Back to School: Ninja Boy Goes to School by N. D. Wilson

IT'S HARD BEING A NINJA.
YOU MUST RISE  BEFORE THE SUN.

It's hard starting Kindergarten, too. It, too, requires rising early, being silent and sometimes remaining perfectly still.

A boy needs to get his "NINJA STUF" box down from the high shelf and get geared up to face the day--all in black, with knapsack, mask, and blue headband in place and his stoic ninja face on.

The first challenge is the school bus.

NINJAS MUST BE ONE WITH THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

The ninja clings to the ceiling of the bus like a fly.

Inside the schoolroom he feels trapped and wants to run away, but his ninja training comes in handy.

A NINJA MUST BE PATIENT LIKE A DEEP-ROOTED TREE.

The ninja stays in his seat and waits for his moment. But a true ninja cannot be contained, and when the teacher is not looking, he leaps like a gazelle out the window.

But what does a little ninja do next?

The ninja may not know, but the principal does, and soon Ninja Boy is on the carpet and calling upon all his skills at remaining silent while his parents are called. OOPS.

There are times in life when it's better to keep your inner ninja undercover, as our boy learns in N. D. Wilson's just published Ninja Boy Goes to School (Random House, 2014).  Kids will giggle as Ninja Boy tries out his moves on the first day of school, with somewhat mixed results. Normally, ninjas are not necessarily nice guys, and Wilson's little main character finds out that there's a time and place for everything, with the help of J. J. Harrison's bright comic book-style illustrations. Pair this one with Aree Chung's new top-seller, Ninja! (Henry Holt and Company, 2014) for a duo of nimble ninja stories.