Hello Ninja

Hello Ninja!, by N.D. Wilson. Illustrated by Forrest Dickison (Canonball, 2013) When I was contacted by Canon Press to see if I would review a bedtime story for toddlers, they had me at Hello Ninja. I mean, hello, this would have been the perfect bedtime book for my kids! Anyway, this book has the combination of Ninja-coolness, a best-selling Christian author (I haven’t read his adult stuff yet), and an illustrator that shares the name of my adorable niece, Forrest. So, needless to say, this 38-year-old adult was pleased to receive a copy. My husband was puzzled when he brought in the mail to witness me gleefully opening a board book consisting of 14 pages. Usually my reading level is a bit more sophisticated. But I am perfectly suited to read Hello Ninja. So I read the book aloud to my handsome husband. “Ninjas chop. Ninjas shop. Ninjas love to belly flop.” When we got to the last line, Matt and I smiled in familiar recognition. The picture shows a little boy all tucked in bed, and it reads:

Hello ninja.

Shhh! Not yet…

Ninjas ninja hard all day,

They need to sleep before they play.

We’ve got three little ninjas. I should know. I remember shortly after having my second child, I started taking the fitness and jujitsu class that my brother offered at his Clinch Academy. If you’ve ever taken a Brazilian Jujitsu class, you are familiar with one very fundamental move: the hip swivel. Every time we’d do the hip swivel drills, I would comment on how my toddler already knows this move! She hip swiveled her way out of diaper changes, she hip swiveled out of her highchair and her car seat buckles. Zaidee was already a jujitsu master by the age of 9 months old! I would find this to be true in other escape moves such as the swimming motions we made with our hands when in the guard (just go with me here). And anyone who’s been around toddlers should know that they can vanish in the blink of an eye and then reappear out of nowhere! Hello Ninja! This isn’t a Christian book, there’s no gospel and there’s no ordinary. But it is a fun little board book for any toddler-ninjas you may know. Or 38-year-old ninja wanna bes. And if you want to learn more about ninjas in general: Top 10 Myths About Ninjas Thanks to Canonball for a copy of Hello Ninja in response for an honest review. I also have a free copy to give away if you live in the US and would like to send me an email. a Rafflecopter giveaway Or, you can pick yourself up a copy at Amazon: