A To Z Challenge: BOOK NOOK REVIEWS "P"

Title: Piggyback Ninja
Author: Neal Shusterman

Illustrator: Joe Boddy

Publisher: Lowell House Juvenile

Ages: 4-8

"Marshall McGumbo, until he turned nine,

Would play Piggyback Ninja on his father's spine.

With his hair-pulling power, and drop-kick finesse,

He would pulverize Pop's pooped-out spine, more or less.

And so from his path Dad was quick to depart.

For fear of fast Marshall and his martial art.'"

Synopsis: Marshall might know a karate chop or two but still has much to learn about being nice to others. With a foolish kick Marshall ends up in a twisted mess and the fun begins as his parents try to come up to a solution to Marshall's knotty problem.

Why I liked it: Of course being a martial artist myself, the title of Mr. Shusterman's book captured my attention from the beginning. But it was the whimsical illustrations and rhyming text that kept me turning the pages to find out if poor Marshall would ever get untied and learn to be kind to others.