K-Gr 2 This third book in the series shows how six little ninja children use stealth, teamwork, and speed to plan a surprise birthday party for the Master while he's in the same room. He repeatedly says, "If I use my ears and eyes, I won't be taken by surprise," but he can't contain his screams when he sees and hears things that remind him of dragons. The Master is impressed, though, when he realizes it was the children who fooled him, and he bows down before them and whispers, "Wow!" Tougas's digital cartoons are as appealing and expressive as ever, and the humor is playful and good-hearted, even in the face of a "total dojo scare." VERDICT Told entirely in rhyme, this book will delight little ninjas everywhere and will make for a dramatic and entertaining read-aloud. Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

The Master and the students from Dojo Daycare (2014) and Dojo Daytrip (2015) return for their third adventure.Master, enjoying a snooze, wakes to strange noises and screams, "AAAH!"—over and over again, as the noises keep coming. Observant readers will, of course, see the reasons for the noises. The young students (a racially diverse bunch judging by swatches of skin and tufts of hair protruding from their ninja masks) are staging a surprise birthday party complete with hats, cake, and noisemakers. Told in rhyming verse, the story is amusing and pleasurable to read aloud. Children will enjoy seeing Master, the dojo's nominal adult, so very thrown by the secretive antics of his charges. Flat, digital figures cavort against white backdrops, brightly colored party paraphernalia and toys contrasting with the ninjas' black suits (even the Master's teddy bear sports one). The Master's face is solid yellow and features a drooping, mouth-framing mustache that may bring Fu Manchu to mind; this visual association with an old racial stereotype is an unfortunate one. Look elsewhere for ninja fun—perhaps to Arree Chung's Ninja and its sequel, Ninja! Attack of the Clan (2014, 2016). (Picture book. 3-6)