Ninja!

The ninja wannabe who wreaks stealthy havoc on his or her household is now a staple of the children’s bookshelf. But Arree, a designer making his picture book debut, shows there’s still plenty of kick left in the premise, thanks to a bold visual style and a keen sense of comic timing. With a dark and saturated palette, long shadows, and graphic-novel framings, Arree hits the sweet spot between sinister and spoof, while showcasing his hero in a repertoire of covert action poses worthy of the most loose-jointed action figure. As the little ninja ambushes his napping father and delights his baby sister by stealing cookies and milk from the kitchen table (until she becomes collateral damage during his escape), the narration is parceled out in hushed, breathless sound bites: “Against all odds,/ he must believe/ in his ability/ to rebound/ and overcome/ all challenges.” Lines like that are made for dramatic, movie trailer–style readalouds, but children will get just as much pleasure out of the young ninja’s DIY getup and the faux gravity of the obstacles he surmounts. Ages 4–7. (June)