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Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents the Way of the Ninja
The creators of The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear return with a high-energy story about friendship. This time, the daring ninja learns that the greatest thrills and the best adventures are the ones we share. The ninja's playtime games are too rough-and-tumble for his friends the cowboy and the bear. The ninja isn't interested in his friends' games -- and playing all by himself isn't much fun. Can the rambunctious ninja ever meet his friends halfway? Children will easily relate to the lesson about mutual respect embedded in a story about three different but nonetheless close friends.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2010
3 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 10, 2017
A ninja is best friends with a cowboy and a bear; but even best friends like to do different things. Great lesson for children.
July 12, 2018
Excellent children's book on the importance of compromise and friendship. I know many adults that might benefit from this book as well.
November 4, 2020
A ninja, cowboy and a bear explore their friendship with one learning things are better together. Preschool and up
November 1, 2020
Ninja, Cowboy, and Bear are best friends, but Ninja can't figure out how to play with his friends (and meet his own need for adventure) without someone else getting hurt. What's a ninja to do? Fear not, dear reader. When you're motivated, no problem is without a solution. The character design for this book is too cute, and I loved the parable-like storytelling. There's some real creativity in how the friends end up combining their different styles. Just like a parable, it's meant to impart a lesson, but the fun details keep it from being just another "lesson" book.
(There are two other books in the series: Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents the Call of the Cowboy and The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear. The Cowboy book is less coherent than the Ninja book in delivering its message. My son was indifferent to it despite liking the characters. The Legend is a fine book with a message that everyone's different and that's okay... which is then undercut by the "Rock Paper Scissors" style game in the back where Ninja always beats Bear, etc. Not all kids would notice the internal contradiction, but it bugged me.)
(There are two other books in the series: Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents the Call of the Cowboy and The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear. The Cowboy book is less coherent than the Ninja book in delivering its message. My son was indifferent to it despite liking the characters. The Legend is a fine book with a message that everyone's different and that's okay... which is then undercut by the "Rock Paper Scissors" style game in the back where Ninja always beats Bear, etc. Not all kids would notice the internal contradiction, but it bugged me.)
January 18, 2012
My niece, nephew, and I really like these Ninja Cowboy Bear books, and the kids have been particularly captivated by the ninja. My nephew and I read The Way of the Ninja today, and he really enjoyed it. He completely understood how the ninja's actions were impacting his friendships with the cowboy and the bear, and he seemed pleased with the pictures in this story, too.
I liked this book because the pictures really are pretty and interesting (there are cute little details in them, too), and I was also impressed with some of the vocabulary in this book (e.g., merrymaking, buffoonery, hilarity, amusement, exhilarating). Those are not words that are terribly common in books aimed at younger kids, and I appreciated that the author chose to use these more advanced words in his story. I'm all for expanding kids' vocabulary while giving them great entertainment, and The Way of the Ninja does an excellent job of that.
I liked this book because the pictures really are pretty and interesting (there are cute little details in them, too), and I was also impressed with some of the vocabulary in this book (e.g., merrymaking, buffoonery, hilarity, amusement, exhilarating). Those are not words that are terribly common in books aimed at younger kids, and I appreciated that the author chose to use these more advanced words in his story. I'm all for expanding kids' vocabulary while giving them great entertainment, and The Way of the Ninja does an excellent job of that.
March 23, 2011
This simple story could be used for young students working out friendship troubles #picturebookparty
When the ninja hangs out with his friends the bear and the cowboy, it ends up in "merrymaking, buffoonery, and hilarity". However, like all friends, these three did not always get along. Ninja wanted thrills and that got his friends hurt. Determined to have his fun, ninja set up his own adventures. His tandem bike, ping pong, and Frisbee are not as fun alone.
This simple story could be used for young students working out friendship troubles. The characters think in picture word bubbles. The ninja's thoughts have Japanese characters in them as well. A guidance lesson extension could be to have students draw themselves thinking of wants and needs in pictures.
When the ninja hangs out with his friends the bear and the cowboy, it ends up in "merrymaking, buffoonery, and hilarity". However, like all friends, these three did not always get along. Ninja wanted thrills and that got his friends hurt. Determined to have his fun, ninja set up his own adventures. His tandem bike, ping pong, and Frisbee are not as fun alone.
This simple story could be used for young students working out friendship troubles. The characters think in picture word bubbles. The ninja's thoughts have Japanese characters in them as well. A guidance lesson extension could be to have students draw themselves thinking of wants and needs in pictures.
September 29, 2010
There is a clear message in this book, It is more fun to play with others than by yourself. The Ninja loves adventure and thrill seeking, however, his friends Cowboy and Bear aren't as adventurous. Ninja means well, but tends to get into some compromising situations, leading Ninja to realize that fun doesn't always have to be dangerous and exciting.
Cute book with a great message. The illustrations make this book what it is, not that the content isn't good, but the pictures are really cute!
Cute book with a great message. The illustrations make this book what it is, not that the content isn't good, but the pictures are really cute!
December 21, 2010
Ninja, Cowboy, and Bear are fast friends. Thrill-seeking Ninja thinks that that Cowboy's and Bear's ideas of a good time are a bit dull, but he finds that playing flaming ping-pong and doing backflips off the seesaw aren't as much fun without his buddies. This common picturebook theme is made fresh with unusual illustrations. The the characters are drawn in a sort of manga style, with additional textures that look like scrolls and paint.
March 29, 2011
Rated and reviewed by Dylan the ninja, age 7:
This book is about a ninja like me. He had two friends, the cowboy and the bear. In this story he doesn't want to do what his friends want to do so he gets them to do what he wants to. They get hurt. He thinks about what everyone might want to do and they are friends again.
My favorite part was when he thinks of everything they want to do. I like the drawings and everything.
This book is about a ninja like me. He had two friends, the cowboy and the bear. In this story he doesn't want to do what his friends want to do so he gets them to do what he wants to. They get hurt. He thinks about what everyone might want to do and they are friends again.
My favorite part was when he thinks of everything they want to do. I like the drawings and everything.
December 17, 2010
What a fun children's book! Now I have to read the first one! One thing I'm wondering after finding on a google search, is this book in any way related to the game of the same name(Ninja Cowboy Bear), where the players act out the parts, much like "rock, paper, scissors"? I think it may be, but I just want to know. Anyway, check it out!!!
April 3, 2014
Nice little read about working out disagreements between friends. How can we solve the problem of not agreeing about what to do together? Ninja's choices cause his friends to get hurt, but they forgive him and they end up having fun together in the end. Ninja learns that just being with his friends is the greatest thrill of all.
September 21, 2010
3.5 stars-- the illustrations are great but the story is kind of weird...
October 1, 2010
Great idea to create a ninja character, but the story itself was nothing new or creative.
October 25, 2010
Preachy. Illustrations did follow the text; but the frames seemed inconsistent.
January 9, 2011
Loved it! Super cute with a lovely sense of humour and a nice message for children.
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January 31, 2011Recommended and reviewed here: http://booksthathealkids.blogspot.com...
April 19, 2011
I do like ninjas, cowboys, and bears, so this was a cute friendship book. Since some of the pages are wordless, this is definitely a better fit for one-on-one sharing.
July 29, 2014
Both my boys (ages 4 & 8) liked this book. The illustrations are cute and the story is easy to understand. They loved to see the silly things the 3 friends did when they played together.
December 28, 2011
We love this series.
June 27, 2012
So cute, must get for the grandson!
November 26, 2012
If you enjoyed Ninja Cowboy Bear, (and what's not to like?!) you'll love this one too. Teaches children that its more fun to play with friends than to get to do what YOU want to do. Very fun book!
February 22, 2013
ninjas+charlie=successful reading time
June 30, 2014
The Ninja liked to do different things then the cowboy and the bear.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews