A Bundle of Sticks

by Pat Mauser McCord, Gail Owens (Illustrator)

After being beaten up again and again by the class bully, Ben is sent to learn Kajukenbo, an Oriental method of self-defense that encourages nonviolence

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Brandon Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book from the 1980s. At the time it was published, it received the Mark Twain Readers Award in 1985. The author seems to have a little understanding of martial arts because she knows that there is something called a horse stance, but not much more understanding than that because the stance is not a fighting stance, it's a workout and a self-discipline stance. If you tried to use it as a fight stance, you'd be pushed over quite easily by anyone who knows what they are doing. Other than that though, if you overlook that one little thing, the book is a fun read, and children, the target audience, will rarely know anything about any stances.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I'm feeling miserable about having been the one no one liked in grade school, wishing I'd been so lucky as the kid in the story to have just one bully and a cool teacher and a good solution to the problem.

The writing isn't terrific, the dialogue is a little stilted, and I'm not sure Ben is an entirely believeable kid, but the pictures are very good and the story is good.

[Ernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not really that good, but I read it a hundred thousand times as a child, so I'm giving it a huge rating. There is something satisfying about reading the story of a kid who uses Karate to beat the shit out of someone who kicks his dog.

[Lea Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking martial arts classes isn't Ben's idea. He hates fighting.

But he learns about self-discipline and how to stand up for himself against the school bully.

I enjoyed this one enough to purchase it and share it with my family.