And to All a Good Ninja: Samurai Santa: A Very Ninja Christmas by Rubin Pingk

CHRISTMAS EVE WAS THE MOST PERFECT SNOW DAY OF THE YEAR.

YUKIO HAD NEVER SEEN SUCH BIG SNOWFLAKES. THEY SEEMED MAGIC.

Little Yukio has but one thought! Get the others outside and have an EPIC snowball fight! But the other little martial arts students are timid.

"NO! SANTA CLAUS WANTS US TO BE GOOD LITTLE NINJAS!

WE DON'T WANT TO BE ON SANTA'S NAUGHTY LIST!"

What a regrettable group of greasy grinds! Yukio thinks. His classmates keep right on practicing their skills, while the best snow of the year goes to waste!

But Yukio also blames Santa Claus. So, that night when Santa squeezes and slithers down the chimney, Yukio's on an all-nighter ninja Santa stakeout.

YUKIO CREPT TO THE LOUDEST GONG AROUND...

CRASH!

"INTRUDER!!!" YUKIO YELLED.

Dutifully, all the good little ninjas jump awake and throw themselves into the fray, using the first weapons available--snowballs!

"BANZAI!"

It's the most EPIC snowball fight ever, as Santa finds a stealthy way to train his troops and gives Yukio his best Christmas present ever, in Rubin Pingk's ninja night before Christmas story, Samurai Santa: A Very Ninja Christmas (Simon and Schuster, 2015). Author-illustrator Pingk's inventive digital illustrations provide the pages with plenty of movement and style and all the good little ninjas at his dojo get plenty of presents. Yokio gets a special letter from Santa:

Dear Yukio,
I hope you enjoyed the EPIC snowball fight. I made it just for you!
Sincerely,
Samurai Santa

Says Publishers Weekly in their starred review, "... a frenzied, fun, and nontraditional Christmas tale. It’s an impressively disciplined debut for Pingk and, just as important, a blast to read."

How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm? Dojo Daytrip by Chris Tougas

WITH MASTER LEADING, ARM IN ARM,

NINJAS LEAVE THE BUS TO TOUR THE FARM.

The six little black-hooded ninjas are up for a fun field trip to the farm.  Master is into the spirit of the day, too--all decked out in his straw hat and cowboy boots and ready to show off his agricultural acumen for his little students.

But best laid plans of mice and master go astray!

YIKES! YEE-0W!

With the ninjas perched on the pigpen fence, Master strides manfully with a bucket of swill toward the sow, slips on a banana peel, and lands, slop and all, in the trough.

The little students find it amazing and work off their excitement by letting the chicks loose and breaking a few boards in the fence with karate kicks! Then, leaving Master to struggle out of the slop, they scamper off to climb ropes and hide among the hay bales in the barn.

Master tries to carry on with his lesson in milking the cow. But the bull seems to be a bit possessive about Daisy!

YIKES! YEE-0W!
MASTER FLEES THE RED BARN, RACING
FROM A BULL THAT'S CHARGING, CHASING
NINJAS CHASE EACH OTHER, TOO,
MAKING HORNS AND YELLING, MOO!

Master goes up a tree, at bay, until at last the bull goes away. Courageously, he climbs down and presses on with his lesson plan--hitching the horse up to pull the plow!

But the plowhorse spooks and drags Master, still hanging onto the plow, through the sod. The little ninjas are enthralled with the excitement of the moment. But, wait.

What would a good ninja do?

THE NINJAS ALL FORGOT THEIR CREED: ALWAYS HELP SOME ONE IN NEED!

The six ninja kids go into action. They jump onto the runaway horse and make him whoa. They rescue Master and help him recover. And then they leap into action, repairing the fences, refilling the trough, milking the cow, and giving the plot a good plowing. They even repaint the barn. The barnyard is restored to perfect order.

THE LITTLE NINJAS GIVE A BOW.

MASTER BOWS AND WHISPERS... WOW!

All's well as Master and students board their van and head back to the daycare center. But... what's that critter with the big horns doing in the back of the dojo bus?

It's Yikes! Yee-Ow! all over again as the dojo bus bounces back down the road, in Chris Tougas' Dojo Daytrip (Owlkids Books, 2015). Field trip stories usually involve some sort of hi-jinks among the day trippers, and it seems little ninjas are no different. Tougas' digitally generated cartoon ninjas go right along with the slapstick script, with liberated chicks everywhere, pratfalls in the pigpen, and considerable hazard to the seat of Master's pants in the plot. But this tale is saved from total silliness by the repetition of the dojo creed: Always help someone in need, and kids will soon take up the refrain... Yikes! Yee-Ow!

Pair this one with its predecessor, Dojo Daycare or N. D. Wilson's Ninja Boy Goes to School (review here).

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).

HiYAAA! Ninja! by Aree Chung

HAVE NO FEAR. A TRUE NINJA CAN OVERCOME ALL OBSTACLES.

"I AM NINJA!"

If the clothes make the man, the gear makes the ninja, and with his dad's tie for a headband, a pool cue for his fighting stick, little sis's jump rope for climbing,  and mom's rubber gloves from the kitchen, our young ninja is ready to make some ninja moves.

A NINJA SNEAKS, CREEPS, AND IS FAST ON HIS FEET...

Our master of the dark is on a mission, stealthily making his way through the shadows, outflanking the guard beasts (the family pug) and lithely leaping over any obstacles (like the sofa), he uses his climbing rope to achieve the heights as he surveils his target--his little sister's milk and cookie. Then as she watches in amused glee, he makes his final assault... dropping down on his napping dad's chest.

"SURPRISE!!!"

Arree Chung's Ninja! (Henry Holt, 2014) creates plenty of atmosphere with his subdued acrylic palette, set off with accents of dragon-breath red. Chung's little ninja creates some tension as he steals through the scene, only his dark eyes visible, with a sinister laugh and a final satisfied bow:

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Publishers Weekly puts it well: "With a dark and saturated palette, long shadows, and graphic-novel framings, Arree hits the sweet spot between sinister and spoof,"  and School Library Journal throws it a star, saying, "Laugh-out-loud fun!"

For more jolly ninja exploits in a sly spoof on the Big Bad Wolf, see my review of The Three Ninja Pigs, here.