“Superheroes” Wield Power of Reading

With great power comes great responsibility youngsters discover in the new superhero-themed adventure of Bermuda’s Tiny the Tree Frog – the responsibility to embrace reading.

Hitting store shelves just in time for Christmas, the children’s book “Tiny And Sharkman: Superheroes” – written and illustrated by Elizabeth A. Mulderig — is a fun and creative effort to encourage youngsters to read.

Tiny the Tree Frog has been around for more than 20 years now and is well known by the community and well loved. His T-shirts sell out at A.S. Cooper’s and his adventures appear weekly in the “Bermuda Sun”. The first book in the Tiny series, “Tiny the Tree Frog Tours Bermuda”, has sold more copies than any other Bermuda children’s book, more than 30,000 copies so far.

So, Elizabeth and collaborator Debbie Jackson — a corporate communications specialist who inspired and edited the new book – decided to team Tiny up with an eight-year-old Bermudian boy named Gilbert Pickles in an effort to use the iconic Bermuda cartoon character’s enduring appeal to entice children to read.

“The dynamic duo meet up with a sea wizard who finds out that Gilbert is a terrific reader,” said Ms Mulderig. “H gives Gilbert and his side kick Tiny the mystical ’Sea Wizard Book of Knowledge’ and Gilbert becomes “Sharkman” the Superhero. Tiny and Sharkman fly off on a giant longtail bird, given to them by the wizard as well, and rescue two sailors from the dastardly pirate Ratter. They save the day by using their brains not brawn. ‘Kazoo Kazam, I am Sharkman and knowledge is power!’ says Gilbert using this as his new superhero mantra.”

The book is dedicated to Debbie Jackson’s father, the late former Senate President Albert Jackson — a longtime Bermuda educator.

“We feel that Deb’s father would be delighted with the response from the community in the short time  — just two days — the book has been out,” said Ms Mulderig. “It is selling like hot cakes in most of the stores in town because people like the idea of their child emulating a boy who powers through life with his little frog by reading.”

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