Kendo Wrestling Karate Kung Fu

Gr 5—7—Though each of these books has a similar structure, offering an introduction, a brief history, and expectations for students who begin taking classes, the execution is uneven. Ellis's titles are outstanding, using an approachable voice without fictionalizing and presenting the history of each art in a way that makes it feel relevant. Kendo also includes brief descriptions of other sword (and stick) arts, though Ellis does not smoothly segue from her discussion of kendo to these other arts. Karate is focused very narrowly on the way a traditional shotokan dojo works and contains some factual errors. Seiza, a kneeling position, is defined as a bow; Okinawa is at one point referred to as a port city rather than as an island; in some images, students of Korean martial arts, such as tang su do, who are not technically "karate" students, are pictured. Many students in more Americanized dojos and in karate systems more distantly related to the Okinawan styles will not recognize their art in this description, but as a depiction of shotokan, the book works very well. Kung Fu begins with an unnecessary, fictionalized introductory chapter and has several sections with ambiguous information, including the idea that Hong Kong's kung fu movie industry began only after the release of the American television show. Despite these flaws, the books are attractive and approachable, and will certainly find an audience where martial arts are popular.—Alana Joli Abbott, formerly at James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT