From Nerd to Ninja: Ninja Kid Book One (Ahn Do, Scholastic)

When Nelson wakes up on his 10th birthday with a spider on his nose, things are not looking good. In his scramble to get it off he gets tangled in his blanket and falls out of bed. But, to his surprise, before he can hit the floor he does an amazing double front flip and lands perfectly on his feet. After his cake and presents (some awesome slightly too-big superhero hoodies that his grandma has to shrink with her microwave/clothes dryer/shrink laser invention), Nelson’s mum informs him that his dad was the last ninja on Earth, but now that Nelson’s powers have surfaced, he has taken on that mantle. Nelson barely has time to take this in before he has to save everyone from an evil scientist who is trying to destroy the town with giant spiders. From Nerd to Ninja is a simple and lively story with lots of fun illustrations that tone down anything that might be too scary (the giant spiders all have tongues lolling out of their mouths and act more like dogs). There’s a little more text than in Anh Do’s ‘Weirdo’ and ‘Hot Dog’ books, so this new series would suit readers aged seven and up.

Dani Solomon is a bookseller at Readings Kids

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