Ba-chan the Ninja Grandma: An Adventure with Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl

by Sanae Ishida

Overview

In this new edition to the Little Kunoichi series, author and illustrator Sanae Ishida introduces us to Ba-chan, Little Kunoichi's wise, creative, and eccentric grandmother. Anything is possible with Ba-chan!

It's summer and Little Kunoichi's friends are away on vacation. After exploring every nook and cranny of her super, super secret island home with her pet, Bunny, she is bored, bored, BORED! Little Kunoichi shares her ideas to spice things up—a new bike, another pet—with her parents. But they have a better idea: a visit to her wise, quirky, and creative grandma, Ba-chan!

Little Kunoichi, joined by her little brother and Bunny, is excited for her visit. They are met with many surprises as they spend time with Ba-chan on an island she made herself and together learn that curiosity, resourcefulness, love, and imagination have more value than things money can buy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632171184
Publisher:	Blue Star Press
Publication date:	09/18/2018
Series:	Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

SANAE ISHIDA writes, sews, draws, and takes photos almost every day. She lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle. She is the author of the sewing books Sewing Love, Sewing Happiness, and Animal Friends to Sew, as well as the Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl picture book series, and Little Sumo, a board book series. Both she and her daughter have too many handmade clothes. Find out more about her work at SanaeIshida.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/23/2018
Little Kunoichi lives with her ninja family in a nifty tree house complete with a “Nin-Jutsu training room.” Summer vacation is ending soon, and Little Kunoichi and her pet, Bunny, are bored and beginning to ask for spendy amusements. Little Kunoichi, Bunny, and “Baby Bro” are sent to visit their scientist and inventor grandma, Ba-chan, on Kame Shima (“Turtle Isle”). There, they embark on a submarine adventure to Ba-chan’s underwater amusement park, which—with attractions such as a “Rat Race”—showcases currency’s limitations. Ishida illustrates in intricate watercolor art that creates the feeling of a world in miniature, and Ba-chan’s message about finding abundance through “Curiosity,/ Resourcefulness, kindness, love, /Imagination!” may well reboot summer for ennui-suffering fans of Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl. Ages 5–9. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Ishida excels at creating a fascinating world that combines the real (ninja water spider shoes!) and imaginative, and Kunoichi is a charismatic heroine with heart and gumption that parents and children can celebrate. Delightful."—Kirkus Reviews

"A wonderful family adventure; purchase where intergenerational picture books are in demand." —School Library Journal

"Such a creative and fun book about the relationship between an eccentric Ninja grandma and her grandchildren. One that is sure to make you smile."—Book Nerd Mommy  

"The delightful watercolor illustrations! The details, humor, and spirit on every page!"—WritesinLA

From the Publisher

09/01/2018
PreS-Gr 1—It's summer vacation and Little Kunoichi has exhausted all her favorite activities. Rather than having her laze around their ninja treehouse, her parents decide to send her, her brother, and her pet rabbit to their grandmother. Ba-chan ("Grandma") has all sorts of amazing talents: gardener, poet, inventor of the Kame ("turtle") Submarine, creator of an entire underwater amusement park…there isn't anything that she can't do, and this makes visits with her terribly fun. The entire story is just about their time spent together, eating, and playing. Almost every page is stuffed with the narrated text, extra dialogue, and watercolor illustrations with little details (sometimes several images within its confines). This visually mirrors how busy their schedule is. Kids can learn a lot of neat tidbits about Japanese culture from this latest addition to the series, and it is something that the author encourages. Ishida incorporates a number of Japanese words into the text, only pausing to explain those needed to follow the story; the others are defined in a glossary. Readers unfamiliar with Japanese should be prepared for an irregular use of in-text pronunciation aides. Also, while the words are used correctly, there are several instances in which the author applies the English rules for pluralization. VERDICT A wonderful family adventure; purchase where intergenerational picture books are in demand.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

School Library Journal

2018-06-25
When Little Kunoichi gets bored during the summer, she's sent to her ninja grandma, who leads them on an adventure of the heart and mind in this intergenerational tale. It's summer, and even though they live in a supersecret ninja village, Little Kunoichi and Bunny are bored. The pigtailed girl's solution is a long wish list of material toys to break the doldrums. In response, she's sent to Ba-chan's (her jack-of-all-trades, kooky, creative grandma) for the rest of the summer. Fantastical adventure awaits, as they travel to Ba-chan's underwater amusement park, full of fun, slyly referential rides (the World Bank Arcade, the Cha-Ching Train, etc.); but Kunoichi soon learns that it's a person's inner magic—"Curiosity, / Resourcefulness, kindness, love, / Imagination!"—that makes life interesting. Water-based illustrations done in a primary palette are delightfully appealing, and Ishida's playful vignettes, full of hidden gems and cultural references, beg for repeat visits. Applied in simple washes, the detailed brushwork highlights the artist's control of intricate shapes and patterning. Text and art display a playful spontaneity; however, at times the storytelling becomes a bit too loose. That said, Ishida excels at creating a fascinating world that combines the real (ninja water spider shoes!) and imaginative, and Kunoichi is a charismatic heroine with heart and gumption that parents and children can celebrate. Delightful. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews