Written by: Carol Nevius
Illustrated by: Bill Thomson
The first thing I noticed about this book was its appearance. The main colors, shown throughout the entire book, are black and red (<-- take a glimpse at the cover). Seldomly other colors, like yellow and purple, are used to show the color of a students karate belt. This color scheme allows the author to decide which parts of his illustrations he would like to stand out. It really adds a strong dynamic to the book and makes the book much more appealing. In addition, frequently the illustrations run off the page. This allows the audience to create an image outside of the pages of the books. I have rarely seen this done in other picture books I have read. Really neat. Furthermore, throughout the illustrations the author incorporates different races into the characters. Also, both genders are equally represented.
Throughout the story, the author creatively describes what typically happens during an hour of karate.
We energize. Our muscles flex. We raise our arms, protect our necks. We yell "Hai-ya!" and feel the our power, Growing in karate hour.
As you may have noticed, a rhyming scheme is used. This appears throughout the book. The author uses the last 5 pages of the book to discuss karate and its origin more in detail. My favorite page displays the 8 belts that can be obtained in karate through practice and discipline. I had no idea that in the Japanese culture the red belt is seen as 'better' than the black belt. However, the author states that the red belt is rarely given out. Overall, in most cultures, the darker belts indicate advanced skills.
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