Module 13:Magic Tree House #5: Night of the Ninjas

• Book Summary:  The Night of the Ninjas starts off with the main characters Jack and Annie discovering that Morgan le Fay, the magical librarian is missing.  Jack and Annie find a clue that lead them to real life Ninjas!  Jack finds a Ninja book that helps guide them on their adventure and their way back home.  Along the way, Jack and Annie meet the Ninja master who warns them about the Samurai, fierce Japanese fighters who are at war with the Ninjas and their families.  After hearing the Samurai coming, the master told the children that they knew the way of the Ninja and left them with the words, "use nature, be nature, follow nature (Osborne, 1995).  These words would be the deliverance of Jack and Annie's journey.  They had to become nature by first imagining they were a rock to hide from Samurai, and then imagine themselves as a mouse to cross a stream.  The children found their way back to the tree house where the ninja master and the mouse, Peanut were waiting.  The ninja master gave Jack and Annie a moonstone, to help them find Morgan le Fay.

• APA Reference of Book:

Osborne, M.P. (1995).  Night of the ninjas.  New York, NY:  Random House.

• Impressions:  Although the story was entertaining, I feel that it could have been longer and more detailed.  The author had room to include more events during Jack and Annie's adventure.  By the time Jack and Annie met the Ninjas and crossed the stream, their adventure with the Ninjas was practically over.  Right when I got excited about the Ninjas appearing, they disappeared and were out of the story again.  I would have enjoyed the book more if the Ninjas were included more in the story.

• Professional Review:  

By A Customer on December 7, 2001

• Format: Paperback

  If you like ninjas, then you'll want to read Night of the Ninjas.
  If you like mice, you'll like this book, because Peanut is a mouse.
  The story keeps you guessing. becaue the mouse acts like a human.
  I liked Night of the Ninjas, because ninjas fight like martial

Reference:  Night of the Ninjas (Magic Tree House, No. 5).  (2001).  Amazon.  Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Night-Ninjas-Magic-Tree-House/dp/0679863710/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449204161&sr=1-1&keywords=magic+tree+house+5

Library Uses:  This book and series could be used to do a lesson on narrative writing.  Students could write about an adventure they've had or can imagine in first person point of view.