" 'Congratulations,' said the doctor, backing away. 'You have a ninja baby.'" Nina, the ninja baby, is in full-on combat mode from the moment she's born, when she karate-chops the doctor for thumping her gently on the bottom.
When Nina's mother tries to feed her, she discovers her little one (now a toddler) has already "launched a sneak attack" on a box of doughnuts. As her parents watch TV on the sofa, Nina stands very still on top of a side table, disguising herself as a lamp, ninja-style, "training herself in advanced infiltration." Being a self-sufficient ninja is a lonely life, but it gets even lonelier when her new baby brother shows up. This tiny Kung Fu Master could "disarm his captors with a single look." He never does anything by himself. In a dance of delicately kinetic spot illustrations, a furious, red-faced Nina flips out, expertly kicking her toys and knocking things over... but no one comes. She goes in search of the baby Kung Fu Master to learn his secret to winning their parents' affection, but "it was like listening to the wind in the bamboo." He just looks at her and gurgles. She takes note of his brilliant technique, and together, the two little ninjas join forces. Watch out, parents!
Lug author David Zeltser's Ninja Baby is a witty take on both new-sibling angst and the wobbly line between independence and loneliness. With breezy pen-and-ink lines splashed with color, Caldecott Honor artist Diane Goode's (When I Was Young in the Mountains) comically captures the wee ninjas and sets just the right tone. --Karin Snelson, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness