Ninja Nate

In this conversational telling from Sheppard and Paul, Nathaniel Brown is a “ninja master. Or so he thinks.” All summer, he carries a silver sword and dresses like a ninja (he “eats, plays, and sleeps in his ninja suit”), and his friends begin calling him “Ninja Nate.” Before the first day of school, Nate dreams of “a land of a gazillion nefarious ninjas” and fights to keep them from Potato Chip Dip Mountain. Awakening from the dream reveals the 10-year-old’s reality: following an accident, “a new robotic leg was where his human leg used to be,” and his shiny-sticker-covered sword “would always be a walking cane.” As he contemplates starting school, concerned about what other kids will think about the “new” him, his family, including his “sensei” big brother, offers support that helps him to “rock” as both Ninja Nate and as Nathaniel. Bright-hued comics-style art gives the story an action-packed vibe and lends imaginative appeal to an affirming story of one child navigating change with the support of loved ones. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)