Strength in Numbers: Ninja Bunny by Jennifer Gray Olsen

HOW TO BE A SUPER AWESOME NINJA

Rule 1: A super-awesome ninja must always work alone.

Our little bunny, wearing his midnight-blue ninja gear, is determined to be awesome. The Ninja Rules say he should be super sneaky, possess awesome strength, achieve invisibility, create Ninja weapons, and be a super awesome climber.

While a dozen or so ninja-wannabe-bunnies watch as if they want to join the fun, Ninja Bunny shows awesome focus on his training. swinging his throwing star and monkey fist, both fitted out with purloined carrots, like he means it.

But some of the rules get a little intimidating. "Master flying?"  "Battle anyone, anywhere, any time???"

What about a big angry brown bear?

"UH-OH."

Suddenly little Ninja Bunny hears a welcome sound, a chorus of awesome voices.

HI-YAH!!

It's the cadre of his would-be ninja bunny buddies charging to his rescue with all the right moves, as the big bad bear exits hastily, page right.

It's one for all and all for one in Jennifer Gray Olson's Ninja Bunny (Alfred A. Knopf Books, 2015).

Rule 1 is over-ruled and from now on, Ninja Bunny goes nowhere without his squadron of super-ninja-bunnies. In her oh-so-cute ink and watercolor illustrations, Olson's empathetic illustrations show off just how far from awesome her self-aggrandizing little Ninja's imagined feats really are.

Fun for little Ninjas and ninja-lovers, this one pairs well with H. D. Wilson's Ninja Boy Goes to School and Barbara DaCosta's Nighttime Ninja see reviews here).