Natures Ninja: Animals with Spectacular skills is a fun book about some of natures most amazing ninjas. This little book is loaded with animal facts and is highly entertaining. The combination of creatures and ninja skills is bound to draw in a wide range of young readers and hold their interest from start to finish.

I recieved a digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting Critters, But Bad Narrator

Audiobook Review:

The basic information in this book about animals’ ninja offensive and defensive moves is interesting, but I found the narrator annoying. The book teaches about several animals that employ ninja tactics. Funnily, at the start of each chapter, we are actually told what specific ninja tactic a particular animal does, like spying or throwing stars. The author shares a fictionalized account of how this animal employs the maneuver and then gives more factual information about the tactic as well as shares how scientists figured out how these animals do their ninja tricks. I like that aspect of this book, and I think it's great to show children the scientific process of figuring out things in the natural world. I found the narrator, though, absolutely distracting. He had an odd way of talking that I'm not quite sure how to describe precisely. He didn't just talk naturally, as if he were sharing some cool facts that interested him (which I’ve heard other children’s nonfiction narrators do). It's almost as if he's trying to wind up the kids like some sort of carnival barker—as if he feels like the only way to get and keep interest is by using this odd, disruptive speech patterning—but that just does not work in a children's nonfiction book like this. If you have a child who is interested in ninjas or the wacky but cool sides of animals, she or he may appreciate this book—so long as they don't find the narrator too irksome like I did. This book does introduce some difficult words, so I recommend getting the eBook or physical book along with the audiobook so that the child can see how these words are written. Of course, I imagine the pictures of the animals would be excellent to see, too!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Fun kids non-fiction about all the wicked cool animals out there.

I wondered how this would translate to an audio book. I was pleasantly surprised! An enthusiastic narrator coupled with an engaging text made this one wildly appealing to my favorite seven-year-old scientist. In fact, it was so engaging that it spurred on the purchase of additional similar texts. This would be great for a learning station in an elementary classroom. The audio book will help make some of the challenging text accessible to all readers!

Some animals have mad ninja skills! Climbing, hiding, silent running, hunting, tracking -- animals have some awesome physical abilities they use to survive.

Each chapter highlights a skill associated with ninja like climbing, thrown weapon skills, swordsmanship, swimming, and camouflage, and then describes animals who use that skill. Johnson also includes facts about the scientists who study these talented animals. The types of animals are varied from geckos and otters to sea urchins and swordfish.

This is the second audio book by Johnson that I've listened to. I loved this one just as much as When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses.

It took me a bit to get used to the narrator....he over-enunciates and reads in an overly excited voice for the entire book. But.....this book is geared to children and the voice actor was trying to be entertaining. I got used to his voice quickly and just enjoyed the animal facts and humor.

Great animal facts and very entertaining! I will definitely be reading/listening to more books by this author!

**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audio book from Lerner Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I always love Rebecca Johnson's books and this is no exception. I wouldn't buy it as an audiobook but I would buy it as a physical book. Great blurbs about animals and their ninja skills and good scientific facts. What I also appreciate is that each section is short.