Hensel and Gretel: Ninja Chicks (Ninja Fairy Tales #3)

Gomez (What About Moose?) joins the team behind The Three Ninja Pigs and Ninja Red Riding Hood for a fractured fairy tale that delivers more satisfying martial arts mayhem. There's a moment of reflection as chickens Hensel and Gretel stand before the 3 Pigs Dojo ("Get empowered, not devoured"), but from then on it's all action as they find their parents have been chicken-napped, bushwhack through the forest, and arrive at a fox's cottage, made from cornbread. Inside, they find their parents and realize their peril: " 'Watch out!' Papa cried./ 'You'll be chicken-pot-pied!' " Feathers fly and teeth are bared as the chickens square off against the fox, hurling kitchenware and delivering blows until their parents are freed: "You two Ninja Chicks/ got us out of that fix, / and justice--not dinner--was served." Santat serves up an unstoppable barrage of exaggerated angles, action lines, and pop-eyed facial expressions to accompany Schwartz and Gomez's sturdy limerick-metered verse. It's almost possible to hear the clang as the wok clocks the fox. Ages 4-8. Authors' agent: Kendra Marcus, Bookstop Literary. Illustrator's agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (May)

After their mother is abducted by a fox, chickens Hensel and Gretel take rescue into their own hands by learning to become ninjas in this rollicking fractured fairy tale. They train at the 3 Pigs Dojo (recognizable to fans of The Three Ninja Pigs), until one evening they return home to find their coop ransacked and Papa gone. Leaving a trail of crumbs, they search the forest until stumbling upon a house made of delicious corn bread. After Hensel is taken in (literally and figuratively) by the fox, Gretel pops down the chimney and the pair leap, kick, and slice their way to justice. Action and movement abound in a fast-paced tale brimming with silliness and humor. Rhyming text never misses a beat, flowing smoothly and incorporating laughs into every line: "You two Ninja Chicks got us out of that fix, and justice—not dinner—was served." Santat's comic-style panels keep momentum going with richly colored mixed-media illustrations and showcase two hilariously expressive kick-butt heroines. No helpless, victimized protagonists here—only empowered poultry, ready to make it their mission to "rescue, protect, and defend."