Ninja Nocturno

by Barbara DaCosta, Ed Young

Late at night, when all is quiet and everyone is asleep, a ninja creeps silently through the house in search of treasure. Soon he reaches his ultimate goal...and gets a big surprise! Will the nighttime ninja complete his mission?
With spare text and lush illustrations, Nighttime Ninja is a fun, adventure-filled story about the power of play and imagination.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Adventure, Family, Humor

Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

From lighthearted children's books to adult mysteries, award-winning author Barbara DaCosta enjoys looking at the odd, quirky things in life. DaCosta's newest book is NIGHT SHADOWS, the touching story of an intergenerational friendship, DaCosta's third collaboration with Caldecott Medalist Ed Young. Their previous work includes Mighty Moby (a Minnesota Book Awards finalist) and bestseller Nighttime Ninja, , winner of the Children's Choice Award.

Reviews

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Check out more picture book reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

Late at night, when all is quiet and everyone is asleep, a ninja creeps silently through the house in search of treasure. Soon he reaches his ultimate goal...and gets a big surprise! Will the nighttime ninja complete his mission?

I was totally DECEIVED by this book! My nephew wanted to read it because... NINJAS! And I admit I love them too... but yeah, NO! Not this time... there were so few words in this (which technically isn't a problem but with the yucky art didn't help matters!)

The cover is NOTHING like the art inside... this is the ONLY page that is rendered in this large eyed style... the rest looks like technical drawings... were drab and didn't show much. There were some well balanced spreads where spacing was well used and I'm not adverse to the style just it wasn't working for me for this story...

I also found the story total nonsense... There was SOOO MUCH untapped potential in this book. Then in the end it was about eating ice cream without mom's permission which is NOT something I want to foster in little ones...

My nephew enjoyed it a tad more than I did (which is NOT AT ALL) but that ending even confused him! Better for it to be about a REAL adult ninja...

BOTTOM LINE: Failure as a ninja...

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You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my picture book reviews in a special feature called Boo's Picture Gallery...

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and imaginative tale for children. The narrative is engaging and the illustrations (created in cut paper, textured cloth, string and colored pencil) are wonderful.

I'm a fan of Ed Young's illustrations, so I was eager to read this book when I discovered it. They did not disappoint.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because he's a nighttime ninja who sneaks ice cream, so I don't think you should read this to your child really: they might start sneaking or something. (I think this is where I got that sneaking aspect.)

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5

Barbara DaCosta lives near me so I really want to give her a shining review, however the book didn't meet my expectations. I can't really say what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. However, I can totally relate to the nighttime ninja... when I was little my mom says I used to wake up in the middle of the night and eat all the cheese in the fridge! Haha!

The book is alright. The illustrations are creative and different and the story is cute. My expectations were just a little too high for some reason.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly wordless, this is a fun read aloud. The illustrations are marvelous and tell most of the story.

[Maggie Panning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is told kind of like a joke, as it starts out you don't really know where you're headed, and then comes the punchline. This book is short with simple cut-out illustrations. It was a fun little read, but not one that I would care to own or one that I can see a child asking to read very often.

[Kalee Stegehuis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review first published at http://rawrisforreading.wordpress.com...

I LOVED this book! I can be a critical reader, but this one had me completely engaged. I spent a few minutes on each page because I thoroughly enjoyed the illustrations and the suspense of the story. It doesn’t contain many words, but it’s still a book you can spend a while reading to kids because the illustration is so mystifying.

My favorite aspect of this book is the relationship between the visual and verbal narratives. The images and the story together tell the whole story, there is no way they could be separated. I knew I would love the visual narrative from the cover (yes, I judged a book by its cover). The paper cut designs and the textured leaves give a major appeal to this story before it is truly begun. And then the end pages utilize the back of the cover to create a template design…. brilliant! The first page would be much better if it wasn’t interrupted by the book’s crease, but I think this is my only real complaint about the book.

The art is very abstract and imaginative. Many readers who disliked the book disliked it because of the strange art, but I believe that is what creates the story. The words of the story are short and sweet, but effective in creating the mystery of the story. The nighttime ninja, who is really just a little boy using his imagination, creates a setting in his house that is far more grand than what it really is. This story doesn’t just encourage creative play, but it does so without props, in one’s own home, on his own, and in the dark. It is about fearless play. And in the end, his mother is gentle with him and he agrees to go back to being a regular boy with a large imagination.

Nighttime Ninja is a really lovable story – great for adults and kids!

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

As the clock strikes midnight, a little boy with a huge imagination transforms himself into a ninja to sneak his way to the kitchen and steal ice cream from the freezer before getting caught by his mom and sent back to bed.

Granted, I am an adult who is reading a picture book and may have a different perspective of things in the world, but wow, how I did not like this book. The beginning is absolutely creepy. "The clock struck midnight..." and it looks as if someone is trying to break into their home. "The house was silent. Everyone was asleep." On pages 13 and 14, it looks as if there's a body lying on the floor even though it's supposed to be the shadow of the ninja. "Wait - look!" at what? What is that a picture of? A wall hanging? A rug? I thought the illustrations were confusing and I don't think it's obvious that what the boy has is ice cream at the end. I also think that for new readers, the font is difficult to read. The things I did like . . . the adorable panda bear that the boy is cuddling on his way back to bed and the vibrant colors used in the illustrations. I don't think young kids, for whom this book was written, would get it. And I really think that a young ninja boy, who is drawn to this book because of the cover, would think this book a kind of downer.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sneaky tale with a comical twist.

Ages: 3 - 7

Here’s a few of our bedtime favs: watch my reel!

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[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute papercut illustrations -- very minimal text (would be a short one for story time, there's a lot of wordless pages), but would be a cute short book for a story time interlude. I'm glad there's more ninja books being published -- I have some small patrons who have read EVERY ninja picture book a thousand times, so it's good to see a new one.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story.

We see the Nighttime Ninja in action at midnight. Moving stealthily through a house. Anticipation is built. Excellent art (mixed media collage). Then the ninja is found out . . . by his mother. Ha!

Like it, however, it is a very quick read.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, and VERY short. Will probably use for pajama storytime, especially since it ties into bedtime and sleep. It will make a good last story of the night.

[Jake Watmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE the artwork in this. I can't stop reading and looking at it.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

At night, a ninja boy crept into somewhere silently to do his mission. He got caught in the end anyway.
What I liked was the story that had a twist at the end and short and simple texts for readers. The illustrations create serious mood of the Ninja's mission, but it turned out that the boy explored his house at night to grab an ice-cream. The illustrations were crafted by using collage techniques with Japanese cultural patterns and images. The first several pages increase the tension of the ninja’s appearance by only showing the silhouettes in black. The climax of the story was when the boy was caught red-handed, and the scene was illustrated by the shadow of his mother which provided a chance to guess who this person would be or what story would go on.
One thing bothered me was my culturally biased perceptions of animals. For instance, my prejudice was that panda is a representative animal of China. So, when children’s books which are filled with other cultures such as Japanese contained panda illustrations, I felt awkward. This book also included panda toy at the end of the illustrations despite rich illustrations of Japanese cultures. Moreover, my concern is the embellishment of the role of the ninja. In children’s books, they are described as heroes in deft movements and skillful martial art professionals. Considering their roles in ancient times, I did not like the story of Ninja. It seemed that in America it was a big fad to tell a story or adopt the concept of a ninja who is an assassin and espionage in old Japan. If I were a mother or a teacher to read books related to Ninja concepts to my students or children, I would be careful to build critical perspectives on the commercially constructed images on a topic or a person in the community.

[Abby Hargreaves · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like there's something vaguely offensive about this book, but not being an expert in ninja culture by any means, I can't put my finger on it. I like the silhouette illustrations, though the ninja in those images has a more mature body than that of a child who is supposed to be in bed. There was something vaguely unsatisfying about the end of the narrative, and the structure of the narrative as a whole was nearly nonexistent. That which was evident was cliché. However, I can see kids enjoying this, particularly in a one-on-one setting. The bare-bones text would make this a tough storytime read.

[Dana Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nighttime Ninja is a very cute story with an unexpected ending. At first, it explains how the ninja climbed and leapt through the quiet house. As he began to work the lights turned on. Readers then see that it is a child dressed up as a ninja and was sneaking to get ice cream. His mother tells him to hand it over and accomplish is going to bed mission instead. Though there is not much text it is a very sweet story. Also, the illustrations are very unique. It says they "were done in cut paper, textured cloth, string, and colored pencil." Because they are very unique and original, they are interesting to look at. Overall, this is a short, cute story for children.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh gosh, this is a BEAUTIFUL book about a ninja's nighttime mission, created entirely out of papercraft like in Sundiata: Lion King of Mali! (well, okay, apparently there is some string and cloth, too)

I'd say more about the story, but spoiling the surprise would suck all the fun out of it! Suffice it to say, it's a terribly cute mission with an unexpected twist! Absolutely recommended for young ninja readers out there!

[Shaniah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nighttime Ninja is about a young boy who wishes he was a ninja. It's not until later he gets caught by his mother and is told to go back to bed. The illustrations are beautiful as they are cut in paper, textured cloth, string, and colored pencils. I would categorize this book as Picture book. I would have this book in K-2 classrooms as the text is short. Although, the illustrations can be enjoyed be all ages.

[Eric Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightime ninja is a book about a little boy dressed up as a ninja going on a quest to steal ice cream from the fridge before being caught by his mother. The artwork for the book is a clever combination of illustrations and collages creating a very interesting atmosphere. Similarly the twist where it is a just a kid on his way to get ice-cream is very clever. I think this would be a good book for any ninja crazed kids 4/5 stars.

[Mandy Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was honestly kind of a strange book. Until the very end I really didn't understand what was going on until in with the story. I do like that this book uses very few words because it makes it easier for beginner readers to understand the story. I personally wouldn't use it as a read aloud, but I would probably still put it in my classroom library in case a student finds it interesting. I would recommend this for classroom ages pre-k through 1st.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Age: Toddler-Preschool
Asian American

A ninja prowls through the jungle and the city, sneaking through a house to have...a carton a ice cream. Until, alas! his mother catches him in the act and brings him back to bed. Distinct collage artwork provide a unique addition to the array of bedtime picture books.

[Rachael Fricke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations! It was like look at a handmade scrapbook! Easy to read for young readers! Short sentences but some tricky words. Throughout the sorry you think the Ninja is this man on a mission, only to find out it's just a young boy sneaking into the kitchen for a midnight ice cream snack. Cute story! Would make a wonderful bedtime story.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was part wordless and part words. I was imagining how I would explain the wordless parts never knowing what was going on until the end when he is caught by his mother sneaking ice cream. That was surprisingly fun for a child to discover. The book revealed a fun surprise and getting caught, but I did not care for the illustrations despite the craftsmanship that went into making the book.

[Ella Zig · Rating 3 out of 5]

the lad says- i thought the ninja was funny. the end.

the parent says- a nighttime story about a ninja. the mixed arts that were used in the story was a creative choice and different from most children's stories. a good read.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story did not capture my attention, and I'm not sure it would capture the interest of my students either. The ending was cute, but there isn't enough of a "story" to it. The illustrations, although "artistic", were not to my taste.

[Heather Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

My little one LOVED this book and requested we read it again and again. Personally, I thought it could use a bit more of a narrative. There were few words, but it did have a unique graphic style. Cute ending!

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

From ages three through seven, my son dressed almost exclusively as a ninja every Halloween or because it was Tuesday... It’s no surprise then, that this happened to be one of his favorite books for a nighttime read. Fortunately, he was a better sleeper than our titular Nighttime Ninja.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a ninja lurking in the house at night. What could he want? A surprise twist at the end makes this an interesting and fun story. The artwork is unique, with collages of different materials. A great little story about the fun imagination of a child.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

intricate illustrations. I liked that they were done by cut paper rather than just drawing. The story was very short and simple

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paper collages show a ninja moving around in the night.
Just before the completion of his mission, the light comes on and his mother sends him back to bed.