FICTION

Mosquitoes Can't Bite Ninjas

by Jordan P. NOVAK
illus. by Jordan P. Novak. 32p. ebook available. Bloomsbury. Mar. 2017. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781681192154.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—With a simple and straightforward story line, Novak's work features digital cartoon artwork boldly showing that mosquitoes are no match for ninjas. The pesky bugs bite all kinds of people in a succession of images: swimmers, chefs, "old ladies with blue hair," babies, but not ninjas. Ninjas are sneakier and quicker than their would-be attackers. They learn not to bite when they are babies. However, mosquitoes don't count on ninjas being hungrier than they are! While eating at a picnic, a smiling ninja is shown biting into a mosquito stuck in the jelly on his sandwich—a hilarious and gross twist. Novak's art is clean and includes small details to delight independent readers, while the patterning of text makes this title ideal for sharing aloud.
VERDICT A justifiable purchase for libraries where readers can't get enough ninja tales.
Reviewed by Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI
An omniscient narrator notes that mosquitoes bite everyone but ninjas, who are simply quicker and sneakier. A kid in ninja attire is on hand to demonstrate the ninja's athletic and mental superiority. But there's some seriously (and hilariously) [cf2]non[cf1]-ninja-like behavior exhibited in the cartoony digitally colored ink drawings when the ninja vanquishes a mosquito via sandwich: Who says ninjas can't bite mosquitoes?
 , Mar 01, 2017

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