genius—she designed a costume that empowers her to change her size.
• JESSICA CRUZ had to overcome her fears to earn the Green Lantern power ring, and now she is defined by her bravery.
• NUBIA is Wonder Woman’s sister. Both Amazon super heroes were sculpted out of clay by their mother, Hippolyta and given their powers by the gods.
• The SHAZAM! Kids—DARLA, EUGENE, and PEDRO—live with Billy Batson (they are foster siblings)—and share his powers. When they say Shazam!, they become super fierce heroes. Darla is the fastest. Eugene is extremely tech-savvy. And Pedro is the strongest.

Q&A WITH Authors

What inspired you to write this series of DC Super Hero board books?

Julie Merberg: I thought, why not start them early? Why not publish books that would get dads (and superhero fan moms) excited about reading to their babies? That is how the series was born.

How did you decide on each specific book in the series?

Julie Merberg: We wanted to introduce important early concepts—letter sounds, numbers, opposites, colors and shapes, through the lens of superheroes. But we also wanted to cover subjects that would be considered basic introductions to the world of DC Super Heroes.

My First Book of Girl Power just struck me as the perfect vehicle for illustrating the many different ways that women can be strong. It’s our most successful book ever, and we’re extremely excited about the new edition with Bumblebee on the cover!

Julie Merberg: Similarly, superheroes—who are special because they’re different from typical people—provided an ideal opportunity to explain the importance of diversity. Some of them are aliens. They are black, brown, white, even green and purple.

They have unusual talents. Their family backgrounds are varied. Superheroes can translate life lessons in a way that feels fresh and fun and not at all pedantic or preachy.

Share more about characters like Nubia and the Shazam! kids.

Julie Merberg: We wanted to add diversity to our DC Super Hero books which meant drawing on more minor characters. We worked closely with DC to figure out which characters would resonate with children.

Nubia was actually first introduced in a comic book in 1973. But she did not get a lot of play. Nubia is Wonder Woman’s sister—also formed out of clay by Hippolyta, and given powers by the gods.

And the Shazam! family (who appear in the Shazam! movies) are a diverse group of foster kids who become adult Super Heroes when they shout Shazam! These characters are relatable in so many compelling ways.

What’s next in the series?

Julie Merberg: In the Fall, we’re publishing a book of origin stories. They will be like 3-minute bedtime stories, each telling the tale of how a beloved character became a superhero. A lot of people know that Superman was born as Kal-El on the planet Krypton. But most fans (young and not-so-young) don’t know the origin stories of Bumblebee or Aqualad or Starfire. And in October, they will!

Morris, how did you wind up writing DC board books?

Morris Katz: I grew up reading comic books, watching all of the animated and live action series, going to superhero movies the minute they opened. A lot of the things I learned, I learned through superheroes.

When I started writing these books, I was still young enough to remember what it was like to be a little kid learning about the world. I wrote My First Book of Super-Villians because comic book villains are the perfect (hilarious) way to teach kids what not to do. You don’t want to steal like Penguin! You want to be the good guy!

I wrote Even Super Heroes Sleep because I loved reading comic books before bed and always hated to go to sleep. I had a lot of ideas for books that I thought kids would like and when I pitched them to my mom, when she liked the ideas, she hired me.

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