Nighttime Ninja.  By Barbara DaCosta.  Illustrated by Ed Young. Little, Brown and Company. Sept. 2012. 32 pages. Tr. $16.99. ISBN-13: 978-0316203845

The Short:  This book is beautiful and it surprised me with its humor.  My son loved this book and had me read it to him over and over again.  My son has since started quoting the book and yesterday before bed he reenacted a bit of it.  I’ve always wanted a ninja in the family, so I’m thrilled.  We highly recommend it.

The Long:  I tend associate beautiful art with seriousness.  This book exploits this association and uses beautiful imagery done with cut paper, textured cloth, and colored pencils to then surprise the reader and make them laugh.  This book has everything you could want in a picture book: suspense, adventure, surprise, humor, and sweetness.  The text is sparse but not lacking.  It compliments and works with the images impressively well.  Nighttime Ninja has received many accolades and it is so easy to see why.

This book is about a ninja creeping through the night on a mission only to be discovered by his mother and sent back to bed.

I think this book would be a great holiday gift along with a pair of black pajamas.

Where Obtained: Public Library

FTC Disclosures: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQRIP2Ja0IY

Book’s Website (with some great activities):  http://nighttimeninja.blogspot.com/p/activities.html

Some of My Favorite Reviews of this Book:

• http://sommerreading.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/nighttime-ninja-by-barbara-dacosta/ (How I found out about the book.)
• http://thebusymomcafe.blogspot.com/2012/11/childrens-book-review-nighttime-ninja.html
  
• http://kidlitcove.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/nighttime-ninja-kid-tested/
• http://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/books/view.dT/9780316203845
• http://wakingbraincells.com/2012/10/12/review-nighttime-ninja-by-barbara-dacosta/
• http://sstwriting.blogspot.com/2012/10/picturebook-review-nighttime-ninja-by.html