Shaolin Tiger

Samurai Kids #3

by Sandy Fussell, Rhian Nest James (Illustrator)

Long before Sensei Ki-Yaga built the Cockroach Ryu, he travelled to China and studied at the Shaolin Temple in the north-western Song Shan Mountains. Sensei promised to return to help the abbot in the Temple's time of need. When the Samurai Kids learn that the abbott has a treasure in need of safekeeping, they set off on a journey to China.

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

[Len]

It's volume three of the Samurai Kids series and Ki-Yaga, the sensei of the Cockroach Ryu, tells the kids he has a mission to fulfil in China and they must accompany him. He has received a message from the Shaolin monks of the White Tiger Temple to say that their Imperial protection has been withdrawn and a figure from Ki-Yaga's past is taking advantage of it to threaten them. Ki-Yaga knows he must confront the young man and defeat him to bring peace to himself and to the monks of the Temple.

The story has folktale elements to it. There is the perilous journey across the sea when all their lives are endangered. A trek across the vast lowlands of the Middle Kingdom where they meet enemies and make friends, and believe they have lost their beloved sensei in a flooded river. Their route continues alone into the mountains and on to the temple, and they find out that Qing-Shen, Ki-Yaga's enemy is following them. The kids train in the ways of the Shaolin monks and, when they are ready, Qing-Shen makes his appearance in full sword and armour with all the flourish of a demon king.

Throughout the plot the character of Yoshi, the youthful giant among the Cockroaches who refuses to fight, is brought forward. Again and again we see his bravery and courage as he struggles against the elements, the violence of others, and his own inward reluctance to strike back. By the end we know this has not been a tale of Qing-Shen's revenge or Ki-Yaga's battle to lay his conscience to rest. It has been Yoshi's trial to understand that, if the circumstances justified it, he could fight for the right cause.

A simple tale that leaves an open ending for a further volume. The hint is that there is a trip to see the Great Wall in the offing. As with the previous story, Owl Ninja, our heroes sometimes slip out of their time and become a gang of 21st century kids messing around, but the author exercises a greater control and makes their adventures a little more believable. A fun series and a fun way to learn just a little about the philosophy behind bushido and, perhaps in this story, even Confucius and Buddhism.

[Anna]

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]

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]

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

[Vibhava Leelaratna]

It's a really good book.

[Debbie]

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