Ninja Ned

 You can find Ned's adventures on Amazon in Print or for Kindle!

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The Passing of a Legend

Melissa and Kea are sad to announce the passing of a man who was instrumental in the martial art on which The Secret of Ned the Ninja is based. Professor Richard Mrofka, sensei to Melissa's father, Professor Ronald Mertz, and close friend and 'uncle' to Melissa and her son, Jack, passed last week after a long and prestigious life full of inspiring and training others in "The Silent Way."

Not only was he a practitioner of Isshin-Ryu karate, but he founded his own art, the Tiger Commando Fighting System. In his later years, he came out of retirement to run some special seminars that students at Melissa's school, The Dojo Paramus, took to heart. He was known as The Siberian Tiger (mentioned in our series) and his student, Ronald Mertz, became The Tiger King (Tora Khan). The naming of tigers continued when Melissa's son was dubbed "Tiger Jack" by Professor Mrofka. He will be missed as a martial artist, teacher, and friend ... and as a big fan of our Ned.

 

Stony Lane of Paramus welcomes Ned the Ninja!

Melissa and Kea want to thank Stony Lane Elementary for inviting Melissa and students from The Dojo Paramus to their family reading event! We had the opportunity to share how cool karate is and how important the ideas found in 'bushido' are in filtering negative messages from others. The evening event was a celebration of fun and books, books, books! Extra special thanks to the school for making our series, The Secret Path of Ned the Ninja, available to students and parents!

(left to right: Grace, Jack, Sensei Melissa, Sensei Danny, Tim)

  (Reading excerpts from Reluctant Hero)

 

(Sensei Danny prepping to kick that thang!!)

October is National Bullying Prevention Month!

School bullying statistics in the United States show that about one in four kids in the U.S. are bullied on a regular basis, either at school or via social media. Way too many? For certain. What can you do to increase your awareness and help spread the message? Plenty!

• Learn the statistics to make yourself and others aware of the problem! Bullying Statistics.Org
• Join Stomp Out Bullying in their initiatives this month. Plenty of ideas to increase awareness on their site!
• Explore Kea's resource page.
• Introduce the kids in your life to The Secret Path of Ned the Ninja. They'll get inside the head of an awesome kid who has been bullied.
• Find out what your school does to address bullying. Do they have a school safety team? Get involved.

 

New Book! The Secret Path to Running a Book Club ... with Ned the Ninja

With so many parents, teachers, and school librarians appreciating their kids' reactions to Reluctant Hero, Head in the Game, and Power in Numbers, we thought it might be the perfect time to release a supplemental guide to the series. 

Ta-dah!

What's it about? Overall, it's a discussion guide with questions for each chapter throughout the first three books of Ned's series, The Secret Path of Ned the Ninja. From making story predictions to analyzations of Ned's thoughts and actions, readers have the opportunity to empathize with Ned and reflect upon their own thoughts, actions, and strengths.

Need an activity to enjoy with your child? Want to encourage a particular group of kids to read? Have a bookworm on your hands and want to encourage further exploration into the literary world? Start a book club! This guide provides the thought process and activity ideas to start one up through our middle grade humor series. 

 

Whenever we run assemblies / workshops at elementary schools, we see the desire for school staff to bring something new to their literary studies. Might The Secret Path of Ned the Ninja be an exciting addition to your school or home study curriculum? We think so!

 

The Secret Path to Running a Book Club ... with Ned the Ninja 
(ISBN-13: 978-1530431281; ISBN-10: 153043128X; LCCN 2016935326)

is available on Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com in print ($6.99). We hope you will check it!

 

Kea & Melissa

School Author Visit Fun

Two nights ago, Kea rolled into her house from the airport sometime after three--in the morning--proving it is possible to wind up with jet lag without switching time zones. But was it worth it? Most definitely. We, Kea and Melissa, hit two schools in New Jersey with assemblies and workshops that were as inspiring for us as they hopefully were for the schools.

Thank you so much, Midland Elementary School in Paramus and Jefferson Elementary in Bergenfield! We felt so welcome and enjoyed meeting students and staff. The kids had such great questions, and the brainstorming that went on during the writing workshops was fantastic. These days, many adults fear that children are losing their imaginations, but they are alive and well at the schools we visited. We look forward to reviewing your entries to our 3-D Character-Building Contest!

Thank you, again, to the karate-kas from The Dojo Paramus who took time to demonstrate during the assemblies. You guys are always super!

 

      

 

 

 

3D Character Profile Winner: Doof Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Back in November, we (Kea and Melissa) got to hang out with the super kids at two elementary schools in Waldwick, NJ. We challenged them to come up with a character who was 'three-dimensional'. That is, they created a character and revealed it to us through physical appearance, what the character allows others to know about himself/herself, and who the character was deep down on the inside. We received some super responses! Here is one of our favorites:

Doof Supercalifragilisticexpialodocious created by Ayla at Crescent school

If you happen to be weird, clumsy, or corny, Doof might just be a good friend for you, since those are traits he likes in his friends. Although, he also likes the lazy, jealous, and stubborn type. Then again, his best friend is a dead frog, so any competition for his friendship couldn't be all that tough. Doof, an alien, is a bit confused, it seems. In fact, he's downright eccentric! For one thing, he does an awful lot of screaming (mostly at worms), will scream in a crisis, and well, it's his greatest talent. Now Doof might not be the most honest being you could meet, but he does have a lot of courage--unless he runs into Mr. Pickle Green Dude Man. What does all that screaming have to do with courage? It sounds like he just enjoys the screaming!

Doof's likes and dislikes really exhibit the fact that he is not of this Earth. He has a pepperoni as a pet, only reads books with two pages, hates eating pickles, but loves goat eyeballs. His most prized possession is an old gym sock, and his greatest wish is to have just one extra sock. Does he have anything in common with Earthlings? Well, he really would love to fly, and he does like jazz.

Truthfully, even Doof thinks of himself as a weirdo. Maybe even he realizes that there is something a little 'off' about living in a porta john? Perhaps the most telling trait on Doof's bio is that when people meet up with him, they say, "Mom, thank you for taking care of me!" So maybe that could be the crux of Doof's story? Maybe he needs someone to take care of him? Watch over him? Someone to look into his big hazel hump-shaped eyes and ask him how he got the scar across the third eye on his forehead? Maybe Doof isn't very honest because he's still trying to figure out truth on this big blue marble. It seems to us that Ayla has a great opportunity here to write a tale about love and acceptance. Now, we're not sure why Doof's biggest weakness is paper, but we bet that point can be worked into a bit of adventure in the middle of a Doof tale! 

Thanks so much for sharing the lovable Doof with us, Ayla! And extra props for spelling Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Love, Kea & Melissa

3D Character Profile Winner: Gracie Windler

Back in November, we (Kea and Melissa) got to hang out with the super kids at two elementary schools in Waldwick, NJ. We challenged them to come up with a character who was 'three-dimensional'. That is, they created a character and revealed it to us through physical appearance, what the character allows others to know about himself/herself, and who the character was deep down on the inside. We received some super responses! Here is one of our favorites:

Gracie Windler created by Ashley at Traphagen school 

They say you should never judge a book by its cover. Such is the case with Gracie Windler, who most people would say comes across as a rebel. This seventeen-year-old native of New Jersey with the cute freckles enjoys wearing black and dancing She seeks friendships with funny, adventurous, silly, kind, and forgiving people. But don't expect her to agree with you on anything too often! 

It would seem that Gracie is a confident kid, but between her fear of heights and poor academics, that might not be the case. In fact, deep inside, Gracie considers herself 'dumb' and lists 'courage' as her weakest trait. If you ever want to see if Gracie is nervous, look to see if she is fiddling with her thumb. That's a dead giveaway. Curiously, when it comes to crisis mode, Gracie will find a way to solve the problem. It seems Gracie is smart in ways that are not necessarily academic. One thing is for sure, if she wants to become a famous dancer, she's going to have to find some more courage. 

Ashley says she has already begun a book about Gracie titled, "Grades". We think she has some nice material to go with in her bio on Gracie, mostly because we like that this character's biggest strength is benevolence. We hope she learns to use some of that kindness on herself. People are 'smart' in different ways, and we think Gracie sounds like a rather genius character in the making! We hope she finds a way to recognize that she is not 'dumb'.

Thanks so much for sharing Gracie with us, Ashley! And good luck with your book! 

Love,

Kea and Melissa

3D Character Profile Winner: Ella Hedgehog

Back in November, we (Kea and Melissa) got to hang out with the super kids at two elementary schools in Waldwick, NJ. We challenged them to come up with a character who was 'three-dimensional'. That is, they created a character and revealed it to us through physical appearance, what the character allows others to know about himself/herself, and who the character was deep down on the inside. We received some super responses! Here is one of our favorites:

Ella Hedgehog created by Rachel at Traphagen school

It seems Ella the Hedgehog is everyone's idea of a sweet, cuddly sort of creature. We can see her coloring, features, and stature, but guess what? While the bow in her quills is her favorite color (pink), it changes color in each of her stories. Apparently, we aren't the only ones who love Ella; if people were to run into her on the street, they would want to keep her and her family. This young hedgehog expresses herself through crafting, dancing, and playing with her real magic wand. Her epicurean tastes are on the sophisticated side: She likes French roach and simply must have meat with her Sunday morning breakfast. But don't try to feed her bird! 

Ella is a busy hedgehog. She is getting read to become a big sister, and she's working toward her goal of becoming a ballet dancer. However, she might need to work on some of her fears, too. For example, she's terrified of a scoundrel eagle, and she can be distrustful of others at times. Maybe that's why she likes to hang around people who are kind, caring, not shy, and why she is concerned with justice. Since Ella has been known to play with her fur too much, we wonder if that is how she expresses her anxiety before showing panic over her fears. 

Ella's parents may wish she were a bit neater, especially when it comes to cleaning her room. However, we don't mind. We would read a story about this cute little character with her baby talk voice and her creative, magical ways any day! Rachel's outline of Ella makes us curious about the possibilities for a story where Ella grows as a character. Would she need to conquer her fear of the eagle in order to be the best big sister ever? Might she need to stop pulling her fur long enough to practice for a ballet recital? Maybe she will need to start using her magic wand for more than fun and games? Hmmm.....

Thanks so much, for introducing us to Ella, Rachel!

Love, Kea & Melissa

Ned the Ninja Holiday Gift!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah! Wonderful Kwanza! Festive Festivus! 

Need an awesome gift for a wonderful middle grader? You can pick up all three of our Secret Path of Ned the Ninja books (autographed) together with a hachimaki (karate style head band) and bound with a bow. They are for sale at Melissa's dojo if you are in the Northern NJ area, but the pack can also be ordered! 

The package is $27, plus shipping and handling. Call 201.262.0457 to order!

 

 

Ned Herts looking sharp for October!

Folks took notice when Ned stepped into Tora Khan Martial Arts last week. Why? Because he wasn't wearing the school's white gi--and he wasn't wearing the black gi he trains in when visited by his mysterious mentor. No ... Ned had on a blue gi top in honor of October, which is Bullying Prevention Month! Now, Sensei Melissa, being a very traditional sort of sensei who expects her ranks to be dressed the same at each class, wasn't happy at first. However, after Ned explained, his sensei couldn't be happier.

After all, being a 'mental martial artist' isn't just about training your own mind to be strong and to take pride in yourself. Martial artists should be the diamonds in society and, as such, should promote good character and look out for those who can't defend themselves.

What will you do to strengthen your mind and to stand up for others this month?