Pranks and Attacks!

by Laurent Richard, Nicolas Ryser (Illustrator)

Overview

Tao is studying martial arts at the famous Master Snow's school. But no matter how hard he concentrates on his lessons, mischief gets in the way! Tao plays pranks and jokes around with his friends Ray, Lee, and Kat. He also struggles to get to school on time, learn new moves, and—most importantly—avoid doing his chores.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467736800
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Series:	Tao, the Little Samurai
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
File size:	42 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 11 Years

About the Author

Nicolas Ryser attended the School of Graphic Arts Estienne in Paris and specialized in illustration and typography. He won several competitions including the Angoulème and works for the magazine Casus Belli in France.

Editorial Reviews

03/31/2014
In this comics series, first published in France, Tao is a bit like Bill Watterson’s Calvin by way of the Karate Kid, boasting and making trouble while his martial arts school chums work hard and follow the rules. Richard’s episodes usually last just a page or two, and the humor is friendly and lightly slapstick. Tao, in his kendo gear, announces, “Tao is coming. Tremble before me!” to roars of laughter; his friend Kat has adorned his mask and armor with pink bows. Later, he tries to tie his robe correctly and his pants fall down. There are a couple of fine moments, as when the blocks of wood Tao crushes impressively turn out to be graham crackers, or when the school’s Master Snow saves Tao from a falling piece of statuary without Tao noticing (“No way! I’m telekinetic!”). Ryser’s style and pacing are polished and professional. The setting and architecture are generically Asian and merrily anachronistic; although backgrounds feature antiques like rickshaws and floating markets, video games and inline skates show up, too. Simultaneously available: Ninjas and Knock Outs! and Clowns and Dragons! Ages 7–11. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Tao dreams of becoming a martial arts master. He is a student at the famous Master Snow's Martial Arts School. Tao is ambitious and tries to follow the teachings of martial arts. However, his wandering mind is always getting him into trouble. In Pranks and Attacks!, Tao is always playing jokes on his classmates, much to the chagrin of his teachers. In Ninjas and Knock Outs!, Tao's pranks become bigger and sillier. Each page is headed with a philosophical teaching of a martial arts concept. The illustrations are colorful and correspond with the text. The back of each book features 'The Making of Tao,' and outlines illustrating the creation of Tao into a graphic novel." —Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

2014-03-12
For one wannabe samurai, the path to martial arts stardom is paved with mischief and hijinks. At Master Snow's martial arts school, Tao likes to pretend he's a grandmaster but more often ends up playing the role of class clown. Impetuous and energetic, he struggles with silent meditation and archery; it's a shame his knack for samurai video games doesn't help him with his actual studies. This graphic-novel series follows Tao's scrapes and adventures through a sequence of one- to two-page episodes, each focused on a single gag. Though some later vignettes build upon earlier ones—Tao's puppy-love crush on his classmate, Kat, develops over the course of the simultaneously publishing sequel, Ninjas and Knock Outs!—there's no overarching plot to the volumes or series. Ryser's playful, roly-poly art complements the graphic novel's silly humor, but unfortunately, Richard's worldbuilding is a disappointing, stereotypically "Oriental" mishmash, apparently including everything he can think of: origami, jogging sumo wrestlers, conical hats, gongs and more. The students learn both Japanese and Chinese martial arts—including karate, judo, kung fu and tai chi—as if those disciplines and cultures were interchangeable. Good for a few laughs but only for readers who are willing to overlook the cultural cluelessness. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews