Iraya Gifts for a superhero-mad child: what to give without paying for the licence
There's a stage, roughly between 3 and 7, when a boy (and plenty of girls) eats breakfast with a towel tied round their neck. Before you buy a figure of the hero from this year's big film, it's worth understanding what they are looking for in the cape: almost everything they need can be given without paying for a licence.
Free preview in about 2 minutes · €39.99 hardback
Why they love superheroes so much between 3 and 7
At that age they get to decide very little: when to eat, when to sleep, what to wear. The superhero is the one who decides everything, the one who is strong in a world where they are the small ones. Good and evil are clear-cut, fear (the villain, the storm) is kept under control and it always ends well, and the secret identity is a game in itself: being someone ordinary who is extraordinary inside. The costume is permission to be brave for a while. Seen like that, the gift isn't the TV character: it's the cape, the mission and the audience.
Unbranded gifts that outlast the craze
The trendy hero changes every year with each new release; what doesn't change is that they want to be the hero. That's why unbranded is usually the better buy.
- A fabric cape and mask, in the colour they choose, with Velcro so they can put them on alone. They're washable, they don't “go out of fashion” when the favourite hero changes, and they work for carnival, for a birthday and for any old Tuesday afternoon.
- A “powers kit”: wristbands, a belt with pockets, a little torch. Cheap and essential: a hero needs equipment.
- A cardboard city made from boxes, for staging rescues with their figures. You build it together and knock it down with relish.
- Comics from children's publishers, with big panels and little text, that don't depend on a film. For many children it's the first book they finish on their own.
- A cooperative board game in which everyone beats the villain together, or a taster climbing session: rules, energy and a medal at the end.
How to stretch out the cape game without buying anything
Write missions on slips of paper and hide them around the house: “rescue the toy cat from the bookshelf”, “defuse the balloon bomb before the timer goes off”. Give them a hero name and use it in earnest at dinner. Bring their brother or sister into the game as a sidekick, not the villain, and the afternoon lasts twice as long. And let the cape go out into the street: at 4 or 5, anyone in a cape is accepted without question.
Super Hero Saves the City: the book in which they are the hero
In Super Hero Saves the City your little one looks like an ordinary child with a secret. When Doctor Storm turns the sky black with his thunder machine, they spin round three times, their red cape and mask light up, and off they fly: they hold up the bus dangling from the broken bridge with one hand, bring a kitten down from a crane, tie the giant robot's legs together with a rope and press its red off button, fold the thunder machine up like a pretzel and hand the villain over to the police. The mayor gives them a medal, a rainbow comes out, and at dinner, when Dad asks what they did today, they wink: “Nothing special.” It's a hero all their own, with a star on their chest, no brands and no one else's characters. If it's a girl, the text calls her the hero.
It came out on 8 October 2026, so we don't yet have figures on which ages choose it; it's designed for children aged 2 to 8 and we think it will appeal most from 3 to 6. One detail about the photo: no mask or hood on. We draw the mask ourselves, and the photo needs the eyes and hair on show; the cape can be in it. Hardback, 20×20 cm, 33 pages, in five languages, €39.99; before you pay you see the cover with their face. If dinosaurs are more their thing, there's a guide just for dinosaurs; by age, the ones for 5-year-olds and 4-year-olds.
Our books
Super Hero Saves the City
Dinosaur Valley
The Sock Planet
The Magic ButtonFrequently asked questions
At what age does the superhero phase start and end?
It usually starts around 3, with the costume, and eases off around 7 or 8, when they move on to comics or sport. Every child is different; the cape lasts as long as it lasts.
Is it bad for them to play-fight?
Pretend fighting is normal at this age. It helps to set clear rules (nobody gets hurt, you stop when someone says stop) and to steer the game towards rescue missions, which are their favourite anyway.
Does it work for a girl?
Yes. You choose girl when you order and she is the hero who saves the city; the text changes to match.
Can I upload a photo with the cape on?
The cape, yes; the mask and hood, no, because they cover the eyes and hair, and that's where the character comes from. They then wear the mask on every page of the book.