Shaolin Tiger

Samurai Kids #3

by Sandy Fussell, Rhian Nest James (Illustrator)

The unlikely heroes of the Cockroach Ryu face their greatest danger yet — a warrior seeking revenge against his former teacher, Sensei Ki-Yaga.

The White Tiger Temple is under threat. To help the Shaolin monks, Sensei KiYaga and the whole gang of samurai kids— from Niya Moto, the boy with one leg to Taji, the boy who is blind— embark on a perilous journey across the Sea of Japan to China. But soon they discover that getting there is only half the battle. A great danger awaits a former student of Sensei named Qing-Shen, China’s Warrior, now the most skilled soldier in the Middle Kingdom. But Qing-Shen is also a man with a vendetta against his onetime teacher. Could there be anyone more dangerous? The samurai kids must train in the ways of the Shaolin monks before facing him. But will they be able to protect the temple and their beloved Sensei?

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Young Adult, Japan, Middle Grade

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

Sandy Fussell lives south of Sydney with her husband and two sons. She studied mathematics at university, is intensely interested in history and now works in IT. From the moment she could read, Sandy loved books and always wanted to be a writer. In school, she wrote what she refers to as “booklets” and “terrible plays that the teacher made the class perform”. After school, Sandy forgot about writing for a long time and started a family. She came back to writing after one of her children stopped reading and she suggested that they write a book together.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samurai kids is a sweet gentle martial arts series. Although there are exciting action scenes the emphasis in the book is more about the philosophy of martial arts, specifically the worth of people, using your mind more than your fighting ability, always being ready and aware, never underestimate your opponent etc.
In this third volume the kids who already have knowledge of Samurai and Ninja practices travel to China to learn the ways of the Shaolin monks, which gives the author a chance to dabble in Confucian thought.
I really like this series, and look forward to the next title.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre)]

Katharine is a judge for the Sara Douglass 'Book Series' Award. This entry is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.

[DeeNeez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, a delightful very young YA series about the samurai kids learning to overcome their disablities and challenges to become better warriors using their spirt guides, team work, and friendships in feudal Japan and China.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the books in this series. The stories are new, original, different.

[Vibhava Leelaratna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really good book.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of the Samurai Kids books, but it was still really wonderful. And I cried at the end, as I always do. :-)

[Calmer]

An Amazing Experience! -Fiona