Wink…The Ninja Who Wanted To Be Noticed

Do you have a child that wants to be a ninja? Wink, The Ninja Who Wanted To Be Noticed is an excellent book about following your own path in life and being proud of your individuality.

Wink was thrilled when he was accepted to the Summer Moon School for Young Ninjas. At the school, he met Master Zutsu who taught his students to “strong and practice the art of stealth”. He tells the students “Silence is the weapon of the ninja”. Wink consistently tries to prove that he is a worthy ninja but keeps being challenged by various factors, mostly intrinsic. He wanted to holler, “Look at me!” which Master Zutsu disapproves of because ninjas should be silent. Another time, Wink dresses up in a colorful costume for class, which Master immediately frowns upon because of the bright color of his costume. His grandmother always tries to cheer him up each day by giving him her words of wisdom which immediately uplifts Wink’s spirits. At the end of the story, Wink meets another boy who also wants to be a ninja but is not enrolled in the ninja school. As a result of this friendship, Wink decides to become a nimble ninja in the in the Lucky Dragon Circus. Wink flies “through the air like a glittering cannonball”. His grandmother tells him “Your smile has come home” and Master Zutsu says “Free-flowing water will always find its way”.

I love this book, Wink, The Ninja Who Wanted To Be Noticed because it shows the journey that Wink takes to finding himself and how he can use his talents and passion in a slightly different way than expected. Many children like Wink might feel bad about themselves for not being like all of the other ninjas. Instead he embraces being an individual and finds his way by being “free-flowing water”.

Learn new vocabulary! There are many new vocabulary words such as holler, stealthy, regain, landscape and stealthy.

Work on prediction. Ask your child, “What do you think will happen next?” as you are reading the book

Discuss various character perspectives. Talk about how the boy views Wink’s talents versus Master Zutsu. How does Wink feel when he teaches the boy the ninja moves?

Discuss feelings and emotions. How did Wink feel when he was being disapproved of? How did he feel in the end when he was performing in the circus?

Similes! There are many similes in this book. Here are some examples…”He moves likes a gazelle”, “His spirit shines like the morning sun”, etc.

Wink: the Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed