Karate hour is starting now. Dressed and belted, we all bow.

Karate class begins, and students come together to practice their blocks and stances-from crescent kicks to front kicks to tuck-roll stands. They wear colored belts that show their ranks, and they recite the training pact they've made with their master.
Readers will enjoy the rhythmic text and the dramatic drawings in varying perspectives that point up karate as a defensive yet graceful discipline. They will learn about karate's origins and the meaning of the colored blets.

Self-esteem, respect for others, and nonviolent behavior-these are some of the values that karate strives to develop in each individual.

Carol Nevius is known to her social studies and language arts students as Mrs. Jones. She lives in Coral Springs, Florida, with ther husband, Hugh Jones, their three children, and a variety of animals. She wrote Karate Hour, her first children's book, when her youngest child took an introductory class with Kai Blackstar, a fifth-degree Black Belt Kenpo Karate instructor at East West Karate in Coral Springs.

Bill Thomson is an artist whose work has been recognized in many national and regional competitions, including those sponsored by the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts Magazine, and the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. An Assistant Professor of Illustration at the University of Hartford, Mr. Thomson lives twith his wife, Diann, and their three sons in Southington, Connecticut.

This story would be good for intermediate students.

This book walks students through what a karate class might look like. This it talks about movement and the things that these children do in their karate class.

I would pair this with a movement lesson in my classroom. I also might use it to talk about hobbies and things that students might do for fun. This also might be a good book to have in your classroom that might spark an interest in one of your students. ( )

This book is geared towards younger elementary students.

This book follows a rhythm and talks about the importance of Karate. It talks about some of the moves and what a belt represents.

I would use this book for teaching about sports. ( )

A realistic picture book for all ages

Since I'm thinking about taking up a martial art as a replacement of sorts for running, I enjoyed this children's book about karate a lot. It was well done, explaining several things about karate without talking down to the audience. The illustrations were very nice, too. ( )