Ninja Bunny

A bunny in full ninja attire does things by the book -- the How to Be a Super Awesome Ninja book, that is. Beginning with “Rule 1: A super awesome ninja must always work alone,” our hero stealthily demonstrates a ninja’s essential qualities, including “Rule 3: [must] possess incredible strength” and “Rule 6: [must] know how to escape.” While the text is an effectively paced recitation of the rules, Olson’s nimble ink-and-watercolor illustrations inject some slapstick humor into the bunny’s performance. “Rule 2: You must be super sneaky” shows the bunny furtively harvesting carrots under the cover of darkness, with gaze fixed behind and foot poised above the business end of a rake. Turn the page and -- “ooof” -- it’s the old rake-handle-in-the-face bit. The Ninja Bunny perseveres until Rule 10 (“must battle anyone, anywhere, anytime, alone”), when a massive, fierce-looking bear threatens the little ninja. A bear’s-eye-view illustration looking down at the clearly overpowered bunny is very effective and reveals that this rabbit isn’t alone: a bunch of non-ninja bunny friends have their pal’s back. Time to act on ninja instinct and improvise: “Rule 1: A super awesome ninja needs super awesome friends!” Yes, the message is a tad hackneyed, but it’s worth repeating, especially for little ninjas-in-training. “Hi-yah!” kitty Flynn

A bunny demonstrates a ninja's essential qualities as described in the rule book How to Be a Super Awesome Ninja, beginning with "always work alone." When a bear threatens the little ninja, an effective bear's-eye-view illustration reveals that this rabbit isn't alone: non-ninja bunny friends have their pal's back. The text is an effectively paced recitation of the rules and nimble illustrations inject slapstick humor.