2015 Review Round-Up: Early Reader: Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move, John Himmelman

Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move (Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny)
John Himmelman
ISBN: 9780805099713
Isabel the bunjitsu is back, and better than ever with a new collection of black-and-white-and red illustrated stories.
Read October 2015

I am seriously in love with these books.  In this round, we learn about the gift of failure, to avoid letting your opponent set the terms of your conflict, and lots of small child-sized life lessons (although honestly most adults could learn a thing or two from Isabel, her friends, and her teachers about how to live your best life).  The stories are short, and the "lessons" are a bit more preachy than in the first book, but they're still not treacly or saccarine or false-faced.  Isabel remains a flawed character, as do her friends and teachers, which is nice to see in this sort of story.  Most of the concepts are centered around jujitsu ideals and concepts, but equally, most of them are applicable to the wider world and to personal development as well.  An excellent read for the earliest of bunjitsu!

New Arrival: Juvenile Fiction: Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny, by John Himmelman

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny
John Himmelman
ISBN: 9780805099706
Black and white and red drawings show off fierce (but zen) bunnies learning the way of bunjitsu.

Brilliant.  I saw this because it came through the library, but I bought myself a copy, and I'm getting one for my friend, a black belt in Ki-Aikido who has a young daughter.  It's a brilliant way to explain the purpose and mindset behind the less-offensive of the martial arts.

Isabel is a great bunjitsu-kai, and she can kick harder, punch straighter, and tumble better than "anybunny" - but she also knows that the power of bunjitsu isn't in strength or fighting, but in using wisdom and knowledge and compassion to create a situation where a fight becomes simply unnecessary.

Himmelman is really good (like Jon J. Muth good) at teaching moral lessons without being preachy or "moralizing" at the reader.  Isabel is a great illustration, and a great character.  Her posture and her expressions, although done in thick outlines and blocky chunks of red, clearly show her emotions, from frustration to frazzled patience.  She isn't perfect, but she tries to do her best.  She practices and works at her bunjitsu, and plays happily with her fellow students.  She's not a teacher or an "example" but a fun little bunny who has interesting martial-arts-based, real life based, small child level adventures.

I can't wait for the next installment: Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move, coming out this fall!