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Samurai Kids #2
Owl Ninja
The uniquely talented samurai kids are back — and ready to join forces with a ninja clan! — as the fast-paced martial arts series continues.
Across the valley, a drumbeat echoes. For ten days, the drum will call the mountain ryus to war, including the samurai kids from the Cockroach Ryu. Only Japan’s feudal emperor can stop the war, so Niya and Sensei Ki-Yaga set off on a grueling journey with all the Cockroaches, whose firm friendship and unusual skills must be put to the test in order to beg the Emperor to maintain peace. Sensei Ki-Yaga is respected and wise, but unfortunately, the last time he encountered the Emperor, the Emperor threatened to cut off his head. All seems hopeless until Ki-Yaga guides the Cockroaches to meet with the Owl Ninja clan. Samurai and ninja are supposed to be enemies, but can these two groups somehow work together to save the sensei and stop the battle in time?
From the Hardcover edition.
Across the valley, a drumbeat echoes. For ten days, the drum will call the mountain ryus to war, including the samurai kids from the Cockroach Ryu. Only Japan’s feudal emperor can stop the war, so Niya and Sensei Ki-Yaga set off on a grueling journey with all the Cockroaches, whose firm friendship and unusual skills must be put to the test in order to beg the Emperor to maintain peace. Sensei Ki-Yaga is respected and wise, but unfortunately, the last time he encountered the Emperor, the Emperor threatened to cut off his head. All seems hopeless until Ki-Yaga guides the Cockroaches to meet with the Owl Ninja clan. Samurai and ninja are supposed to be enemies, but can these two groups somehow work together to save the sensei and stop the battle in time?
From the Hardcover edition.
272 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
About the author
Sandy Fussell
29 books34 followersSandy 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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 11, 2026
Some with a long memory may think this series, Samurai Kids, has a loose connection to David Carradine's old TV series Kung Fu. Well, listen closely young Grasshoppers. That is only ephemeral. We only see the kids of the Cockroach Ryu under the guidance of their sensei, the retired samurai Ki-Yaga, as children. They are still growing up and learning - learning Ki-Yaga's old style commitment to a philosophical bushido. The katana is the means of protecting the samurai way and only enforcing it when necessary.
The Cockroach Kids, Kyoko - the only girl, Mikko, Niya, Yoshi, Taji, and Nezume, have been chosen by their sensei for their disabilities or differences. Kyoko is albino and has extra fingers and toes: Mikko has one arm, Niya only one leg, Yoshi is unusually tall and heavily built but refuses to fight, Taji is blind, while Nezume is recognized by Ki-Yaga as a prodigy swordsman. Although the series has a background of Japanese martial arts, its main theme is overcoming disability and difference, of showing that we are all equal to each other and all are equal to us - unless you are one of the bad guys, of course.
The story is about fighting for peace. The great war drums are beating in the mountains, foretelling of war between rival lords and summoning the samurai to service. The peaceful Ki-Yaga tells his young acolytes they must journey to the emperor's court and persuade him to intervene before the battles begin. What follows is a journey through the Japanese landscape to the imperial castle at Toyozawa, which brings in ninjas, a ronin and a new-style samurai who teaches at the Dragon Ryu and whose katana imposes dominance and obedience.
While it is all very well told and teaches its lessons with sincerity and great good humour, the story has one weakness. It is very difficult to believe the Samurai Kids are living in medieval Japan and are really Japanese. While they follow Japanese ways and obey their sensei, between themselves they could be schoolkids from any 21st century western country. The author does her best to convince the reader. She introduces Niya's family to give him some traditional background, but even here Niya's flirtatious sister steps outside the boundaries of old Japan. And the ninja boy, Riaze, seems to be more a streetwise Artful Dodger than a sneaky assassin trained to kill silently.
It was a very enjoyable journey to somewhere very close to Japan and, I dare say, to someone of the right age group the fantasy of having your own katana and wakizashi at your hip would make it more appealing still. With the violence held to a minimum it is a very good middle grade read.
The Cockroach Kids, Kyoko - the only girl, Mikko, Niya, Yoshi, Taji, and Nezume, have been chosen by their sensei for their disabilities or differences. Kyoko is albino and has extra fingers and toes: Mikko has one arm, Niya only one leg, Yoshi is unusually tall and heavily built but refuses to fight, Taji is blind, while Nezume is recognized by Ki-Yaga as a prodigy swordsman. Although the series has a background of Japanese martial arts, its main theme is overcoming disability and difference, of showing that we are all equal to each other and all are equal to us - unless you are one of the bad guys, of course.
The story is about fighting for peace. The great war drums are beating in the mountains, foretelling of war between rival lords and summoning the samurai to service. The peaceful Ki-Yaga tells his young acolytes they must journey to the emperor's court and persuade him to intervene before the battles begin. What follows is a journey through the Japanese landscape to the imperial castle at Toyozawa, which brings in ninjas, a ronin and a new-style samurai who teaches at the Dragon Ryu and whose katana imposes dominance and obedience.
While it is all very well told and teaches its lessons with sincerity and great good humour, the story has one weakness. It is very difficult to believe the Samurai Kids are living in medieval Japan and are really Japanese. While they follow Japanese ways and obey their sensei, between themselves they could be schoolkids from any 21st century western country. The author does her best to convince the reader. She introduces Niya's family to give him some traditional background, but even here Niya's flirtatious sister steps outside the boundaries of old Japan. And the ninja boy, Riaze, seems to be more a streetwise Artful Dodger than a sneaky assassin trained to kill silently.
It was a very enjoyable journey to somewhere very close to Japan and, I dare say, to someone of the right age group the fantasy of having your own katana and wakizashi at your hip would make it more appealing still. With the violence held to a minimum it is a very good middle grade read.
March 8, 2012
Go samurai and ninja kids!
August 12, 2014
Amazing! A very interesting mix of characters:)
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July 26, 2015Katharine 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.
I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.
September 12, 2011
it was awesome especially because it was samuri and ninja working together
December 11, 2012
Even better than the first one. Full of the usual adventure and humour, tied together with learning and friendship.
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February 9, 2016Great book to teach discipline, right and wrong, consequences, using brains not bronze. Students all have disabilities.
June 17, 2019
Read this when I was much, much younger and enjoyed it immensely. Now on reread there's a lot of historical gaps and plotholes. Gets cheesy and repetitive with the whole FRIENDSHIPPP thing too. But it was entertaining enough.
January 10, 2021
Wayyyyyyyy better than the first one. If you liked the White Crane then you will love this book!
April 2, 2024
I liked this one better, it had more sword fighting
December 26, 2014
Still an enjoyable read of the samurai kids of the Cockroach Ryu.
August 16, 2012
wonderful series
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews