The Ninja Club Sleepover by Laura Gehl and MacKenzie Haley (Review)

Title: The Ninja Club Sleepover
Creators: Laura Gehl and MacKenzie Haley
Type: Fiction
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book, Paranormal
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Date published: July 21, 2020

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Blue Slip Media in exchange for an honest review.

We are ninjas and ninjas are brave!

Willa and her best friends love ninjas. They have matching ninja backpacks and ninja t-shirts, and at school they even form a ninja club. But Willa has a secret: she’s a werewolf! Worried that no one will understand, she hides the truth from her friends. Until Val has a sleepover for her birthday…and it’s on the night of the full moon.

Willa is overcome with nerves. When an accident reveals that her friends were hiding secrets too, she realizes maybe it’s not so important to be a normal ninja. After all, a paranormal ninja can do so many cool things!

Join three remarkable friends as they discover that ALL of us are weird in our own special ways. Lovable and lively illustrations accompany this charming story that explores facing your fears and fitting in, encouraging readers to celebrate their true selves.

⤖ My Review ⬻

This children’s book was so cute! The illustrations were a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the story (no matter how short it was due to this being a children’s book). I think The Ninja Club Sleepover‘s story is just long enough to add depth while also being just short enough to keep from losing the attention of most children. I personally really liked how the story was told from Willa the werewolf’s perspective and thought she was so so cute! Her friends were adorable as well (as was The Ninja Club Sleepover as a whole). I also think that we need more paranormal kids’ books!

There was also a good dash of feminine badassery in this one, as all three of the girls are ninjas—their motto being: “We are ninjas and ninjas are brave!” The story took a bit of a twist, which is always a joy for me in children’s books, as a lot of the time the stories are too short to allow for plot twists. There was also a lesson here about acceptance and inclusion that I think is very important all of the time (but especially now, considering the state of the world). Highly recommend this one and think that both children and adults could learn quite a bit from The Ninja Club Sleepover!