#512 - Ninja Nani & the Bumbling Burglars

by Lavanya Karthik

“Ninja Nani & the Bumbling Burglars” by Lavanya Karthik. Published by Duckbill. A delightful story of a boy who is in for the surprise of his life when his cranky old grandmother gets Ninja powers.

Deepu is almost ten years old and a big fan of the Ninja Dragon Morimori show on tv. According to him, it was absolutely the best show ever and the ninja warrior was his role model. One evening when Deepu wanted to watch the show, he found that his Nani (maternal grandmother) was hogging the tv. She was totally absorbed in the cookery show by Chef Dalmakhani who seemed very irritating to Deepu. As his parents had gone out for a dinner party, he would have to deal with Nani by himself. Both grandmother and grandson began a squabble over who would get the remote which seemed to be flipping between their hands at a dizzy speed when a totally unexpected thing occurred.

Nani found herself acquiring Ninja powers and started doing all absurd things like back flipping and swinging from the ceiling. Deepu couldn’t help notice the similarities between her actions and what came on his Ninja show. Nani disappears out of the window making Deepu run behind her towards the park in the neighbourhood. His parents cannot afford to know all that is happening as he feels that he will get blamed for it. Will Deepu be able to get Nani back to normal? Will he end up having an adventure or rather misadventure? Will he end up in a smelly beast’s belly or the jail for little boys or as a hostage of the bumbling burglars who he and his Nani stumble upon? Can Nani’s powers be put to good use? Will Nani be able to keep her Ninja powers a secret? What is Deepu going to find out about his Nani that is new to him? Read the thriller of a book to zip and zap with Deepu and his Ninja Nani and find out what happens.

The book was a fantastic and breezy read for me and my 9.5 year old son. He found the character of Deepu very relatable given their similar ages and a few common traits (which I am not supposed to reveal ;) ). The story has a lovely combination of humour, fun, action, adventure and suspense. This kept us on the edge of our seats wondering what was coming up next. There wasn’t a dull moment at all. We were happy to see how Deepu started bonding with his grandmother and got to know her better as the plot progressed. His realisation and acceptance of the fact that he had never bothered to find out anything about his Nani was portrayed beautifully. The accompanying illustrations are just brilliant and enhanced the effect of the narrative. Some sections are in graphic format and added to the joy of reading. Everything from the cover designed like the front page of a newspaper to the end pages showing Nani in various Ninja poses is a visual treat. The book was part of the nine books that I had gifted my son for his ninth birthday. It is the first book from the “Ninja Nani” series and we can’t wait to lay our hands on the other books now given how much we enjoyed it.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 9 and above.