Dojo Daytrip

by Chris Tougas

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-142-8

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2015

They may be ninjas but they are still children:  boisterous, inquisitive, energetic and rowdy.  And a field trip with Master to a farm doesn't do anything but fuel their fires!  Remember Chris Tougas' six little ninjas from Dojo Daycare (Owlkids Books, 2014)?  Well, they're back and as effervescent as a newly opened pop bottle.

And Master must feel the same way as the six ninjas–never named but each unique and recognizable by hair or lack thereof–explode off the bus and begin to explore and cause ninja mayhem! But, it's Master who continues to find himself in buckets of awkwardness: falling in the pigs' trough, or running from a bull, or spooking a horse.  The little ninjas have just not been paying attention, distracted by the chicks, or other farmyard entities, and

It's a big barnyard disaster!
No one's there to save the Master.
The ninjas all forgot their creed:
Always help someone in need.

But after a few "Yikes!" and "Yee-ow!" moments, the ninjas realize the Master needs help and they jump in to make things right.  It's a full day of activities and activity and rhyming and word play, and it's not surprising that the little ones seem tired on the road home, though a taurine stowaway suggests more mayhem is in their future.

Dojo Daytrip is a fun romp at the farm with Chris Tougas' agile ninjas and their adult wrangler, reminiscent of many school field trips with their "if something can do wrong, it will" moments.  But Chris Tougas twists that story line by having the Master at the heart of the craziness and allowing the little ninjas to solve the problems and go beyond the call of duty.  The Master may be harping on the little ones forgetting their creed but they're just too busy having fun.  Chris Tougas' words are light and rhythmic and work so well with his bold characters and sparse settings.  It's a fast read, perfect for a read-aloud before a school trip, but take the time to notice all the details like the red scarf that riles the bull, or the one farting ninja, or the little chicks that wave good-bye, or the ninja teddy-bear.  There's a richness of details and facial expressions and such that add so much to the simple story of helping out those in need that Dojo Daytrip will be a fun keeper to use in the classroom for field trip prep, for rhyming exemplars and for a pastural past-time without getting on a bus.

Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking!

by Cyndi Marko

Scholastic

978-0-545-61061-2

80 pp.

Ages 5-7

January 2014

Young readers who believe they're too old for picture books (though I believe no one ever is!) and still not proficient readers for humourous illustrated novels like the ever popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Kinney, Harry N. Abrahms), Dear Dumb Diary (Benton, Scholastic) or Geronimo Stilton (Stilton, Scholastic) will love this new Kung Pow Chicken series from Cyndi Marko.  Forget that Scholastic Branches books, written at a Gr. 2 reading level, should appeal to Gr.1-3 readers, though they will.  Focus on the hysterical word play, weirdly funny plots, empowered superhero chickens and the laughter that young readers will not be able to contain.

Gordon Blue was an ordinary chicken until he and his younger brother Benny fell into a vat of goopy green toxic sludge at their Uncle Quack's science lab. Now Gordon Blue's birdy senses tingle when there's wrong-doing happening, and he and baby brother transform (with a leotard outfit change) into superhero Kung Pow Chicken and his sidekick Egg Drop!  In Let's Get Cracking, the chickens and their classmates head to the Fowl Fall Festival in their city of Fowladelphia.  When chickens at the Festival start losing their feathers in explosive reactions to cookies they've eaten, and sales of Granny Goosebump's Warm Woolies sweaters skyrocket, Kung Pow Chicken and Egg Drop are on the case. 

I don't know where Cyndi Marko has been before Kung Pow Chicken but I'm going to assume she's young and just getting started in children's books.  Because if Let's Get Cracking is any indication of the breadth of her illustrating skill and quirky funny-bone and word play, it would have been shame to have missed out on her creations.  Luckily, there are multiple volumes of Kung Pow Chicken on the publishing horizon and I intend to purchase them all for my school library.  I suggest other teacher-librarians, public librarians, parents and grandparents consider doing the same to encourage early readers to transition from picture books to novels effortlessly and happily.

Retrieved from http://cyndimarko.com/my-books/ on March 8, 2013.