Overview

Tao dreams of becoming a martial arts master, but his wandering mind always gets him into trouble. Especially when he starts having lovey-dovey thoughts about his friend Kat! Tao starts pulling bigger, sillier pranks. Will Kat notice him? Well, his angry teachers might!

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9781467732727

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Tao is a young student training to be a samurai, but clowning around comes more naturally to him. His teachers, Master Snow and Master Irons, and his friends, Ray, Lee, and Kat, all try to keep him on the straight and narrow. However, Tao still can't help but show up late to class, damage his teacher's prized sword, and get knocked out of a tree by a bird, among myriad other high jinks. The boy is impish, if not completely lovable. It is easy to see him as a younger version of the popular manga character Naruto. Each volume contains more than 50 stories, one per page. There are slight narrative threads running through the tales, but, for the most part, the single-page stories stand on their own. The vignettes start with titles that read like proverbs ('The Bullheaded Must Be Thick-Skulled, ' 'The Fisherman Must Not Fear Getting Wet') and end with a punch line. The text is easy to follow, making these books good for reluctant readers or those who simply want a quick laugh. While the books are mostly comedic, there are some instructive footnotes to explain various martial arts and cultural terms. The panels are appealing to the eye, with crisp, energetic illustrations and vivid colors. A light, entertaining series for most graphic novel collections. --School Library Journal --Journal Tao dreams of becoming a martial arts master. He is a student at the famous Master Snow's Martial Arts School. Tao is ambitious and tries to follow the teachings of martial arts. However, his wandering mind is always getting him into trouble. In Pranks and Attacks!, Tao is always playing jokes on his classmates, much to the chagrin of his teachers. In Ninjas and Knock Outs!, Tao's pranks become bigger and sillier. Each page is headed with a philosophical teaching of a martial arts concept. The illustrations are colorful and correspond with the text. The back of each book features 'The Making of Tao, ' and outlines illustrating the creation of Tao into a graphic novel. --Library Media Connection --Journal

Tao dreams of becoming a martial arts master. He is a student at the famous Master Snow's Martial Arts School. Tao is ambitious and tries to follow the teachings of martial arts. However, his wandering mind is always getting him into trouble. In Pranks and Attacks!, Tao is always playing jokes on his classmates, much to the chagrin of his teachers. In Ninjas and Knock Outs!, Tao's pranks become bigger and sillier. Each page is headed with a philosophical teaching of a martial arts concept. The illustrations are colorful and correspond with the text. The back of each book features 'The Making of Tao, ' and outlines illustrating the creation of Tao into a graphic novel. --Library Media Connection --Journal Tao is a young student training to be a samurai, but clowning around comes more naturally to him. His teachers, Master Snow and Master Irons, and his friends, Ray, Lee, and Kat, all try to keep him on the straight and narrow. However, Tao still can't help but show up late to class, damage his teacher's prized sword, and get knocked out of a tree by a bird, among myriad other high jinks. The boy is impish, if not completely lovable. It is easy to see him as a younger version of the popular manga character Naruto. Each volume contains more than 50 stories, one per page. There are slight narrative threads running through the tales, but, for the most part, the single-page stories stand on their own. The vignettes start with titles that read like proverbs ('The Bullheaded Must Be Thick-Skulled, ' 'The Fisherman Must Not Fear Getting Wet') and end with a punch line. The text is easy to follow, making these books good for reluctant readers or those who simply want a quick laugh. While the books are mostly comedic, there are some instructive footnotes to explain various martial arts and cultural terms. The panels are appealing to the eye, with crisp, energetic illustrations and vivid colors. A light, entertaining series for most graphic novel collections. --School Library Journal --Journal

""Each page is headed with a philosophical teaching of a martial arts concept. The illustrations are colorful and correspond with the text."" —Library Media Connection ""The panels are appealing to the eye, with crisp, energetic illustrations and vivid colors. A light, entertaining series for most graphic novel collections."" —School Library Journal

Tao dreams of becoming a martial arts master. He is a student at the famous Master Snow's Martial Arts School. Tao is ambitious and tries to follow the teachings of martial arts. However, his wandering mind is always getting him into trouble. In Pranks and Attacks!, Tao is always playing jokes on his classmates, much to the chagrin of his teachers. In Ninjas and Knock Outs!, Tao's pranks become bigger and sillier. Each page is headed with a philosophical teaching of a martial arts concept. The illustrations are colorful and correspond with the text. The back of each book features 'The Making of Tao, ' and outlines illustrating the creation of Tao into a graphic novel. --Library Media Connection -- Journal Tao is a young student training to be a samurai, but clowning around comes more naturally to him. His teachers, Master Snow and Master Irons, and his friends, Ray, Lee, and Kat, all try to keep him on the straight and narrow. However, Tao still can't help but show up late to class, damage his teacher's prized sword, and get knocked out of a tree by a bird, among myriad other high jinks. The boy is impish, if not completely lovable. It is easy to see him as a younger version of the popular manga character Naruto. Each volume contains more than 50 stories, one per page. There are slight narrative threads running through the tales, but, for the most part, the single-page stories stand on their own. The vignettes start with titles that read like proverbs ('The Bullheaded Must Be Thick-Skulled, ' 'The Fisherman Must Not Fear Getting Wet') and end with a punch line. The text is easy to follow, making these books good for reluctant readers or those who simply want a quick laugh. While the books are mostly comedic, there are some instructive footnotes to explain various martial arts and cultural terms. The panels are appealing to the eye, with crisp, energetic illustrations and vivid colors. A light, entertaining series for most graphic novel collections. --School Library Journal -- Journal

Tao is a young student training to be a samurai, but clowning around comes more naturally to him. His teachers, Master Snow and Master Irons, and his friends, Ray, Lee, and Kat, all try to keep him on the straight and narrow. However, Tao still can't help but show up late to class, damage his teacher's prized sword, and get knocked out of a tree by a bird, among myriad other high jinks. The boy is impish, if not completely lovable. It is easy to see him as a younger version of the popular manga character Naruto. Each volume contains more than 50 stories, one per page. There are slight narrative threads running through the tales, but, for the most part, the single-page stories stand on their own. The vignettes start with titles that read like proverbs ('The Bullheaded Must Be Thick-Skulled, ' 'The Fisherman Must Not Fear Getting Wet') and end with a punch line. The text is easy to follow, making these books good for reluctant readers or those who simply want a quick laugh. While the books are mostly comedic, there are some instructive footnotes to explain various martial arts and cultural terms. The panels are appealing to the eye, with crisp, energetic illustrations and vivid colors. A light, entertaining series for most graphic novel collections. --School Library Journal -- Journal (5/1/2014 12:00:00 AM) Tao dreams of becoming a martial arts master. He is a student at the famous Master Snow's Martial Arts School. Tao is ambitious and tries to follow the teachings of martial arts. However, his wandering mind is always getting him into trouble. In Pranks and Attacks!, Tao is always playing jokes on his classmates, much to the chagrin of his teachers. In Ninjas and Knock Outs!, Tao's pranks become bigger and sillier. Each page is headed with a philosophical teaching of a martial arts concept. The illustrations are colorful and correspond with the text. The back of each book features 'The Making of Tao, ' and outlines illustrating the creation of Tao into a graphic novel. --Library Media Connection -- Journal (10/1/2014 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Nicolas Ryser attended the School of Graphic Arts Estienne in Paris and specialized in illustration and typography. He won several competitions including the Angoulème and works for the magazine Casus Belli in France.

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