Pranks and Attacks!: Book 1

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:	9781467720953
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/01/2014
Series:	Tao, the Little Samurai Series , #1
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	GN330L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 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

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

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"Tao is a young student training to be a samurai, but clowning around comes more naturally to him. His teachers, Master Snow and Master Irons, and his friends, Ray, Lee, and Kat, all try to keep him on the straight and narrow. However, Tao still can't help but show up late to class, damage his teacher's prized sword, and get knocked out of a tree by a bird, among myriad other high jinks. The boy is impish, if not completely lovable. It is easy to see him as a younger version of the popular manga character Naruto. Each volume contains more than 50 stories, one per page. There are slight narrative threads running through the tales, but, for the most part, the single-page stories stand on their own. The vignettes start with titles that read like proverbs ('The Bullheaded Must Be Thick-Skulled,' 'The Fisherman Must Not Fear Getting Wet') and end with a punch line. The text is easy to follow, making these books good for reluctant readers or those who simply want a quick laugh. While the books are mostly comedic, there are some instructive footnotes to explain various martial arts and cultural terms. The panels are appealing to the eye, with crisp, energetic illustrations and vivid colors. A light, entertaining series for most graphic novel collections." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

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